Course syllabus

Course Coordinator, Lecturer and Tutor 

Dr Sophie Tomlinson:  s.tomlinson@auckland.ac.nz

Arts 1, Room 635, ex. 87345

Office hour: Monday 3-4 pm, or by appointment.

• Invited Lecturer

Dr Andrew Forsberg

CLASS REP: Peter Winkelmann

pwin507@aucklanduni.ac.nz

 

Please direct course-related questions to Sophie. Please note I work part-time, so cannot always answer emails immediately. Messages should contain an address line (‘Dear Sophie’) and a signature with your student ID.

 

Course delivery format

2 hours of lectures and 1 hour of tutorial

Lectures: Monday 2-3; Tuesday 1-2, both in Arts 209

Tutorials: Tuesday 11-12, Arts 202; Tues 2-3 Arts 301

 

Tutorials begin in week 2. Please note there are NO TUTORIALS in week 9, Tuesday 3 October!

 

Course Overview

This course investigates ways in which directors have adapted Shakespeare’s plays to the film or television screen. Its basis is the reading, viewing and analysis of five plays chosen to illustrate the various genres and periods of Shakespeare’s career and different styles of production and adaptation.

The main emphasis is on the ‘language’ of Shakespearian drama, movies and TV in the broad sense, which includes everything that is seen and heard. Special emphasis will be placed on directors’ use of shot, scene and sequence, which contributes to their distinctive film rhetorics.

Plays of Shakespeare to be examined are, in order of teaching: Titus Andronicus, Romeo and Juliet, The Merchant of Venice, Julius Caesar and Macbeth. Excerpts will be shown from others.

Through the audio-visual collection of the University Library, it is possible to view contrasting versions of almost all Shakespeare’s plays, and the examination and coursework enable students to write about many of these. So the course offers a chance greatly to extend the range of Shakespearian drama with which students are familiar.

 

Jessica Lange as Tamora as Revenge in Taymor’s Titus (2000)

 

Course Goals

By the end of this course students should:

• have a sound familiarity with the texts of the five set plays, including the original language of those plays.
• be able to identify and discuss the following six key aspects of a Shakespearean film / tv adaptation: script, direction, camera, acting, music and editing.
• appreciate and be equipped to discuss the diverse theatrical, televisual and cinematic pleasures offered by the works we study.
• be in an informed position to discuss the creative and cultural value of Shakespeare on Screen.
• have an enhanced ability to construct a critical argument in essay form, documenting their research through a scholarly bibliography or List of Works Cited.

 

Viewing/Texts

 

Prescribed texts:

William Shakespeare: Titus Andronicus (Oxford Shakespeare), Julius Caesar (Oxford Shakespeare), The Merchant of Venice (RSC Shakespeare) , Macbeth (Pelican Shakespeare), Romeo and Juliet (Pelican Shakespeare).

Strongly recommended text: Samuel Crowl, Shakespeare and Film (Norton)

 

Prescribed films:

Titus Andronicus: Dir. Howell, BBC TV (1985); Dir. Taymor, Titus (2000).

Julius Caesar: Dir. Mankiewicz (1953); Dir. Doran (2012).

The Merchant of Venice: Dir. Sichel (1974); Dir. Hoppox (1996); Dir. Nunn BBC / National Theatre (2001); Dir. Radford (2004).

Romeo and Juliet: Dir. Zeffirelli (1968); Dir. Luhrmann (1996).

Macbeth: Dir. Welles (1948); Dir. Kurosawa, Throne of Blood (1957); Dir. Polanski (1971).

 

To watch a DVD in the General Library, give the catalogue number to a librarian at the issue desk on the ground floor. They will issue you with the DVD and a set of headphones. There are carrels with computers dedicated to watching audio-visual material behind the stairs on the ground floor.

 

Assessment

 

Tutorial tests:  5 x 2% = 10 %.

 

These will be held on alternating tutorial weeks, starting in week 3 and falling thereafter in weeks 5, 7, 8 and 11.  The tests are short, ideally to be completed within a couple of minutes, but you will have plenty of time. They are intended to help you make sure your comprehension of the plays is adequate. Owing to the administrative work entailed in setting and marking the tests, it is not possible to sit tests outside of tutorial hours.

 

Essay 1                        20 %   1500 words      DUE MONDAY 21 AUGUST

Essay 2                        30 %   2000 words      DUE MONDAY 9 OCTOBER

 

Together these are worth a substantial part of your overall grade (50%).

 

 

Exam:              worth 40 % of your final grade, you must sit the exam or else you can not pass this course. It will be a two hour, closed book exam, that is, you may not take any text of any sort in with you.

 

 

Presentation

 

Essays should be set in a legible, black typeface of 12 pt with double spacing between lines and a 6 cm left-hand margin. Failure to adhere to these minimum standards will mean you will not receive the level of feedback your coursework deserves. Each page should be numbered and carry your name in the top right-hand corner. Please print on only one side of the page. Your stapled hard copy and digital copy must be identical.

