Oakland University
English Department

Course Information

English 105--Shakespeare
Summer 2005
7:30 AM - 9:35 AM, 105 Wilson Hall

  • Brian A. Connery, x2254
  • 521 WH
  • M W Th, 12:00 - 1:00; and by appointment.
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  • Connery's home page
    Updated June 28, 2005

    "Nothing can please many, and please long, but just representations of general nature. . . . Shakespeare is above all writers, at least above all modern writers, the poet of nature; the poet that holds up to his readers a faithful mirrour of manners and of life. . . . Shakespeare's plays are not in the rigorous and critical sense either tragedies or comedies, but compositions of a distinct kind; exhibiting the real state of sublunary nature, which partakes of good and evil, joy and sorrow, mingled with endless variety of proportion and innumerable modes of combination; and expressing the course of the world, in which the loss of one is the gain of another; in which, at the same time, the reveler is hasting to his wine, and the mourner burying his friend; in which the malignity of one is sometimes defeated by the frolick of another; and many mischiefs and many benefits are done and hindered without design." Samuel Johnson, 1765

    Course description: This is first and foremost a course in reading: developing the skills requisite to meet the challenges of reading--with comprehension, appreciation, and pleasure--highly artificial work written by a poetic genius in antique English. In order to achieve this comprehension, we’ll look at the language itself, the figures of speech, themes, and the literary conventions and cultural context of the works. We’ll attend both to the ways in which Shakespeare is our contemporary as an early modern and the ways in which his work and culture are utterly alien. In particular, we’ll discuss the psychology of Shakespeare’s characters and the innovative techniques Shakespeare uses in order to produce subjectivities susceptible to such analysis. Readings of six plays (three comedies, a tragedy, a history, and a romance) will be supplemented with screenings of a variety of productions. Discussion and informal lecture format. Regular attendance and timely completion of assignments essential. Students will keep reading journals and a commonplace book, respond to study questions, participate in an email discussion list between class meetings, take quizzes, and complete midterm and final examinations.

    Texts: Shakespeare, Richard III (Folger); Much Ado About Nothing (Folger);The Merchant of Venice (Folger); Measure for Measure; King Lear (Folger); The Winter’s Tale (Folger).

    This class satisfies the General Education requirement in Literature

    General Education Learning Outcomes:

    The student will demonstrate:

  • Knowledge of how literature is an expression of culture. We will do this by placing Shakespearean texts in the context of their historical period and exploring its cultural attitudes toward social values, individual aspiration, class, and gender.
  • Knowledge of literary form. We will do this by considering differences of genre (comedy, tragedy, history, romance) and by developing attentiveness to other aspects of literary and dramatic construction such as figurative language, irony and rhetoric.

    Cross-cutting capacity: critical thinking

    Other Course Objectives:

  • Thematic focuses: we will consider in particular, a.) the representation of modern subjectivity, b.) Shakespearean analyses of human and political relations, especially in terms of gender, family, and nationhood, c.) textual criticism, d.) the author function, and e.) the relation between the individual and social institutions.
  • The course is also intended for liberal arts English majors and minors and should provide them preparation for more advanced courses in literature, especially those in early modern literature or drama.

    Optional field trip: We will be organizing a trip to the Michigan Shakespeare Festival for a performance of The Merchant of Venice. Those attending will be responsible for their own transportation, though carpooling will be encouraged and facilitated. Friends and family are invited to join us. The date of the performance we attend will be determined during the first week of class; tickets. Tickets will be reserved during the second week of the course.

    Policies: Faithful attendance and regular participation in class are expected. To provide motivation when it is lacking, unannounced quizzes may be given. Quizzes cannot be made up without prior permission or documentation of a legitimate excuse for absence. No quiz grades will be dropped.

    Students with special needs are welcome to discuss them with me. Some services for students with special needs are available through the Office of Disability Support Services, 144 Oakland Center, x3266.

    No alternative test dates will be available.

    The grade of Incomplete is available only to students who have demonstrated regular and steady progress in the course but for whom unforeseeable and uncontrollable circumstances make impossible the timely completion of the course.

    Students suspected of academic dishonesty will be reported to the Dean of Students for consideration of the Academic Conduct Committee of the University Senate. Cheating on any course assignment may result in failure for the course and suspension or expulsion from the University. Representing anybody else's work as your own is a form of academic dishonesty. For further information, please see the section on "Academic Conduct" in the undergraduate catalogue.

    Classroom Decorum: Everyone in the class is responsible for ensuring that the classroom supports learning: Please arrive on time; try not to distract others; turn off your cell phone; address your comments to the class at large. You are encouraged to participate vigorously, even passionately, in class discussion, but always respectfully to your classmates and your instructor. Please plan to remain in class for the entire class meeting each day.

