Shakespeare's Plays (College) - Course Introduction
Chances are, you've come across Shakespeare before: in English class, at the movies, and even in that song you have on loop in the background right now. Because when it comes down to it, Shakespeare is everywhere.
But how can you even begin to understand the gazillions of references to the guy unless you're familiar with the plays he wrote? This course will unpack some key themes and issues in nine of Shakespeare's most popular plays:
- Romeo and Juliet
- Othello
- A Midsummer Night's Dream
- Hamlet
- Julius Caesar
- The Tempest
- Twelfth Night
- Henry V
- Macbeth
We'll talk jealousy, lies, deceit, and politics. We’ll travel through Rome, Illyria, Scotland, Cypress, and even to a tropical island. We'll think about fantasy, and we'll ponder on reality. We'll laugh. We’ll cry. And most importantly, we'll finally understand pop culture.
If you need a refresher on anything along the way, check out our Shakespeare page for Shmoop's take on his greatest plays and poems.
And here are a few other online resources for you:
- Internet Shakespeare Editions contains various editions of Shakespeare's plays, along with information about the performance histories and interpretations of each play.
- Open Source Shakespeare is a searchable concordance of Shakespeare's plays.
- Early Modern London Theatres Database contains plenty of information on the playhouses and audiences in Shakespeare's day.
P.S.: We're linking you to Shakespeare's Words to read the plays, but be warned: the line numbering is a bit different from the Norton edition you might be used to.
Unit Breakdown (79 lessons)
Unit 1: Romeo and Juliet (9 lessons)
Unit 2: Othello (9 lessons)
Unit 3: A Midsummer Night's Dream (8 lessons)
Unit 4: Hamlet (9 lessons)
Unit 5: Julius Caesar (9 lessons)
Unit 6: The Tempest (8 lessons)
Unit 7: Twelfth Night (9 lessons)
Unit 8: Henry V (9 lessons)
Unit 9: Macbeth (9 lessons)
Learning Objectives
By the end of the course, you should be able to
- identify the poetry, symbolism, and other literary devices in Shakespeare's plays through close reading.
- analyze key themes that offer insight into the characterizations and meanings of Shakespeare's plays.
- explain the key ideas, themes, characters, and literary techniques in Shakespeare.
- identify the motivations of characters' actions.
- identify the historical and cultural context of when the plays were written.
- identify conflicts in the plays.
- identify comedy and drama as genres.