In this course, we will read four of Shakespeare’s plays and his sonnets through a variety of lenses to consider the aesthetic and cultural work of Shakespeare, as well as the impact of his legacy on literature. We will consider problems of performance, adaptation, form, structure, and textual reliability. Our themes of order and chaos will emerge through discussion of Shakespeare’s representations of politics, marriage, gender, families, and social structures. Requirements include regular participation, weekly short response papers, two medium–length essays, and sonnet memorization.

Texts (all Shakespeare):
• As You Like It (Broadview Press), 9781554810529
• Henry V (New Cambridge Shakespeare), 9780521612647
• King Lear (Broadview Press), 9781551119670
• Hamlet (Oxford World's Classics), 9780199535811
• Complete Sonnets and Poems (Oxford World's Classics), 9780199535798