ENG 252 - Approaches to Shakespeare

Shakespeare’s first publishers boasted that his works were “for the great variety of readers.” This course likewise welcomes those who have never read an entire play by Shakespeare and those who have studied (and perhaps performed) multiple plays. It begins with individual speeches and individual scenes; and it begins with the drive to understand Shakespeare’s people, perhaps as a parallel to understanding actual people. The course progresses from excerpts to full plays, and then from full plays to performances, including film adaptations. It concludes with an overview of modern scholarship on Shakespeare. By the end of the semester, the great variety of readers who enrolled in the course will be prepared to approach Shakespeare-skillfully, confidently, even eagerly-in the countless settings where they will encounter his work.

Satisfies English major and minor requirement.
Satisfies Literary Studies, Creative Writing and Rhetoric requirement.