Fall 2001	Scott Newstrom
English 216 (4125/4126)	Rice 107, (440) 775-8577
-01: TuTh, 9:35-10: 50, King 339 -02: , TuTh, 1:30-2: 45, King 227	Office hours: TuTh, 11:00-12:00 W, 11:00-1:00, & by appt

Studies in Shakespeare: Shakespeare's English Kings

"We princes, I tell you, are set on stages in the sight and view of all the world duly observed; the eyes of many behold our actions; a spot is soon spied in our garments; a blemish noted quickly in our doings."

-- Queen Elizabeth I, Address to Parliament, 1586

"It is a true old saying, that a King is as one set on a stage, whose smallest actions and gestures, all the people gazingly do behold: and therefore although a King be never so precise in the discharging of his office, the people, who see but the outward part, will ever judge of the substance, by the circumstances; and according to the outward appearance ..."

-- King James I, Basilikon Doron, 1598

Course description

While the concept of royal authority seems quite foreign or even quaint to us today, such sovereignty has had serious consequences, in both practical and theoretical terms, for much of England's history. Shakespeare dramatized dozens of different kings and queens throughout his career; we will examine seven major plays whose outlines were drawn from the chronicles of the contemporary historian Raphael Holinshed. Four of these are familiar to us as "histories" (the "Henriad" sequence: Richard II, Henry IV parts i and ii, Henry V); two as "tragedies" (King Lear and Macbeth); and one is more typically called a "romance" (Cymbeline). These generic categories are more porous than they might at first appear, and part of our task will be determining how formal expectations mutually shape and are shaped by the narratives of these reigns.

Some of the many problematic issues that arise when studying Shakespearean kingship include:

 

• the status of women (often absent but sometimes significantly present)
• counsel and the shifting personal and political loyalties of subjects
• the price of governance (economic as well as social)
• the consolidation of the idea of an England, often against some declared external threat
• ever-present concerns about transitions between reigns
• the influence of religion or the supernatural in producing a sense of inevitability
• the representation of divisions within and between institutions, classes, and individuals
• claims to legitimacy (on both familial and political levels)
• the relation between speech and action
• and where (if anywhere) love fits in all of this

A portion of our work will also be historically-based, whether examining Shakespeare's sources, contemplating relations to contemporary monarchs, or comparing his dramas of sovereignty to other playwrights' attempts at presenting similar materials.

Required text

The Norton Shakespeare, ed. Stephen Greenblatt et al.

Schedule

• Response papers are due each Monday at noon in my mailbox (Rice 130)
• Discussion questions are due each Wednesday at noon via email

Tuesday, Sept. 4 Thursday, Sept. 6 Tuesday, Sept. 11 Thursday, Sept. 13	Introduction Sovereignty and English history: "This sceptered isle" Theories of kingship: "How can you say to me I am king?" Rulers on stage: "A little scene to monarchize"
Tuesday, Sept. 18 Thursday, Sept. 20 Tuesday, Sept. 25	Richard II: "Not born to sue" Richard II: "England in reversion his" Richard II: "A mockery king of snow"
[Thursday, Sept. 27	Yom Kippur -- no class]
Tuesday, Oct. 2 Thursday, Oct. 4	Henry IV Part I: "Want of government" Henry IV Part I: "When to pay"
Tuesday, Oct. 9 Thursday, Oct. 11	Henry IV Part II: "The division of our amity" Henry IV Part II: "Be now the father"
Tuesday, Oct. 16 Thursday, Oct. 18	Henry V: "Awake remembrance" Henry V: "Harry le roi"
[Tuesday, Oct. 23 [Thursday, Oct. 25	Fall recess -- no class] Fall recess -- no class]
Tuesday, Oct. 30 Thursday, Nov. 1	King Lear: "The division of the kingdom(s)" King Lear: "Not to be overruled"
Tuesday, Nov. 6 Thursday, Nov. 8	King Lear: "My fool usurps my body" King Lear: "To be acknowledged, is o'erpaid"
Tuesday, Nov. 13 Thursday, Nov. 15	Macbeth: "Ambition which o'erleaps itself" Macbeth: "The life o' the building"
Tuesday, Nov. 20 [Thursday, Nov. 22	Macbeth: "'Here may you see the tyrant'" Thanksgiving -- no class]
Tuesday, Nov. 27 Thursday, Nov. 29	Cymbeline: "This lamentable divorce" Cymbeline: "Avoid hence, from my sight"
Tuesday, Dec. 4 Thursday, Dec. 6	Cymbeline: "My father's wrath" Cymbeline: "Appear unkinglike"
Tuesday, Dec. 11 Thursday, Dec. 13	Roundtable workshops on final projects Further workshops; retrospective on course
Monday Dec. 17, noon	Final papers due

