ARISTOTLE UNIVERSITY OF THESSALONIKI
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LITERATURE
Dr. Tina Krontiris
Autumn 2014-15 (Mon 11:00-14:00)
Lit6-472: Shakespeare: Course Description & Syllabus
Course description and objectives:
This course studies a number of Shakespeare plays (usually 3-4) in relation to the
genre they belong to, the theatrical conventions they employ, and the themes they deal
with. The texts of the Shakespearean plays are considered as sites of cultural
production where certain ways of thinking about the world and human relationships
are endorsed, impeded, or simply set in conflict. They are thus analyzed not as static
entities but in a dialogue with the era that produced them and with later eras that
consumed them, especially the late 20th and early 21st century. Thus close textual
analyses will be supplemented by extensive references to significant theatrical
productions and cinematic interpretations. Specific films will be viewed in accordance
with the themes to be explored in the course. The main objectives of the course are:
(1) to enable students to understand the conditions in which Shakespeare wrote his
plays and (2) to help students relate the plays to the early modern period and our postmodern times.
Required primary reading:
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Hamlet
The Winter’s Tale
Themes to be explored:
-State power and corruption; youth and justice (Hamlet)
-Dream and reality; love and madness (Midsummer Night’s Dream)
-Love, madness and gender (Hamlet, Dream)
-Matters of genre/ comedy and romance (Dream, Winter’s Tale)
Required viewing:
1. Hamlet, dir Kenneth Branagh (1996)
2. Midsummer’s Night Dream, dir Michael Hoffman (1999)
3. The Winter’s Tale, dir Gregory Doran, RSC production (1998)
4. Ten best Hamlets on stage
http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2010/aug/22/10-best-hamlets-davidtennant
Required secondary reading (ON RESERVE IN THE LIBRARY)
The Norton Shakespeare, “General Introduction”, esp. “Shakespeare’s Life and Art.”
Τίνα Κροντήρη, Ο Σαίξπηρ, η Αναγέννηση κι εμείς (κεφ. 4-10).
Russ MacDonald, The Bedford Companion to Shakespeare, ch. 1-2. 5-6, 8-9.
Syllabus
Sept 29
Oct 6
Oct 13
Oct 20
Oct 27
Introduction to Shakespeare
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Student presentation on Hoffman’s Dream; begin Hamlet
Nov 3
Nov 10
Nov 17
Nov 24
Dec 1
Hamlet
Hamlet
Polytechnio Day—No class
Hamlet
Hamlet; student presentation on Branagh’s Hamlet
Dec 8
The Winter’s Tale
Dec 15
The Winter’s Tale
Dec 22
The Winter’s Tale
CHRISTMAS BREAK (24 Dec- 7 Jan)
Jan 12
Student presentation on The Winter’s Tale; Review
Note 1: students attending the class will be given on loan printed copies of the 3 plays
to be studied in the course. The rest of the students may access the texts electronically
from:
http://www.shakespeareswords.com
Note 2: On the final exam there will be no separate questions on the films you were
required to view for the course. However, the questions will allow students to enrich
their discussion of the plays by meaningful references to the films, where appropriate,
and such references will count in their favour.
Method of assessment:
Student performance is evaluated on the basis of written exams, papers, and oral
presentations, which include:
(1) brief, take-home assignments on specific questions and (2) a comprehensive,
essay-type exam at the end of the semester. Additionally (but optionally) students
may choose give an oral presentation in class or to write a research paper on an
approved topic. However, the research paper option CANNOT become a substitute
for the final exam, which the student must pass if the research paper is to be counted
in the final grade. It is noted that the take-home assignments and participation of
students in class discussions play an advisory role (i.e., they help the instructor to
form an opinion about the student’s abilities), whereas the class presentations, the
final exam, and the research paper (if written) play a definitive role in the student’s
final grade.