English 533, Section 1, Schedule 21277
San Diego State University, Fall 2015
TTH 12:30–1:45, AH 1112
Dr. Edith Frampton Office hours:
T/Th 10:45-11:45 AH-1109 FIT Ctr.
eframpto@mail.sdsu.edu; 594-6232
From Kempe's Nine Days’ Wonder (1600) – Will Kempe was one of the principal actors of Shakespeare's earlier plays.
Shakespeare Comes Alive!
Welcome! William Shakespeare wrote plays to be seen and heard in live, collaborative, public
performances, rather than to be read silently in private. Many of his works weren’t even published during
his lifetime. In this course, we’ll attempt to experience Shakespeare’s plays as closely as possible to the
way in which they were intended to be appreciated, by listening to, watching, and performing them, in
addition to reading them. The emphasis will be on dramatic works as blueprints for collaborative
productions. We’ll therefore be attentive to Early Modern English, theatrical spaces, performance
techniques, social hierarchies, and cultural practices. While we’ll thus situate Shakespeare’s writing
within its original historical contexts, we’ll also address ourselves to the ways in which it is read,
performed, and understood today. In addition to reading six of Shakespeare’s plays, we’ll have the
opportunity to attend two professional productions together at the world-renowned Old Globe Theatre in
Balboa Park. Active participation in class discussions, debates, and projects is a key component of
the course, helping to further develop your interpersonal and public speaking skills. The class
includes a semester-long collaborative group project, which includes the analysis of a selected play text,
pertinent research on that play, the creation of a production plan for staging the play, and a final
presentation and performance by your group. There will also be two essays, a midterm, and a final exam.
Expected Learning Outcomes on which Assessment Will Be Based
Students completing this course successfully will be able to:
• constructively contribute to discussions and debates about aspects of Shakespeare’s plays and their performance
• accurately respond to questions about language, plot, characters, themes, contexts, and performances of the plays
• fully research a selected play in order to present on it and write about it with accuracy and academic honesty
• create informative, engaging, pertinent presentations, working with group members, to present to the class
• patiently collaborate with other students on group projects and discussions, demonstrating tolerance of others
• confidently articulate ideas to the class, in the form of a group presentation and a memorized performance
• invest the time to compose carefully argued, well-structured, fully supported essays
Required Texts
**Be sure to get an edition with good notes.**
The Comedy of Errors (1594?), King Lear (1605?), The Merry Wives of Windsor (1597?), The Winter’s
Tale (1611?), As You Like It (1599?) + one more to be determined by group choices
Required Course Work and Grading: 1000 total points possible Grading Scale
140: attendance & prepared participation (5 pts each for 28 classes)
60: contributions to class-wide discussions (3 pts per contribution)
200: two five-page essays
200: midterm exam
150: final exam
250: final research project and presentation, including essay
A =
A- =
B+ =
B =
B- =
C+ =
1000-920
919-900
899-870
869-820
819-800
799-770
C =
C- =
D+ =
D =
D- =
F =
769-720
719-700
699-670
669-620
619-600
599 - 0
Class Procedure
While class sessions will often include a lecture, on which you should take notes, this course will be
conducted as a seminar, in which the emphasis will be on discussion, either among the class as a whole
or within smaller groups. You are therefore expected to come to class having done the reading very
carefully and be ready to participate fully in the analysis of that reading. This is an extremely important
aspect of the class and is weighted correspondingly in your final grade. You are further expected to arrive
promptly and stay until the end of every class, since arriving late and leaving early is very disruptive.
Punctual attendance is included in the final grade. You will receive points for each day of
attendance and additional points for contributions made in class. Points will be deducted for late
arrival, early departure, inappropriate use of a cell phone or the Internet during class, or any
disruptive or distracting behaviour. The current reading should always accompany you to class.
Midterm Exam, Final Exam, and Essays
The midterm and final exams are intended to be rigorous enough to motivate you to read and watch
carefully and to pay close attention in class, since doing so will ensure that you will perform successfully
on them. They will cover significant components of the assigned reading, class discussions, lectures, and
presentations. You will be required to identify characters, main events, themes, and prominent passages,
as well as demonstrating knowledge of pertinent historical and performance information. You may only
make up a missed exam if you provide official documentation of your absence, such as a doctor’s note or
a death certificate. Separate guidelines for the essays will be handed out in class.
Collaborative Project and Presentation (separate handout with more detailed guidelines provided)
Throughout the semester, you will be collaborating on a group project that will be presented in
November or December. Early on, your group will select a play not covered in our class, from a list to be
provided. Your group members will individually read the selected play and then analyze it together during
class sessions designated for this, with the goal of teaching the rest of the class about it. The final
presentations will have two components: a collection of individual research on the play and a fully
memorized and creatively staged group performance of a scene or group of edited scenes.
In order to create a cohesive performance, early in the semester, your group will select a pertinent
theme, motif, or incident in the play, upon which to build a unified and engaging “production concept,”
as if you were going to be producing the entire play together in a theatre somewhere. You will then
together choose a scene or edited set of scenes to memorize completely, rehearse, and perform for the
class, in keeping with your production concept. This should be as fully staged as possible, in order to
provide an informative and entertaining performance that brings the play to life for us.
In addition to creating a character and memorizing lines, each of you will choose one different area of
production expertise for which you will be individually responsible, such as set, props, costumes,
blocking, make-up, stage fighting, sound, music, or special effects. All of your group’s production
choices should be guided by the production concept upon which you have agreed together. There will be
designated class time, throughout the semester, for your group to rehearse your scene(s) and overview of
the play for the class.
