Papers not returned on last day of class will be returned on Thursday, 10 May, 11-12 a.m., 421 Wheeler. (Please check this message for possible update.)
Compose an essay on a "comic" passage in a tragedy or a "tragic" passage in a comedy. Conclude with a brief comment on the effect - beneficial or otherwise - of this particular mixture of genres.
The "Gravedigger" scene in Hamlet is off-limits unless you disuss this choice with Professor Nelson before submitting your essay.
Limit: 1,000 words
For Thursday 5 April, read Sonnets 127-154, the so-called 'Dark Lady' sonnets.
MT quiz 4 has been postponed (again) to Thursday 12 August.
Compose an essay in which you argue in utramque partem (that is, on each side of the question) on any character or any plot-circumstance in any play which we have read so far this semester subsequent to 1 Henry IV. Identify a character, sentiment, or situation which can be interpreted from two opposing points of view. (Example 1: Hamlet is mad; Hamlet is not mad. Example 2: Hamlet knows that the King and Polonius are hiding behind the arras; Hamlet does not know that the King and Polonius are hiding behind the arras.) Make as strong a case as you can for each position or point of view. Finish by either 1) attempting to reconcile the two points of view; or 2) arguing for the validity of one point of view over the other; or 3) arguing that the two points of view are equally cogent but irreconcilable.
Please check with your Reader in advance if you have any questions, or to clear a topic of which you have doubts. In fairness to the reader, papers may not be longer than 3.5 pages (or 850 words).
Papers should be handed in if possible at the end of the class hour; however, they may be placed under the instructor's office door (421 Wheeler) at any time before 4:00 p.m. on the date due. DO NOT miss class for the sake of completing your paper.
First Paper: Identify a "literary" passage in LLL, MSND (or R3). Transcribe that passage and print it out to be appended to your paper as an attachment. Also, find the passage in the first known editon (quarto or folio); save as a .pdf file and print it out to be appended to your paper as an attachment.
Compose a brief essay - about 750 words - in which you
Analyze the passage for its distinctive metrical
and literary qualities.
Compare the edited version to the original.
Explain the essential purpose of the passage, e.g., to set a mood?
to establish character? to advance the plot? as sheer entertainment?
some combination of these?
Conclude with a summary paragraph.
Readings for Thursday, 18 January:Read the following Sonnets, attending to strucure and detail, and considering which are not technically sonnets: 3, 15, 20, 29, 30, 35, 55, 60, 73, 94, 104, 116, 126, 129, 144, 147
English 117S SHAKESPEARE Spring 2007
Mr. Nelson 105 North Gate Hall
Class website: socrates.berkeley.edu/~ahnelson/ TuTh 9:30-11:00
Week 1
Tu Jan 16 Introduction: Contexts, Life, Works
Th 18 Selected Songs and Sonnets
Week 2
Tu 23 Love's Labor's Lost
Th 25
Week 3
Tu 30 A Midsummer Night's Dream
Th Feb 01
Week 4
Tu 06 Richard III
Th 08 Mini-exam 1
Week 5
Tu 13 Henry IV, Part 1
Th 15 First Paper Due
Week 6
Tu 20 Merchant of Venice
Th 22 Mini-exam 2 (postponed)
Week 7
Tu 27 Much Ado About Nothing
Th Mar 01 Mini-exam 2
Week 8
Tu 06 Hamlet Prince of Denmark
Th 08
Week 9
Tu 13 Twelfth Night
Th 15 Mini-exam 3
Week 10
Tu 20 Measure for Measure
Th 22 Mini-exam 4 (postponed)
Second Paper Due
SPRING BREAK
Week 11
Tu Apr 03 Shakespeare's Sonnets
Th 05 Mini-exam 4 (postponed)
Week 12
Tu 10 King Lear
Th 12 Mini-exam 4
Week 13
Tu 17 Antony and Cleopatra
Th 19
Week 14
Tu 24 The Tempest
Th 26 Third Paper Due
Week 15
Tu May 01 CATCH-UP AND REVIEW WEEK
Th 03
Final Examination: Tuesday, 15 May, 8-11 a.m.
1) You are expected to have read each play to the end before the beginning of class on the Thursday of the week in which that play is discussed.
2) In lieu of a single mid-term examination, four mini-exams (15-20 minutes each) will be given. Each mini-exam will consist of one identification section taken from the reading for that week, plus one essay on a topic discussed in class. Each student must take three and only three mini-exams. No make-up mini-exams except on written medical excuses.
3) You are required to submit a total of four questions in writing concerning plays or poems under discussion - full explanation to be given in class.
4) Play readings will be organized throughout the semester, late-afternoons and evenings. Although you are not required to attend, you are urged to participate in at least one reading.
5) Shakespeare plays are available in the audio-visual facility in Moffit Library. You are urged to watch plays in cinemas or on VCR, but as a supplement and not as a substitute for reading the texts.
6) You are expected to attend class regularly: attendance will be taken most days. Unexcused absences beyond three will result in a reduction in the final grade by one grade-increment (i.e. from B- to C+) for each such absence.
7) Do not miss class on the day a paper is due: missing class is a graver sin and will incur a harsher penalty than submitting a paper a day late.
8) You are reminded of the Department of English policy regarding plagiarism.
9) Final admonition: You are required to read all plays and poems assigned over the semester. Mini-exams and the final exam will be designed to test whether you have done the required reading. Failure to accomplish the required reading will be grounds for a failing final grade regardless of how well you may do in other aspects of this course.