Course syllabus
ENGLISH 265
The Age of Shakespeare: Comedies and Tragicomedies
Course Information Semester 1, 2017
Lecture times:
Time: M & W 12-1
Location: 303 (Math and Physics) 102
Professor Tom Bishop Dr Sophie Tomlinson
Email: t.bishop@auckland.ac.nz Email: s.tomlinson@auckland.ac.nz Office hrs: Mon 3.15-4.15 pm, Ths 11.15-12.15
Guest lecturer:
Dr. Sally Hoare
Course Content
This introduction to the golden age of English theatre involves detailed study of six of Shakespeare’s comedies and two by his contemporaries, Thomas Middleton and Thomas Dekker. Lectures will address the origins, nature, and kinds of comic drama. You will be encouraged to think across texts as well as to engage in close analysis of individual plays. Shakespeare’s early work is represented by The Comedy of Errors and The Taming of the Shrew, and his romantic comedy by As You Like It. Measure for Measure represents one of his mid-career ‘problem’ plays, and The Winter’s Tale and The Tempest his late ‘romance’ style. We will read Middleton’s A Chaste Maid in Cheapside and Middleton and Dekker's The Roaring Girl as examples of London city comedy.
Aims and Outcomes
By the end of this course students should
- have an enhanced ability to read and understand early modern English verse and prose;
- be aware of traditions of stage performance in early modern England;
- be able to recognize and discuss some important features and changes in English society and culture across this period;
- have familiarity with typical features and structures of early modern comedies;
- have an improved ability to discuss and compare literature from this period using critical and scholarly resources.
Set Texts
William Shakespeare: The Comedy of Errors, ed. Wells (Oxford, 1995),
The Taming of the Shrew, ed. Oliver (Oxford, 2008),
As You Like It, ed. Brissenden (Oxford, 2008),
Measure For Measure, ed. Snyder (Oxford, 2008),
The Winter’s Tale, ed. Orgel (Oxford, 2008),
The Tempest, ed. Orgel (Oxford, 2008).
Thomas Middleton: A Chaste Maid in Cheapside, ed. Brissenden (New Mermaids, 2007)
Thomas Dekker and Middleton: The Roaring Girl, ed. Cook (New Mermaids, 2008)
It is not essential that you acquire these specific editions but you must bring a printed copy of each play to tutorials. Make sure that your edition offers a good set of annotations and an introduction. Since you will be allowed to take play texts into the exam you should be careful that any marginal notes you make are minimal and cannot be construed as an essay draft, or are erasable.
Recommended Reading
Matthew Bevis, Comedy: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford)
Andrew McRae, Renaissance Drama (Arnold)
Andrew Gurr, The Shakespearean Stage, fourth ed. (Cambridge)
Sean McEvoy, Shakespeare: The Basics (Routledge)
Russ McDonald, ed., The Bedford Companion to Shakespeare: An Introduction with Documents (Bedford/St Martins).
AV Resources
Videos/DVDs of all the Shakespeare plays on the course are in the Library collection and are held at the main desk. Some productions are also available online through the library catalogue.
Teaching Format
This course is taught through lectures and tutorials. English 265 is taught concurrently with English 310. Students for both courses attend the same lectures, but attend different tutorials and follow a distinct method of assessment appropriate to each level.
Expectations of Students
Students are expected to attend all lectures and to attend and participate in weekly tutorials having read the set text beforehand. Students must dedicate a minimum of ten hours per week to this course and coursework must be submitted on time. You should understand that the course is to be regarded as a whole, and during the semester you are expected to study all the prescribed texts. Not only will your reading of individual plays become more rewarding as you develop a sense of the context in which they were written and are able to compare them with one another, but credit will be given to students whose work in the examination and during the year demonstrates an attempt to come to terms with the course as a whole.
Tutorial Programme
Before the course begins you should have enrolled in a tutorial which suits your timetable.
Weekly tutorials begin in the second week. Attendance at tutorials is an essential part of the course and a high degree of class participation is expected. As well as reading the assigned text, you must bring a hard copy to your tutorial.
ASSESSMENT INFORMATION
Coursework
Tutorial exercises (10 x 1%) 10%
One close reading (first) essay (1200 words) 15%
One single-play (second) essay – 1500 words 25%
Final Examination (2 hours): 50%
The form of the exam will be as follows.
You must answer 2 questions:
Section A – ONE comparative question, discussing at least TWO plays.
Section B – ONE questions on an individual play.
You must answer TWO questions: ONE COMPARATIVE question from SECTION A and ONE from SECTION B on individual plays.
In Section B you will not be allowed to write on the plays to which you principally refer in your Section A answer.
You may not write in the exam on either of the two texts which formed the focus of your two essays submitted for coursework.
You may not duplicate any material within the exam.
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Please note that the exam will be a ‘restricted book’ exam. Under this provision candidates may take into the examination room material specified by the examiner. In the case of this paper you will be permitted to bring professionally printed editions of the plays you intend writing about. Downloaded electronic editions will not be acceptable. Texts may be written on and/or marked in a way that facilitates the quick location of relevant passages only, but students must be scrupulous in removing any notations that could be construed as an essay outline.