    Major Assignments:

    The following simple formula will determine your final grade for the course:

  • Quiz average 10%
  • Journal average 20%
  • Commonplace book average 10%
  • Test 1 25%
  • Participation 10%
  • Test 2 25%

    Some links of interest:

  • Visit the website of London's recreated Globe Theatre Research Site.
  • The Stratford Festival in Ontario will offer productions of The Tempest, As You Like It, and Measure for Measure this season.
  • The Michigan Shakespeare Festival at Jackson Community College will offer productions of Twelfth Night and The Merchant of Venice, July 19 - August 7
  • The Water Works Theatre Company will offer a ragtime production of Twelfth Night in Starr Jaycee Park in Royal Oak, July 29 - August 8
  • Study Guides for each play are available from Spark Notes. These won't substitute for actually READING the plays, but they may be helpful.
  • Historical, cultural, and biographical information, along with plot synopses, is available at The Shakespeare Resource Center.
  • For fun, visit Trevor Stone's Elizabethan Curse Generator

    Schedule: Unless we get very tired very fast, we will adhere to the following schedule. If a class meeting is canceled for any reason please continue reading according to the schedule.

    June

    Monday 27   Orientation: Matters Logistical. Who/What is Shakespeare? Practice in reading. Screening of Al Pacino’s Looking for Richard.

    Wednesday 29  Richard III” Acts 1-3' "Shakespeare's Richard III and “Reading Shakespeare’s Language: Richard III” (xv-xxv).
    You may want to consult the geneological chart on pp. 2-3. Information on the background to the play is available on The War of the Roses website; you may also be interested in the corrections to Shakespeare's representation of Richard offered by the American Branch of the Richard III Society. After subscribing to the email list (see below), you may wish to send questions about these and other matters to discussion list at britlit@lists.oakland.edu.

    Subscribe to email discussion list: Point your web browser to http://lists.oakland.edu/mailman/listinfo/britlit. Fill in the form with the email address to which you want your Shakespeare class email sent, along with your name. You’ll receive an email asking you to confirm your subscription. Please confirm.

    Thursday 30   Richard III Act 4; "The Publication of Shakspeare's Texts" and “An Introduction to this Text” (xlviii-lix)
    Send a message to the discussion list at britlit@lists.oakland.edu.

    July 

    Monday   4   No class. Be independent. Watch some fireworks.

    Wednesday   6   R3 Act 5; "Richard III: A Modern Perspective" in Folger R3, 337-349.

    Thursday   7   Much Ado about Nothing Act 1

    Monday   11*  Much Ado about Nothing Acts 2-3
    Journals and commonplace books will be collected; 5 journal entries/50 lines expected.

    Wednesday   13  Much Ado about Nothing Acts 4-5

    Thursday   14  "Much Ado about Nothing: A Modern Perspective," in Folger Errors, 179-195.
        Merchant of Venice, Act 1

    Monday 18  Merchant, Acts 2-4

    Wednesday   20  Merchant of Venice, Act 5

    Thursday   21*  "Merchant of Venice: A Modern Perspective" in Folger Much Ado    Test 1. Bring a blue test book to class.

    Below: Claudio, Deceived by Don John, Accuses Hero by Marcus Stone

    Monday   25  Measure for Measure Acts 1-2

    Wednesday   27  Measure for Measure Acts 3-4

    Thursday   28  Measure for Measure Act 5; " Measure for Measure: A Modern Perspective" in Folger Merchant

    Friday   29   Water Works Theatre Company ragtime production of Twelfth Night opens in Starr Jaycee Park in Royal Oak; runs through August 8.

    August 

    Monday   1  King Lear Acts 1-2

    Wednesday   3  King Lear Acts 3-4
    For fun (or comic relief), see Richard Nathan's parody of King Lear, "How Sharper than a Serpent's Tooth"

    Thursday*   4  King Lear Act 5; "King Lear: A Modern Perspective" in Folger Lear
        Journals and commonplace books will be collected. (11 entries/110 lines)

    Monday   8  The Winter's Tale, Acts 1-3.3

    Wednesday   10  WT, Acts 3.4-5

    Thursday   11  "The Winter's Tale: A Modern Perspective," in Folger WT. Last class meeting.

    Tuesday   16  Test 2: 8:00 - 11:00 AM

    Below: John Fawcett as Autolycus in "The Winter's Tale" by Thomas Charles Wageman, 1828

    Th   17  and afterward: Have happy literate lives!


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