Intro to Shakespeare

The work of William Shakespeare is considered to be some of the greatest English literature of all time and is a compulsory area of study once students reach secondary school. This course is intended to give students information on Shakespeare’s life, the language techniques he employed in his works, and an overview of some of his most famous comedies and tragedies. This will allow students, once they tackle these works in the future, to have a head start of understanding, analysis, and most importantly, appreciation of Shakespeare’s era, plays and poems.

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Areas of Focus:

• The historical context of the Elizabethan and Jacobian Eras
• The life of William Shakespeare
• Past and modern theatre practices
• An investigation of Shakespeare’s poetry and language
• An exploration of some of Shakespeare’s most well-known plays

Class Schedule:

1. WEEK ONE: William Shakespeare and How He Uses Words
2. WEEK TWO: Shakespeare’s Sonnets and Plays
3. WEEK THREE: Comedies and Gender
4. WEEK FOUR: Tragedies and Fate

There are nopre-requisites required for this course. The students are expected to have aworking camera and microphone for in-class discussion and presentation. Therewill be streaming video during this course, so students should be on a machinethat allows them to watch streaming video adequately.

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HomeworkRequirements:

The studentswill be given weekly homework assignments based on the double lesson beingtaught that week. Only students who hand in their homework on time will begiven written feedback on their assignments.

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