Shakespeare: We the Players

"All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players" (As You Like It, II.vii). Shakespeare shows us, as in a mirror, the nature of ourselves. In our study of the works of the great playwright, we will dwell upon the mighty words of Hamlet, Puck, and Beatrice - and glean warnings from the dark deeds of the Macbeths and the ardor of Romeo and Juliet. In the midst of our truth-seeking, we shall focus on the key themes of Virtue, Veils, Fate, and Deus Ex Machina. Students will create sonnets and speeches in imitation of a theme or character from one of the plays, and be expected to have familiarity with poetic analysis, interpretation, and synthesis as we will continue to sharpen their minds in the art of reading poetry.

This 32-week course will be 4, 8-week quarters. There will be a weekly reading required before attending a live lecture and class discussion time each Tuesday. There will be weekly quizzes, two research papers, and four poetry projects required for the year.

Note to Parents: Several of these plays contain mature themes and content, which will be discussed to some extent in our class time. Be prepared for the candid discussions that are to come.

Course Objectives:

1. Gain a strong working knowledge of Shakespearean language and forms of writing.
2. Analyze speeches to detect key ideas, underlying truths, and great ideas.
3. Discover the Biblical basis of Shakespeare’s themes.
4. Demonstrate proficiency in the use of poetic devices and the development of rhyme schemes.
5. Understand and implement iambic pentameter in poetic writing.
6. Delight in the power of words.

Texts:

• A Midsummer Night's Dream
• Macbeth
• Much Ado About Nothing
• Hamlet
• Romeo and Juliet
• Twelfth Night
• Henry V
• The Bible
• Immortal Poems of the English Language by Oscar Williams 978-0671496104

Note: All plays are available for free as public domain. You may print them off and staple together, or purchase separate volumes or an anthology. Versions with footnotes are helpful, but they can be distracting. Every editor has a way of imposing their own view on the text. As such, I recommend ignoring notes until a first read-through of the scene is completed.

Required Materials:

• A binder for printed handouts and loose pages
• An elegant notebook for poetry writing
• A printer equipped with a scanner for submitting handwritten work.