At the end of the semester, you will each hand in an essay focused on your group play, as described
in the separate project guidelines. You are welcome to use any sources for your research, but you must
cite all of your sources for both quoted material and ideas, including a works cited page that follows
MLA guidelines. If you wish to make reference to the words or ideas of someone else in your writing,
you are required to fully and accurately acknowledge your source(s). Plagiarism will be reported to the
Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities and will result in an F for the course.
Special Needs
If you are a student with a disability and believe you will need accommodations for this class, it is your responsibility to
contact Student Disability Services at 619-594-6473. To avoid any delay in the receipt of your accommodations, you should
contact Student Disability Services as soon as possible. Please note that accommodations are not retroactive, and that
accommodations based upon disability cannot be provided until you have presented your instructor with an
accommodation letter from Student Disability Services. Your cooperation is appreciated.
Tentative Class Schedule (subject to change)
You are responsible for carefully reading the assignment listed and any additional handouts.
Date
Assignment to be completed BEFORE this class
In-class plan
T 8/25
Syllabus; introductions; show sign up
Th 8/27 Print/read: “The Sixteenth Century” on BlackBd; buy
books & folder; sign contract; do written assignment;
get $27 cash for two tickets to bring to class
Lecture: The Rise of Tudor Britain;
pay $27 cash for two tickets
T 9/1
Read: The Comedy of Errors, Acts 1-2 + all
accompanying notes; consider group play options
The Making of Shakespeare
(clips: In Search of Shakespeare);
groups choose plays for project
Th 9/3
Read: Comedy, Act 3 + all accompanying notes;
get copy of group play WITH GOOD NOTES
Lecture: Shakespeare’s Poetic Language, Blank Verse, & Scansion
T 9/8
Read: Comedy, Acts 4-5 + all accompanying notes;
read: Act 1 of group play + all accompanying notes
Lecture: Comedy Themes & Plot
Th 9/10 Read: Acts 2-3 of group play + accompanying notes
Staging Comedy: visit from Old
Globe Theatre Teaching Artist
Sunday, 9/13 Optional Performance of The Comedy of Errors: Old Globe Theatre,
Balboa Park ***ARRIVE AT 6:15 P.M.***
T 9/15 Write essay, following separate guidelines
Discussion: Comedy in performance;
essay due
Th 9/17 Read: King Lear, Act 1 + all accompanying notes
read: Act 4 of group play + accompanying notes
Lecture: Elizabethan theatres &
performance practices; group
project work: discuss/analyze
group play; choose production
concept, & scene(s) to be performed
T 9/22 Read: King Lear, Acts 2-3 + accompanying notes;
read: Act 5 of group play + accompanying notes
Lecture: King Lear, King James, &
Monarchical Power
Th 9/24 Read: King Lear, Act 5 + all accompanying
notes
Lecture: King Lear & Madness;
group work: assign parts/tasks
T 9/29 Read: The Merry Wives of Windsor, Acts 1-2 + notes
Lecture: “Citizen” or “City” Comedies;
Falstaff, and the Order of the Garter
Th 10/1 Read: The Merry Wives of Windsor, Act 3 + notes
Group project work: rehearse
T 10/6 Read: The Merry Wives of Windsor, Act 3-5 + notes
Debate: The Merry Wives of Windsor
Th 10/8 Start memorizing lines for group performance
Midterm review; groups: assign
production elements to members
T 10/13 Study for midterm exam
Midterm exam; peer-reviewed essays
Th 10/15 Continue memorizing lines for presentation;
start researching/brainstorming about
your individual production element
Go over midterm; groups: rehearse
T 10/20 Read: The Winter’s Tale, Acts 1-2 + notes
Lecture: The Winter’s Tale, Bohemia,
& King James
Th 10/22 Read: The Winter’s Tale, Act 3 + notes;
Discussion: The Winter’s Tale
T 10/27 Read: The Winter’s Tale, Act 4-5 + notes
Lecture: Winter’s Tale, Time, Choices
Th 10/29 Continue memorizing lines for group project
Group work: rehearse
T 11/3 Read As You Like It, Acts 1-2 + notes
Lecture: As You Like It & the Pastoral
Th 11/5 Read As You Like It, Act 3 + notes
Group work: rehearse
T 11/10 Read As You Like It, Acts 4-5 + notes
Lecture: As You Like It & Renaissance
Cross-dressing
Th 11/12 Finish final project
Final Presentation Dress Rehearsals
Sunday, 11/15 Optional Performance of As You Like It: Old Globe Theatre,
Balboa Park ***ARRIVE AT 1:15 P.M.***
T
11/17 Write essay, following separate guidelines
Discussion: As You in performance;
essay due
T
11/19 Finish final project
Group 1 Project Presentation
T
11/24 Finish final project
Group 2 Project Presentation
THANKSGIVING BREAK
T
12/1 Finish final project/work on project essay
Group 3 Project Presentation
Th 12/3 Finish final project/work on project essay
Group 4 Project Presentation
T
Celebrate; final project essay due
12/8 Finish final project essay component & proofread
Th 12/10 Prepare questions on/for final exam;
Review for final exam
Th 12/17 Study for final
Final exam 10:30 – 12:30
From a 1616 engraving of London by Claes Jansz Visscher (1587-1652)