Module ENGL2751: Shakespeare's History Plays

Department: English Studies

ENGL2751: Shakespeare's History Plays

Prerequisites

• None

Corequisites

• None

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None

Aims

• A thorough study of Shakespeare’s representations of Roman and English history.
• Familiarity with the history of ancient Rome, as well as the history of medieval and early modern England.

Content

• We will begin with Shakespeare’s four Roman plays: Titus Andronicus, Julius Caesar, Coriolanus, and Antony and Cleopatra.
• We will then turn to Shakespeare's first and second tetralogies, detailing the history of late medieval England and the Wars of the Roses: Henry VI, parts 1-3 and Richard III, followed by Richard II, Henry IV, parts 1 and 2, and Henry V.
• We will also look at three other works of historical interest: Shakespeare's King John, his collaboration with John Fletcher, Henry VIII, and his epyllion, The Rape of Lucrece.
• We will read Shakespeare's plays in coordination with Holinshed's Chronicles and Plutarch's Lives, as well as analogues such as Samuel Daniel's Cleopatra and Mary Sidney's translation of Robert Garnier's Marc-Antoine.

Learning Outcomes

• On completion of this module, students will be able to demonstrate a detailed knowledge of Shakespeare’s representation of Roman and English history, as well as his most important classical, medieval, and contemporary sources. Students will develop a richer sense of Shakespeare’s perspective as a historian and how it compares to present-day historians’ interpretations of the events he represents in his plays.

• Students studying this module will develop:
• an ability to analyse selected literary works, taking account of their historical, generic and social or religious contexts
• critical skills in the close reading and analysis of texts
• an ability to demonstrate knowledge of a range of texts and critical approaches
• informed awareness of formal and aesthetic dimensions of literature and ability to offer cogent analysis of their workings in specific texts
• sensitivity to generic conventions and to the shaping effects on communication of historical circumstances, and to the affective power of language
• an ability to articulate and substantiate an imaginative response to literature
• an ability to articulate knowledge and understanding of concepts and theories relating to literary studies
• skills of effective communication and argument
• awareness of conventions of scholarly presentation, and bibliographic skills including accurate citation of sources and consistent use of scholarly conventions of presentation
• command of a broad range of vocabulary and an appropriate critical terminology
• awareness of literature as a medium through which values are affirmed and debated

• Students studying this module will develop:
• a capacity to analyse complex texts critically
• an ability to acquire complex information of diverse kinds in a structured and systematic way involving the use of distinctive interpretative skills derived from the subject
• competence in the planning and execution of essays
• a capacity for independent thought and judgement, and ability to assess the critical ideas of others
• skills in critical reasoning
• an ability to handle information and argument in a critical manner
• information-technology skills such as word-processing and electronic data access information
• organisation and time-management skills

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• The module is taught through seminars, which encourage collective responsiveness through interactive discussion as well as the development of independent, individual thought.
• The consultation session with the seminar leader before the first essay allows for further, guided exploration of individual ideas and arguments.
• Assessed essays give students the opportunity for focused independent study, permitting them to explore their own ideas and insights as well as demonstrating a requisite knowledge of the subject.
• The written feedback that is provided after the first assessed essay allows students to reflect on examiners' comments, giving students the opportunity to improve their work for the second essay.
• Typically, directed learning may include assigning student(s) an issue, theme or topic that can be independently or collectively explored within a framework and/or with additional materials provided by the tutor. This may function as preparatory work for presenting their ideas or findings (sometimes electronically) to their peers and tutor in the context of a seminar.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

Before the first essay, students will have an individual consultation session in which they are entitled to show their seminar leader a list of points relevant to the essay and receive oral comment on these points. Students may also, if they wish, discuss their ideas for the second essay at this meeting.

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University