English 2530:
Shakespeare's Tragedies & Histories

TV Course / Spring 1999

Professor: Dr. Ace G. Pilkington

Office: MC 224
Office Hours: MWF 1:00-3:00 p.m., TR noon-2:00 p.m. & by appointment
Office Phone: 652-7809
Fax: 656-7809
E-Mail: pilkingt@cc.dixie.edu

Dudley Knight as Falstaff in the
Utah Shakespearean Festival`s 1996
production of Henry IV Part 1

SCHEDULED AIRING OF CLASS SESSIONS:

This course will be aired on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at 8:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. You may either watch the class sessions at those times, set your VCRs to tape the class sessions, or come to the college library, where a videotaped copy of the class presentations will be available.

CONTACTING ME:

You may ask questions about the class, the plays, and your progress by:

  • Coming to my office or calling me during office hours (MWF 1:00-3:00 p.m., TR noon-2:00 p.m). You may also leave a telephone message on my voice mail, and I will get back to you as soon as possible.

  • Sending me e-mail.

GOALS

English 2530 will introduce you to Shakespeare's plays, his theatre, his times, and his vision of English history. The class will work equally well (I hope) for those who are new to Shakespeare and those who are "native here and to the manner born." The main purpose of English 2530 is to help you enjoy Shakespeare's work as literature (We'll look at plot, language, ideas, and historical background.) and as theatre (You will be expected to watch videotaped productions available in the Dixie College Library and, in some cases, from local video-rental stores). The class should also (as most literature classes do) increase your understanding of yourself and others, broaden your experience of history and the world, and provide you with images of man that illuminate the perils and possibilities of humanness.

Students who successfully complete this or other literature classes will be able to do the following:

Enjoy, appreciate, and evaluate representative literature
Think, speak, and write critically about the literature studied
Demonstrate their understanding by analyzing various aspects of literature.

TEXTS

GRADES are based on the following:

  • 1. Tests: This class will require you to take four tests, each worth one hundred points, which will contain multiple choice and essay questions. All tests will be taken in the Dixie College Testing Center (Room 210 in the Browning Building [telephone extention--7692])

The first test will be available in the Testing Center from 29 January to 4 February and will cover Richard II, Henry IV Part 1, material from Screening Shakespeare, and from our class sessions up to that point. (See READING AND VIEWING ASSIGNMENTS, below.)

The second test will be available in the Testing Center from 19 February to 27 February and will cover Henry IV Part 2, Henry V, material from Screening Shakespeare, and from our class sessions between the first test and the second. (See READING AND VIEWING ASSIGNMENTS, below.)

The third test will be available in the Testing Center from 25 March to 1 April and will cover The Merry Wives of Windsor, Othello, material from Shakespeare’s Tragedies & Histories: The Text, and from our class sessions between the second test and the third. (See READING AND VIEWING ASSIGNMENTS, below.)

The fourth test will be available in the Testing Center during the time scheduled for final exams (4-6 May) and will cover Hamlet, Macbeth, material from Shakespeare’s Tragedies & Histories: The Text, and from our class sessions between the third and fourth tests. (See READING AND VIEWING ASSIGNMENTS, below.)

  • 2. One short paper (500-700 words): Typed, double-spaced, correctly punctuated and so forth, using one of the possible essay questions in Shakespeare's Tragedies & Histories: The Text as your thesis. This assignment is due two weeks before the semester ends.
  • 3. Extra Credit: Reading any of the titles on the extra credit book list, writing a 100 word reaction to it, and discussing it with me is worth 5 points (unless it is marked otherwise). Writing a 500 word paper (typed, double-spaced) is worth 5 points for the paper, plus 5 points for the book, and no discussion is necessary. You may earn up to 20 points of extra credit in this way. All extra credit must be in two weeks before the semester ends.

NUMERICAL-LETTER GRADE EQUIVALENTS

95-100 = A
90-94 = A-
86-89 = B+
83-85 = B
80-82 = B-
76-79 = C+
73-75 = C
70-72 = C-
66-69 = D+
63-65 = D
60-62 = D-
0-59 = F

 

READING AND VIEWING ASSIGNMENTS

11-27 JANUARY:

  • Reading assignments: You should read Richard II and Henry IV Part 1, as well as the following chapters from Screening Shakespeare: Ch. 3 ("The BBC Richard II"), Ch. 4 ("The BBC First and Second Henry IV"), and Ch. 7 ("Orson Welles and Chimes at Midnight") In addition, you should take a look at the quotes and possible essay questions for Richard II and Henry IV Part 1 in Shakespeare's Tragedies & Histories: The Text.

  • Viewing assignments: You should watch Orson Welles' Chimes at Midnight and the BBC productions of Richard II and Henry IV Part 1. These videos are on reserve at the Dixie College Library.

22 JANUARY - 19 FEBRUARY:

  • Reading assignments: You should read Henry I Part 2 and Henry V, as well as the following chapters from Screening Shakespeare: Ch. 5 ("The BBC Henry V"), Ch. 6 ("Laurence Olivier's Henry V"), and you should also review chapters 4 and 7, which you read for the previous test. In addition, you should take a look at the quotes and possible essay questions for Henry IV Part 2 and Henry V in Shakespeare's Tragedies & Histories: The Text.

  • Viewing assignments: You should watch Laurence Olivier's Henry V and the BBC productions of Henry IV Part 2 and Henry V. You should also review Orson Welles' Chimes at Midnight, which you watched for the previous test. These videos are on reserve at the Dixie College Library.

22 FEBRUARY - 24 MARCH:

  • Reading assignments: You should read The Merry Wives of Windsor and Othello, as well as the following material from Shakespeare's Tragedies & Histories: The Text: "The John Falstaff of The Merry Wives of Windsor" (pages 23-25), "Definitions: Tragedy" (page 28), "Othello's Stature: Three Filmed Versions of the Moor" (pages 29-38). In addition, you should take a look at the quotes and possible essay questions for Merry Wives and Othello in Shakespeare's Tragedies & Histories: The Text.

  • Viewing assignments: You should watch the BBC production of Merry Wives, and the Bard and Laurence Olivier versions of Othello. These videos are on reserve at the Dixie College Library.

29 MARCH - 3 MAY:

  • Reading assignments: You should read Macbeth and Hamlet, as well as the following material from Shakespeare's Tragedies & Histories: The Text: "The Good Ghost and the Bad Witches: Supernatural Ambiguities in Hamlet and Macbeth" (pages 68-75), "Macbeth: An Analysis of Scenes" (pages 78-80), "Hamlet for the General: The Films of Kline, Olivier, and Zeffirelli" (pages 42-49), and "Zeffirelli's Shakespeare" (pages 50-64). In addition, you should take a look at the quotes and possible essay questions for Macbeth and Hamlet in Shakespeare's Tragedies & Histories: The Text.

  • Viewing assignments: You should watch the BBC productions of Macbeth and Hamlet, as well as the Bard Macbeth and the Mel Gibson (Zeffirelli) Hamlet These videos are on reserve at the Dixie College Library; the Mel Gibson Hamlet is also available in local video-rental stores.

Copyright © 1999 by Ace G. Pilkington