LITR 210 - Introduction to Shakespeare | GEKH

LITR 210 allows students to explore the creative imagination of one of the most influential geniuses of western culture, William Shakespeare, as well as the cultural environment- Elizabethan and Jacobean London- that stimulated and shaped it. LITR 210 is designed to provide students who love literature- and have an interest in learning more about Shakespeare - with a framework for thinking critically about Shakespeare’s writing. Students will conduct formal analysis of plays, as well as more critical analysis of the surrounding history and language associated with his work. Students will not only develop a sense of Shakespeare’s plays as theatrical productions, they also interact with the plays as literary texts, developing interpretations of character motivation, exchanging ideas on possible themes and dramatic conflicts and comparing and contrasting one play with another. In this intensive introduction to Shakespeare’s dramatic and lyric writing, course readings focus on exposing students to Shakespeare’s different genres of writing, locating his drama in the cultural contexts in which they were produced. Because Shakespeare has been such an influence on many writers throughout the centuries, the study of his work provides the opportunity to study how different literary and dramatic tastes evolve through time.

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