In this course, reading is our most important and most difficult task. The plays are not easy, and require careful and sometimes multiple readings. Be aware that reading drama from almost four hundred years ago calls on lots of resources – we need to battle the language, we need to immerse ourselves in the culture. I expect it to be difficult, and I expect you to read with care.

You are responsible for finding copies of the 3 assigned videos. They can be rented at video stores or through Netflix. I strongly encourage you to include watching the plays in your plans for working in the course.  The three videos are

Upon successful completion of the course, each participant should be able to:

• Identify the literary, cultural, historical, and political impact of Shakespeare and his writing in the 1590-1620 time period and afterward.
• Apply a variety of reading strategies, including recognizing the meaning of words in context, learning to skim and scan materials, making inferences, recognizing the organizational structure of texts, etc.
• Learn the vocabulary related to literary analysis and literature as they apply to Early Modern drama and sonnets.
• Recognize the value of multiple perspectives and develop competence in giving and receiving constructive criticism.
• Demonstrate advanced writing processes including generating ideas, gathering, evaluating, and organizing material; drafting, revising, editing and proofreading text.
• Integrate and compare the knowledge from this course with other literature courses and the larger world.