Writing Course Review Form (1/12)
I. General Education Review – Writing Course
Dept/Program
Course # (i.e. ENEX
English Literature
Subject
200)
Shakespeare
Course Title
Shakespeare and Film
FILM 320
II. Endorsement/Approvals
Complete the form and obtain signatures before submitting to Faculty Senate Office.
Please type / print name Signature
Instructor
s/
Casey Charles
Phone / Email
2762
Program Chair
Bergman
Dean
Comer
III. Type of request
New
X
One-time Only
Reason for new course, change or deletion
Change
Date
9/11/12
Remove
IV Overview of the Course Purpose/ Description: Provide an introduction to the subject
matter and course content.
This course familiarizes students with a selection of Shakespeare’s plays, the current critical
discourse in relation to Shakespeare studies, and the principles of adaptation of Shakespeare
from textual sources to staging to film. In this class students study salient Shakespeare plays—
including most often Taming of the Shrew, Romeo and Juliet, Midsummer Night’s Dream,
Richard III, Hamlet, Macbeth, Othello—in relation to their film adaptations by directors as
diverse as Olivier, Zeffirelli, Kurosawa, Polanski, and Wells. Students study film terminology
and theory and Shakespeare criticism, as a means of studying how filmmakers interpret the
plays through their adaptations.
V Learning Outcomes: Explain how each of the following learning outcomes will be achieved.
Students write two 2-3 page response papers,
Student learning outcomes :
a 5-7 page essay to be rewritten for an
Use writing to learn and synthesize new
entirely new grade, and a 10-12 page final
concepts
essay. Students write short responses in class
in conjunction with quizzes, for purposes of
examining students’ in-class writing skills. In
these assignments students are asked to
undertake theoretically informed close
readings of the text, in relation to the
interpretation by film by directors like
Polanski, Kurosawa, of Welles.
Formulate and express written opinions and
ideas that are developed, logical, and
organized
Compose written documents that are
appropriate for a given audience, purpose and
context
Revise written work based on constructive
comments from the instructor
Find, evaluate, and use information
effectively and ethically (see
http://www.lib.umt.edu/informationliteracy/)
Begin to use discipline-specific writing
conventions
Essays must have focused thesis statements
that allow close reading of passages in
relation to current critical conversations.
Students are graded on the ability to develop
topic sentences that expand upon their theses
and provide evidence for the main ideas of
those topic sentences through quotation and
analysis of the specifics of plot, poetic
expression, imagery, metaphor, and allusion.
In addition this analysis must relate to the
central critical argument of the essay. In the
case of the film course, students must analyze
scenes in relation to the critical vocabulary of
film studies, including in this case, the
discourse of adaptation.
Students read sections of critical essays about
the plays and/or film analysis as well as
articles about current conversations in
Renaissance studies. These readings give
student models for the formal conventions of
the critical essay in literary studies and more
particularly the critical modes in film studies.
The first paper must be re-written for an
entirely new grade and the two grades are
averaged. This assignment involves 10-14
pages of writing. Students are graded on
their ability to assimilate the instructor’s
comments. In the case of students who are
particularly challenged by the writing
assignments, the instructor works one-on-one
with the student to give the student the
opportunity to continue to revise their work.
Students workshop their ideas for the final
paper with an eye for sufficient focus and
originality.
Students are asked to employ and critique
information gleaned from supplementary
reading. Students learn to quote from
supplementary materials with correct
citations and are encouraged to engage
outside materials through a critical eye.
Students learn to employ literary
terminology--in the case of Shakespeare,
rhetorical tropes, allusion, and dramatic
conventions—in the case of film, the
vocabulary of montage, mise en scene and
other film terminology.
Demonstrate appropriate English language
usage
VI. Writing Course Requirements
Enrollment is capped at 25 students.
If not, list maximum course enrollment. Explain
how outcomes will be adequately met for this
number of students. Justify the request for
variance.
What instructional methods will be used to teach
students to write for specific audiences, purposes,
and genres?
Students are graded on organization and
development, grammar and mechanics, as
well as content. In the essays for this class,
students must demonstrate the knowledge to
analyze closely both the shot and the scene,
must be able to discuss sound, screenplay,
cinematography, and cinematic codes in
relation to a specific part of film and apply
that analysis to the play text in a focused way
through close reading of both film and text.
Models of theoretically-informed close
readings in academic essays are studied
in order for students to see literary
analysis in action.
Which written assignments will include revision in The first essay, 5-7 pages, must be
response to instructor’s feedback?
rewritten for a new grade and
student/teacher conferences accompany
that re-writing process.
VII. Writing Assignments: Please describe course assignments. Students should be required to
individually compose at least 16 pages of writing for assessment. At least 50% of the course grade
should be based on students’ performance on writing assignments. Clear expression, quality, and
accuracy of content are considered an integral part of the grade on any writing assignment.