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STAGE TWO COURSEWORK:
Assignment One – due noon Friday March 31: 1200 words
Write a detailed critical analysis of EITHER of the following passages. Pay close attention to the style of the passage (imagery, vocabulary, syntax, metre, and rhythm) and consider how this contributes to its dramatic effect. Discuss any other points of interest in the passage’s dramatic technique, such as implied action, and consider what the passage may reveal about the character and role of its speaker(s). What is the passage’s function in the work as a whole? How does it engage the audience’s interest and advance the plot? How does it contribute to the larger themes of the play?
NOTE: Line and scene numbering may vary from one edition to another: the opening and closing words are given as a guide; if they do not match your text, consult the set edition, or ask your tutor to help you identify the right passage.
The Comedy of Errors: Act 2, scene 2, lines 26-39 (Antipholus: Because that I familiarly sometimes…. But pray, sir, why am I beaten?)
The Taming of the Shrew: Act 1, scene 2, lines 192-206 (Gremio: But will you woo this wildcat … For he fears none.’
The aim of this exercise is to help you develop skills in analysing, and writing about dramatic verse. Much of the close work done in tutorials will be focused on this activity. Two textbooks provide helpful guidance to analysing Shakespeare’s language: Sean McEvoy, Shakespeare: The Basics (Routledge, 2000) and Reading Shakespeare’s Dramatic Language: A Guide, ed. Sylvia Adamson et al (The Arden Shakespeare, 2001). The latter is pitched more ambitiously than the clearly introductory Shakespeare: The Basics, and contains a particularly useful ‘A-Z of Rhetorical Terms’ as an appendix.
Assignment Two – due noon Friday 19 May.
An essay of approximately 1500 words on a single play. A selection of topics will be posted on Canvas early in the semester.
Presentation of Assignments
Assignments must be typed in 12-point font with 1½ spacing between lines and a generous margin for comments (make this at least 6cm). Each page should be numbered and carry your name on the top right-hand corner. Please print on one side of the paper only.
Referencing
For guidance on citation style go to http://www.library.auckland.ac.nz/study-skills/referencing. Your assignment must include a bibliography.
Procedures for submission of coursework
Students must submit an electronic copy of their assignment to Turnitin.com via Canvas and also place a hard copy with a cover sheet in the essay box in the Level 3 foyer of the Arts 1 Building. Please write your own, and your tutor’s name and tutorial time clearly on the cover sheet, and sign the declaration concerning plagiarism in the left hand corner. Both electronic and hard copy submissions must be made before the assignment deadline expires. Assignments not submitted to Turnitin via Canvas cannot be marked and will not receive any credit towards coursework.
Policy on Extensions and Late Assignments
If you are unable to hand in your assignment by the due date, you MUST put your case for an extension, preferably via a face-to-face meeting with your tutor. Extensions will only be granted for compelling reasons and a doctor’s certificate (or equivalent evidence) may be required. An extension must be requested in advance of the due date for the assignment, unless there is a genuine cause preventing this, in which case the extension should be sought as soon as is practicable after the due date. Any work handed in late without an extension will not be marked. If for any reason you are not able to hand in work, you MUST speak to your tutor, rather than just going missing.
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is the unacknowledged inclusion of material taken from the Internet or from the work of a critic/scholar or a fellow student in an essay submitted for assessment. As plagiarism makes it impossible to appreciate an essay as the writer’s own thinking and performance it is treated severely by the University and the English Department: it is likely to result in no marks for the particular assignment and may mean that a mark of zero will be awarded for overall coursework in the paper. Please note the following University policy on plagiarism:
‘The University of Auckland will not tolerate cheating, or assisting others to cheat, and views cheating in coursework as a serious academic offence. The work that a student submits for grading must be the student’s own work, reflecting his or her learning. Where work from other sources is used, it must be properly acknowledged and referenced. This requirement also applies to sources on the world-wide web. A student’s assessed work may be reviewed against electronic source material using computerised detection mechanisms. Upon reasonable request, students may be required to provide an electronic version of their work for computerised review.’
It is imperative students understand plagiarism before they commence their assignments. For guidance on this matter refer to the University’s Guidelines to the Conduct of Coursework, which can be accessed via
In addition, the University offers an on-line tutorial, accessible through the following site:
https://www.academicintegrity.auckland.ac.nz
Other Resources
Guides to Library sources for all undergraduate papers in English are available from the LEARN home page: follow the links from
and enter the course English 265.
Reading lists and announcements for this paper are regularly posted on Canvas. The University’s policy is that all communication with students is via their University email address – please check your university email address regularly.
Getting Help
If you need help or advice, approach your tutor in the first instance. Your tutor’s weekly office hour and room location will be posted on Canvas in the first week of the semester. Appointments can also be made for other times. We like to think we are approachable and can offer practical guidance to students who are experiencing difficulties with course work. One important resource which students often overlook is the English Department’s A Guide to Writing Essays, a handbook tailored to the specific needs of English students. It is posted on Canvas for Week One.
Course summary:
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