Grading

Final grades will be calculated based on the following breakdown:

Response papers 50%

Participation 25%

Final paper 25%

Response papers are one-page responses (preferably single-spaced), with topics usually directed by the instructor. These are designed to familiarize you with a number of different kinds of ways of interpreting the plays -- from examining very minute details to considering larger issues across multiple texts. As the semester progresses you will be able to incorporate the 'tools' from earlier response papers into your increasingly nuanced essays. They are also intended to give you some expertise on a particular topic for discussion that week, and serve as preparation for our meetings; it is often only through writing that we come to recognize what we have to say. They are due every Monday by noon in my mailbox.

There will be twelve response papers throughout the term, which means a good deal of writing for you. However, the writing will be in short and regular assignments (there is no longer mid-term essay), and the habit should prove useful for you -- you'll have a record of your thoughts on each of the plays throughout the term; you'll become accustomed to engaging with the text on a very particular level; you'll always be prepared for discussion. You are encouraged to complete all twelve of them; however, if pressed for time, you can skip no more than two (for a total of ten) throughout the course of the term (the first and last are required). Letter 'grades' won't be given on the responses, but comments will be, along with a general evaluation of quality (Ã, Ã+, Ã-). Response papers will be returned after class on Thursdays. No late work will be accepted, as the entire purpose of the responses is to prepare your thoughts in advance of discussion.

Participation is mandatory, and counts toward a good portion of your final grade. This course will be primarily discussion-based; it won't work if all students are not participating equally. (Your writing will most likely suffer as well if you are not engaging with your fellow students' thoughts.) Ideally, everyone should try to contribute at least one observation to the ongoing discussion each meeting. We might experiment with different arrangements, break into small groups, or designate discussion leaders/rotating chairs in order to facilitate this general conversation. Discussion questions are to be emailed to the instructor each Wednesday by noon. In these emails, you can address something not properly considered in Tuesday's class, ask for clarification about a topic, cite a particular passage that confuses you -- anything you like. Like the response papers, these will help prepare you for discussion.

It is presumed that you will attend all meetings of the course, on time, with your book -- that would constitute 'C'-quality work. 'B'-level participation would mean regularly contributing to class discussions; 'A'-level participation requires consistently thoughtful comments which remain, nonetheless, considerate (dominating the discussion or failing to engage with other students' contributions will not be helpful).

Final papers will be 10 pages in length and are due by noon, Monday, December 17. They should represent an intelligent synthesis of your work throughout the semester. You will be required to incorporate two or more significant primary texts from the period, including one of our seven plays; additionally, at least one critical source needs to be brought into the argument. Towards the end of the semester we will discuss this paper at greater length, both as a group and individually with the instructor.

If at any time throughout the semester you are curious about your progress in the course, you should feel free to request a evaluation of your current standing (a rough 'grade').

MUDD Reserve

I have placed the following on reserve at the library; they are books that I think more than one student might wish to consult throughout the semester.

Those marked with an * asterisk are on order, and not yet available.

Author Title

An edition of our text:
Greenblatt The Norton Shakespeare

A concordance:
* Spevack The Harvard Concordance to Shakespeare

Backgrounds to Shakespeare's life and work:
Aughterson The English Renaissance
de Grazia The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare
Kastan A Companion to Shakespeare
* Rose The Norton Shakespeare Workshop
Schoenbaum William Shakespeare: A Documentary Life

Historical introductions:
* Guy The Tudors
* Morrill Stuart Britain
* Saccio Shakespeare's English Kings

Annotated bibliographies:
* Bushnell King Lear, and Macbeth, 1674-1995
* Candido Richard II, Henry IV, parts I and II, and Henry V
Jacobs Cymbeline
McManaway A Selective Bibliography of Shakespeare

Shakespeare's sources:
Boswell-Stone Shakespeare's Holinshed
Bullough Narrative and Dramatic Sources of Shakespeare vols. 3,4,7,8
Holinshed Holinshed's Chronicles

Videos:
* Giles King Richard the Second
Welles Chimes at Midnight
* Bogdanov War of the Roses
* Brook King Lear
* Kozintsev Korol Lir
Kurosawa Throne of Blood
* Moshinsky Cymbeline

We will not be screening videos as a class; however, I do encourage you watch a performance of at least one of our plays this semester.