English 2520:
Shakespeare's Comedies & Romances

Professor: Dr. Ace G. Pilkington

Office: MC 224
Office Phone: 652-7809
E-Mail: pilkingt@cc.dixie.edu

Carol Johnson (left) as Olivia and
Gary Armagnac as Sir Toby Belch in the
Utah Shakespearean Festival`s 1997
production of Twelfth Night.

GOALS:

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.

English 2520 will introduce you to Shakespeare's plays, his theatre, and his times. 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 2520 is to help you enjoy Shakespeare's work as literature (We'll look at plot, language, and ideas.) and as theatre (We will see actual productions and discuss possible ones). 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.

TEXTS:

GRADES are based on the following:

  • 1. Four tests, each worth one hundred points, which will contain multiple choice and essay questions: The first test will come approximately three weeks into the semester and will cover The Taming of the Shrew, Much Ado About Nothing, material from Shakespeare's Comedies & Romances: The Text, and our classroom discussions up to that point. The second test will come approximately six weeks into the semester and will cover Measure for Measure, Merchant of Venice, material from Shakespeare's Comedies & Romances: The Text, and our classroom discussions from the first test to the second. The third test will come approximately ten weeks into the semester and will cover Twelfth Night, The Winter's Tale, material from Shakespeare's Comedies & Romances: The Text, and our classroom discussions between the second test and the third. The fourth test will come during the time scheduled for our final and will cover A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Tempest, material from Shakespeare's Comedies & Romances: The Text, and our classroom discussions between the third and fourth tests.
  • 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 Comedies & Romances: The Text as your thesis.
  • 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.
  • 4. Attendance: Although I expect you to attend class, I will not penalize you for a reasonable number of absences. However, at the point when you miss more than half the class sessions, you also miss passing the class. Each play will be allotted approximately two weeks of class time.

NOTE: Test dates will be announced well in advance, and there will always be a review on the day before the test. If you miss a test without having made arrangements beforehand, college policy requires that you pay a makeup fee.

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

Copyright © 1998 by Ace G. Pilkington