Formal Graded Assignments
All assignments are graded in this upperdivision course. 60% of the grade is
determined by formal writing and rewriting. 40% of the grade is based on
formal response papers, quizzes (some
short essay in class), and
attendance/participation.
Informal Ungraded Assignments
Reading quizzes include short answer
essays that require some critical thinking.
In these quizzes, students are expected
to spot issues, find problems in the text,
and raise questions that generate an
interest in a focused topic for a formal
essay.
VIII. Syllabus: Paste syllabus below or attach and send digital copy with form. 
For assistance on syllabus preparation see: http://teaching.berkeley.edu/bgd/syllabus.html
The syllabus must include the following:
1. Writing outcomes
2. Information literacy expectations
3. Detailed requirements for all writing assignments or append writing assignment instructions
Paste syllabus here.
SHAKESPEARE AND FILM Fall 2012
FILM 320.01B: CRN 74689
TuTh 11:10-12:30 NAC 202
Password for ERES: shakes
Casey Charles: casey.charles@mso.umt; ph 243-2762
Office: LA 216; Hours: TuTh 3-5, or by appointment
Description: “He was not of an age, but for all time!” Ben Jonson wrote about his friend
and fellow dramatist, William Shakespeare. Although Shakespeare lived five hundred
years ago from 1564 to 1616 (writing 37 surviving plays), the perpetuation of his texts on
stage, in novels, in literary criticism, and now in film continues to support Jonson’s
admittedly ahistorical claim. Although actors, readers, and scholars still argue about the
most productive way to represent the most canonical author in history—stage? page?
screen? —the contemporary medium of film has brought a new dimension to bardolatry.
This course explores the validity of Jonson’s famous assertion by studying the adaptation
of Shakespeare’s plays for the screen. Our fare is Titus Andronicus, Taming of the
Shrew; Richard III; Macbeth; Hamlet, Othello. Our course requires an amalgamation of
three steps: 1) familiarity with the text of these five plays and the historical context of
Shakespeare’s England, 2) conversance with the language of film criticism, and 3)
understanding of the challenges of adaptation (the translation of text to image).
Required Texts:
The Norton Shakespeare
Reserve Materials
Work:
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Weekly quizzes on assigned reading and viewing are open-book but timesensitive (20%).
Two response papers (2-3 pages each) as well as an optional short paper on a
scene you wish to direct (3-4 pages) (20%).
One 5-7-page essay that must be rewritten (the grades will be averaged) (30%)
A final essay (10-12 pages) (30%).
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The films are on two-hour reserve at the library. You are responsible to find the
time to view them in their entirety. We will study clips in class as we move
through the plays. Students are required to bring assigned reserve readings to
class.
Attendance and participation: students are expected to come to class ready to ask
and answer questions. More than three unexcused absences during the semester
may result in a failing grade.
Ground Rules:
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I do not accept late papers unless the student contacts me with a reasonable
excuse before the beginning of the class on the day the paper is due.
There are no make-up quizzes.
Students must attend at least one conference with the teacher during the
semester.
Students with disabilities will be accommodated.
Plagiarism (the stealing of another’s words or ideas) will result in a
recommendation of expulsion from the university.
http://connect.umt.edu/diversity/umallies/. This classroom is a safe space for
diverse populations and adheres to the principles of nondiscrimination based
on ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation as set forth by UM Allies.
Outcomes:
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Acquisition of skills in analyzing Shakespearean drama through close reading
Familiarity with the historical and cultural context in which Shakespeare’s plays
arose
Understanding of and conversance with the basic grammar of film studies
Production of writing that demonstrates the ability to employ the grammar of film
studies and critical theory to create a coherent argument about the adaptation of
Shakespearean texts for the screen
Prerequisite: LIT 300 or consent of the instructor
Films:
Elizabeth (Kapur 1998)
Shakespeare in Love (Madden 1998)
Titus Andronicus (Taymor)
Taming of the Shrew (Zeffirelli)
10 Things I Hate About You (Junger)
RIII (Olivier 1955)
RIII (Loncraine 1996)
Looking for Richard (Pacino)
Macbeth (Welles)
Macbeth (Polanski)
Throne of Blood (Kurosawa)
Scotland PA (Morrissette)
Hamlet (Olivier 1948)
Hamlet (Zeffirelli 1990)
Hamlet (Branagh 1996)
Hamlet (Almereyda 2001)
Othello (Welles 1952)
Othello (Parker 1995)
O (Nelson 2001)
Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson (Burns 2004)
Silent Shakespeare
Other Film Offshoots:
The Lion King (Taymor)
The Bad Sleep Well (Kurosawa)
Kiss Me Kate (1948)
Shakespeare Retold
Slings and Arrows
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (Stoppard)
Maqbool
The Banquet (Legend of the Black Scorpion)
Theatre of Blood (Vincent Price)
Shakespeare Retold
Key Dates:
http://events.umt.edu/?calendar_id=27&upcoming=upcoming&
Schedule: (Subject to change)
Aug 28
Introduction
Aug 30
Greenblatt, General Intro 1-30
Sep 4
Greenblatt, General Intro 30-72, Titus 1
Sep 6
Titus Act 1-2
Sep 11
Titus 2
Sep 15
Titus 3
Sep 18
Titus 4-5
Sep 20
Shrew Induction and Act 1
Sep 25
Shrew 2
Sep 27
Shrew 3
Oct 2
Shrew 4-5
Oct 4
RIII 1
Oct 9
RIII 2
Oct 11
RIII 3
Oct 16
RIII 4-5
Oct 18
Mac 1
Oct 23
Mac 2
Oct 25
Mac 3
Response
Oct 30
Mac 4-5
Nov 1
Othello 1
Nov 6
Election Day No Class
Nov 8
Oth 2
Nov 13
Oth 3
Nov 15
Oth 4-5
Nov 20
Ham 1
Nov 22
Ham 2
Nov 27
Ham 3
Nov 29
Thanksgiving No Class
Dec 4
Ham 4
Dec 6
Ham 5
Dec 10
Final Essay Due
First Essay Due
Rewrite
Response
Scene Paper (optional)
Shakespeare and Film Final Paper
The paper must be 10-12 pages and consists of three sections:
I.
