To introduce students to both a more advanced and dynamic way of understanding Shakespearean drama by looking at the plays in relation to textual/editorial and theatrical practice, as well as cinematic adaptation. To assess how our interpretations of Shakespeare's plays might both inform and be informed by specific questions of editing, staging, directing, and adaptation. To address how the texts of the plays appeared in Shakespeare’s own time (i.e. in Quartos and in the Folio), and how and why modern editors have dealt with them subsequently.  To explore how original printed texts, sources, and subsequent adaptations of Shakespeare’s plays can develop our knowledge and understanding of Shakespeare's dramatic art and stagecraft. To examine the treatment of the plays studied in later editions and adaptations, as well as in later performances, on stage and on film.

(LO1) Acquire, develop, and demonstrate a detailed knowledge of Shakespeare's plays in relation to the textual and theatrical practices of their original contexts as well as of their subsequent adaptation by editors and theatre and film directors.

(LO2) Develop and engage with a more complex and advanced understanding of Shakespeare as dramatist, in terms of how his work has been received, edited, performed, and adapted from the time of their original composition, staging, and publication to the present.

(LO3) Recognise and implement a broad range of approaches to text and performance, whether in terms of close reading and critical interpretation/analysis, editing, staging, or cinematic adaptation.

(LO4) Analyse and discuss the plays, their texts, sources, and adaptations in terms of their literary style, significance, and contexts, putting into practice advanced skills in textual analysis, critical reading, and writing.  

(LO5) Research, read, and think both independently and sensitively about the works studied at a specialised level.   

(LO6) Work co-operatively and productively with others to produce a coherent team-work project (i.e. the editing task)

(LO7) Evaluate and communicate both your own and others’ ideas.

(S1) Written communication skills (style & argument, presentation & referencing)

(S2) Oral communication skills (speaking, listening, arguing, persuading)

(S3) Critical thinking and analysis

(S4) Project planning & development

(S5) Time management, discipline, & organisation

(S6) Team working & co-operating/communicating with others

(S7) Research skills (including identification and use of Library resources, and accessing online databases/research tools)

(S8) IT skills (including word processing and the use of online resources and electronic media)

Primary Reading: Set Texts  This module covers SIX Shakespeare plays, typically from the following selection, in relation to a wide range of other materials - from Shakespeare's sources to early Quarto/Folio variants of the texts and subsequent editions and adaptations on the page or for the stage and screen.  The texts we study (spending two weeks on each, where permissible) are: Hamlet; Romeo and Juliet; Henry V; King Lear; Much Ado About Nothing; Coriolanus. You are advised to read these plays before the module begins, with a view to re-reading them for seminars and lectures during term-time.   Some Initial Background/Secondary Reading: -   When considering aspects of Shakespeare on the page, stage, and screen – that is, in the performance, the screen adaptation, and the publishing and editing of Shakespeare’s plays - the following provide some very useful introductions:   D. Scott Kastan, Shakespeare and the Book (2001); J. Jowett, Shakespeare and Text, 2nd edn (2019); A. Gurr, The Shakespearean Stage 1574-1642 , 4th edn (2009); L. Erne, Shakespeare’s Modern Collaborators, (Continuum, 2007); M. Hindle, Studying Shakespeare on Film, 2nd edn (2015); T. Stern, Making Shakespeare: Stage to Page (2005); S. Wells and S. Stanton, eds., The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare on Stage (2002); R. Shaughnessy, ed., Shakespeare in Performance (2000); B. Hodgson and W. B. Worthen, eds., A Companion to Shakespeare and Performance (Blackwell, 2006); R. Jackson, ed., The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare on Film (2000); D. Cartmell, Interpreting Shakespeare on Screen (2000);   K. Rothwell, A History of Shakespeare on Screen , 2nd edn (2004); J. C. Bulman, ed., The Oxford Handbook of Shakespeare and Performance (2017); R. Jackson, ed., The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare on Screen (2020).   Further Reading: -   Detailed bibliographies, reading lists, and online resources for th e plays studied on this module - suggesting further reading in relation to criticism, sources, adaptation, editing, and staging - will be available under ‘Modules’ on Canvas.   Canvas will also provide links to other secondary materials and online resources useful for seminar preparation and independent study, as well as for the non-assessed and assessed work.

This module will be taught by 1 x weekly 1-hour tutorial (small group), 1 x weekly 1-hour workshop (whole cohort) and 1 x fortnightly 2-hour workshop (whole cohort). Teaching will be F2F or online as appropriate/possible. If teaching has to be delivered online the second workshop may be delivered as a 1-hour weekly session.

Teaching Method 1 - Workshops (Weekly, 60 mins, whole cohort)
Description:
Attendance Recorded: Not yet decided
Notes: The workshops aim: (a) to provide a wider context (literary, dramatic, historical) for a basic understanding of the plays and their concerns; and (b) to offer models of approach to particular aspects of Shakespeare's language and style, dramatic interpretation, staging, editing, and adaptation.

Teaching Method 2 - Tutorial (Weekly, 60 mins, small group)
Description:
Attendance Recorded: Not yet decided
Notes: Tutorials provide group discussion, typically with a detailed focus on specific texts and iss ues (literary and critical, textual and contextual). These discussions require input, dialogue, and debate from all students involved. They are aimed at clarifying and developing a sophisticated understanding of each play within the framework of the module as a whole. They also provide important preparation, as well as help and guidance, for the module's assessments.

Teaching Method 3 – Workshops (Fortnightly, 120 mins, whole cohort)
Description:
Attendance Recorded: Not yet decided
Notes: The workshops aim: (a) to provide more specific contexts (literary, dramatic, historical) for a more advanced understanding of the plays and their concerns, through detailed practical exercises and team-work activities; and (b) to offer further models of approach to particular aspects of Shakespeare's language and style, dramatic interpretation, staging, editing, and adaptation.

The majority of teaching will be delivered face to face on campus. Online delivery will be used to complement the on campus delivery and where technology affords a better learning experience.