Shakespeare

One-semester course. In this course, students will read through a selection of some of Shakespeare’s most popular and enduring plays. The course runs on a four-year cycle. New plays based on a common theme will be read each year of the cycle. Students will read and discuss the plays, answering and asking questions about the characters, plot, setting, style, and language of the works, as well as the distinctive features of that year’s theme. In addition, selected passages will be available for dramatic readings in class. Students will consider Shakespeare within the context of his own time, examine the influences and sources Shakespeare drew from, and observe the legacy of these plays down to our own time.