Adaptation
Talking broadly about mise en scene in terms of a film as a whole, discuss one of the film
adaptations we have treated in the class, focusing on the terms of adaptation as we have
enumerated them: addition, expansion, fidelity (to text, plot, time, action),
commodification (or Hollywoodization), subtraction, imagistic focus, thematic or
theoretical emphasis. Look for textual evidence in terms of language and plot in the
Shakespeare play that justifies the film adaptation (2-4).
Close viewing/Close reading
Picking film we have treated in class other than the one you focused on in Section I, find
a scene from the Shakespeare play that an auteur adapts, and discuss the scene in terms of
mise en scene, cinematography (including lighting, sound, shots, and editing), sound
(diegetic/non diegetic), realism/expressionism, acting and casting—as well as any other
of the film terminology we have employed. Track the film development of this scene in
relation to the presentation of the scene in the Shakespearean text (2-4).
II.
Theoretically Informed Close Reading
Pick a part of one of Shakespeare’s texts that you think is worthy of looking at closely,
studying its imagery, ironies, allusions, context, sources, forms of representation as
means of establishing the play as readable from one theoretical or thematic angle, an
angle that could include our discussion of cinematic dissemination and visual adaptation,
but could also include any other theoretical position ranging from cultural to queer
studies, from psychoanalysis to Marxism, from deconstruction to reception theory. This
section looks for a focused reading of a speech or a small (no more than 50 lines) of text.
The text you treat cannot be the play treated in sections I or II.
SHAKESPEARE LIT 327 ENFM 320 FIRST ESSAY
Procedural Guidelines:
 Length: 5-7 pages double-spaced, paginated
 Style: MLA or Chicago (Consult Bedford or other Handbook)
 Citations: Cite the Shakespeare play within the text, e.g. “Now the winter of our
discontent” (R3 1.1.1). Subsequent citations may omit the play name.
 Choose any of the three plays we have covered: Titus, TS, or R3. Pick a part of
the play or a particular aspect of it. Stay focused in your thesis.
 External research is not required but if you do consult an article or source or
historical source, cite in a footnote or endnote.
 This paper will be rewritten and the two grades will be averaged.
 I do not accept late papers unless the student contacts me before the beginning of
class with a reasonable excuse (see the syllabus).
 I am available Tues and Wed (1-3) and by appointment to talk about the paper.
Substantive Guidelines: The Theoretically Informed Close Reading
 The paper may or may not include film analysis, but students minoring in film or
taking the film option in English are strongly encouraged to include film in their
essay.
 Close Reading: the essay needs to include analysis of part of the Shakespeare
text, paying attention to components like context, irony, prosody (meter,
alliteration, etc.), paradox and imagery—to name a few possibilities
 Theoretical Approach: the essay should as part of its thesis incorporate a
perspective—for example, gender studies (including issues surrounding the
transvestite stage), historicism, feminism, Marxism, metadrama, reader response,
and/or source study.

Adaptation: in working on film, the idea is to show how the film interprets a
specific part of the Shakespeare text. What is the director’s approach? Do a close
reading of the film in relation to the play, using film terms.
Some Caveats:
 Proofread a hard copy of your work.
 Pay attention to correct citation and use of quotations. Avoid block quotes unless
you plan to analyze most of the block. Feel free to quote parts of the text, e.g.
“Irreligious piety” is an oxymoronic phrase that points to Titus’s meditation on
the use of the pacifist religion to perpetuate brutality, a practice still prominent in
throughout the world (TS 1.1.130).
 Avoid plagiarism by attributing all borrowed language and ideas to the original
author in footnotes or endnotes.
 Pay attention to apostrophes (and it’s/its), comma splices, spelling, and
deadwood.