Referencing

You may use Chicago or MLA referencing formats. Parenthetic or footnote variations of Chicago are equally acceptable. If you are in doubt about referencing please consult:

http: //cite.auckland.ac.nz

 

Submitting coursework / Turnitin

Your feedback and grade will be written upon your hard copy, which is to be submitted by 4 pm on the due date via the pigeonholes next to the main reception of Arts 1 (level 3). Please don’t forget to generate a coversheet via CANVAS for your hard copy. You must also submit an identical digital copy via Turnitin. Both electronic and hardcopy submissions must be made before the assignment deadline expires.

 

Plagiarism

You will likely have had to complete the ‘Academic Integrity’ course at some stage:

https://www.academicintegrity.auckland.ac.nz/

 

Plagiarism is the unacknowledged inclusion of material from the work of a critic, scholar or fellow student in an essay submitted for assessment, and regardless of whether it is from an online, print, or other source.  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, or even disciplinary action by the University. 

If you are at all unfamiliar with this notion, you ought immediately to consult the information at the above link, and complete the ‘Academic Integrity’ unit. If you are still in doubt, please contact your tutor.

 

 

Extensions

If you are unable to hand in an assignment by the due date you must put your case for an extension to your tutor. If granted, you will need to attach the notice from your tutor to your hard copy and submit it before your new due date. Under all but the most extraordinary conditions, you ought to arrange for your extension before the due date.  Extensions are granted for compelling reasons only, such as illness and unforeseen emergencies. A Doctor’s certificate, or equivalent, is usually required. Any work handed in late without an extension will not be marked. In short: if you know your work will be, or is, late, please get in touch with your tutor at the first available opportunity.

 

Canvas and student email

Notices, resources, assignments, tutorial readings, and so on, will be distributed via Canvas. As such, it is important that you check your student email routinely. You may wish to consider setting your student email to forward all mail to your regular email address during term time:

http://www/library.auckland.ac.nz/services/it-essentials/email#forwarding

 

Course requirements and attendance

This course is taught through twice-weekly lectures and a weekly tutorial. Attendance is expected, to both the lectures and your tutorial. You are also expected to have read and viewed the appropriate set text and film beforehand. If for whatever reason you cannot make a class, please email Sophie. The University of Auckland's expectation for 15-point courses is that students spend 10 hours per week on the course. This leaves seven hours per week outside the classroom to prepare for tutorials, assignments and the exam.

 

WEEKLY LECTURE AND VIEWING SCHEDULE

 

Week 1

Introduction

Titus Andronicus – mise en scène

WATCH Titus Andronicus, directed Jane Howell (BBC TV 1985)

Week 2

Titus Andronicus

Titus Andronicus

WATCH Titus, directed Julie Taymor (2000)

TUTORIALS BEGIN THIS TUESDAY!

Week 3

Titus Andronicus

Romeo and Juliet

WATCH Romeo and Juliet, directed Zeffirelli (1968)

Tutorial test # 1 on Titus Andronicus

Week 4

Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet

WATCH Romeo + Juliet, directed Luhrmann (1996)

Week 5

Romeo and Juliet

The Merchant of Venice - Antonio

WATCH The Merchant of Venice, directed Sichel (1974)

Tutorial test #2 on Romeo and Juliet

ASSIGNMENT 1 DUE MONDAY 21 AUGUST!

 Week 6

The Merchant of Venice – Shylock

The Merchant of Venice – Jessica and Lorenzo

WATCH Merchant of Venice, directed Radford (2004)

 

MID-SEMESTER BREAK

 

Week 7

The Merchant of Venice – Portia

Julius Caesar

WATCH Julius Caesar, directed Mankiewicz (1953)

Tutorial test # 3 this week on Merchant of Venice

Week 8

Julius Caesar

Julius Caesar

WATCH Julius Caesar, directed Doran (2012)

Tutorial test #4 this week on Julius Caesar

Week 9

Julius Caesar

Macbeth

WATCH Macbeth, directed Welles (1948)

NO TUTES THIS WEEK  - WORK ON ASSIGNMENT!

Week 10

Macbeth

Macbeth

WATCH Throne of Blood, directed Kurosawa (1957)

ASSIGNMENT 2 DUE WEDNESDAY 11 OCTOBER!

 Week 11

Macbeth

Macbeth, with Prof. Peter Holbrook, Alice Griffin Shakespeare Fellow

WATCH Macbeth, directed Polanski (1971)

Tutorial test # 5 on Macbeth

Week 12

Labour Day 23 October – no lecture, public holiday

Wrap Up and exam prep

WATCH Macbeth, directed Kurzel (2015)

Last tutorials Tuesday 25 October

 

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