Shakespeare in Film: Reading List
General Comments: You will have six reading checks – two in the first quarter, one in the
second, two in the third quarter, one in the fourth – and each worth 100 points. Selections for your
reading will be from The Friendly Shakespeare, Readings on the Comedies, Readings on the
Tragedies, or from handouts, documents from online, and the like. Your grade will be based on
the quality of the extended paragraphs you write.
Reading Journal Guidelines
1. Put the title of the article and/or any other relevant descriptors at the top of the page, in the
heading.
2. Put the number of points the article is worth in the upper right hand corner.
3. For every 10 point assignment, write a short paragraph, and for every 20 point assignment,
write a developed paragraph (about one page) in your reading journal that summarizes the main
point(s), and gives several relevant facts, examples, and/or quotes.
4. Hand your work in on time. You will lose 10 points per day for late journals – no exceptions.
Check One
Due date: ________________
- The Prince,Niccolò Machiavelli - read SparkNotes, online: “Themes” and “Important Quotations
Explained.” (10 pts.)
- p.1-17, Friendly Shakespeare, (20 pts.) background
- p.21-29, Friendly Shakespeare, (10 pts.) background
- p.43-49, Friendly Shakespeare, (10 pts.) background
- p.60-65, Friendly Shakespeare, (10 pts.) useful terms
- p.153-155, Friendly Shakespeare, (10 pts.) Peter Sellars
- p.157-172, Friendly Shakespeare, (20 pts.) hist. background
- p.199-202, Friendly Shakespeare, (10 pts.) Rich. III background
Check Two
Due date: ________________
- Google “free library bloom shakespeare” and read the article by Frank McConnell on Howard
Bloom’s Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human. (20 pts.) background. [This book is in the KFLMC if
you are curious.]
- p.222-232, Friendly Shakespeare, (20 pts.) background
- p.77-85, Friendly Shakespeare, (10 pts.) comedy background
- p.409-414 and p.86-87, Friendly Shakespeare, (10 pts.) fools & Shrew
- p.127-134, Friendly Shakespeare, (20 pts.) As You Like It
-p.135-143, Friendly Shakespeare, (20 pts.) 12th night, drag
Check Three
Due date: ________________
Readings on the Comedies.
- Choose two essays from Chapter 1: (p. 30, 34, 39, 46, 54, or 62.) Readings on the Comedies.
- Choose essay 3, 4, 5, 6, or 7 from Chapter 2: (p. 87, 92, 100, 110, or 117). Comedies.
- Choose any essay from Chapter 3: (p. 126, 132,140 or 147). Readings on the Comedies.
- Choose either essay 1 or 3 from Chapter 4: (p. 156 or 167). Readings on the Comedies.
All essays from Readings on the Comedies are worth 20 points each.
Checks Four
Due date: ________________
Google “borges everything nothing coleridge” and read the article first in the search results called
“Everything and Nothing - Borges on Shakespeare” (20 pts.)
- p.303-307, Friendly Shakespeare, (10 pts.) tragedy background
- p.398-405, Friendly Shakespeare, (10 pts.) Lear background
- Rosencrantz & Guildenstern , synopsis/Game of Question, on the school website. (10 pts.)
- p.324- 334, Friendly Shakespeare, (10 pts.) Hamlet background.
- p. 270-272, Friendly Shakespeare, (10 pts.) death.
- p. 308-315, Friendly Shakespeare, (10 pts.) Titus background
- p. 451-463, Friendly Shakespeare, (20 pts.) The Tempest
Check Five
Readings on the Tragedies.
Group A Due date: ________________ Group B Due date: ________________
Readings on the Tragedies.
- Read the essays on pages 29 and 41, Readings on the Tragedies. Background, tragedy.(10 pts each)
- Read the essay on page 33 ,Readings on the Tragedies .(20 pts)
- Choose any essay from pages 50, 55 or 64. Readings on the Tragedies. (20 pts. )Romeo & Juliet
- Choose any essay from pages 73, 80, or 84, Readings on the Tragedies.( Caesar.)
- Choose any essay from pages 121, 126, 131, or 139, Readings on the Tragedies. (Othello.)
Check Six
Readings on the Tragedies.
Group A Due date: ________________ Group B Due date: ________________
- Choose any two essays from pages 92, 100, 109, 116, Readings on the Tragedies. (Hamlet.)
- Choose any two essays from pages 148, 155, 163, 170. Readings on the Tragedies.( Macbeth.)
- Choose any essay from pages 177, 188, 194, Readings on the Tragedies. (Lear).