Module Details

The information contained in this module specification was correct at the time of publication but may be subject to change, either during the session because of unforeseen circumstances, or following review of the module at the end of the session. Queries about the module should be directed to the member of staff with responsibility for the module.
Title Shakespeare & Co
Code ENGL751
Coordinator Dr EK Knowles
English
K.Knowles@liverpool.ac.uk
Year CATS Level Semester CATS Value
Session 2022-23 Level 7 FHEQ First Semester 15

Aims

‘Soul of the age’ or ‘not of an age, but for all time’? The aim of this module is to examine some of the immediate and subsequent ‘cultural contexts’ (linguistic and textual, theatrical and critical) of Shakespeare’s writings, and to develop a greater sensitivity to the play of historical and literary circumstance when unfolding them. Its specific aims are: to offer a series of comparative approaches to reading and interpreting Shakespeare both within and beyond his own ‘time’, and against eighteenth-century ideas of him as the great English poet of ‘Nature’, ‘Nation’, and ‘Genius’; to address the plays’ sources, adaptations, and related or relevant works by other writers alongside critical attention to Shakespeare’s contemporaries – especially Christopher Marlowe and Ben Jonson – as well as to his Restoration and eighteenth-century adapters and ‘improvers’, critics and performers, such as David Garrick and Samuel Johnson; to add to the students' understanding of literary history, and also of some related aspects of cultural and social history, over the course of both the Renaissance and eighteenth-century periods; to develop the student's critical awareness of the problems and insights raised by an interdisciplinary approach to the study of literature in the contexts both of the Renaissance and of the eighteenth century.


Learning Outcomes

(LO1) Students will gain the ability to read, analyse, interpret and compare with competence and independence a wide variety of literary texts.

(LO2) Students will gain an advanced knowledge and systematic understanding of the political and ideological aspects of literary texts and how they can be situated within appropriate cultural and social contexts.

(LO3) Students will gain a critical appreciation of the ways in which texts can be situated within literary history, including issues of genre, influence, and creation and reception.

(LO4) Students will gain an advanced knowledge and critical awareness of current and new literary, critical and theoretical debates.

(LO5) Students will gain new skills fostering continued independent learning and a critical appreciation of complex issues within the broader context of the Arts and Humanities.

(S1) Students will gain a systematic knowledge and critical awareness of current debates and new insights within the field of literature and its contexts.

(S2) Students will gain advanced critical and analytical skills in relation to diverse forms of discourse.

(S3) Students will gain advanced literacy, interpersonal and communications skills, and the ability to present sustained and persuasive written and oral arguments to specialist and non-specialist audiences.

(S4) Students will gain the ability to comprehensively understand and apply a variety of theoretical approaches to literature.

(S5) Students will gain the ability to handle complex information and argument in a critical, creative and self-reflective manner.

(S6) Students will gain the ability to use IT and other relevant tools and resources to present written and oral work to a professional, scholarly standard.

(S7) Students will gain advanced skills and experience in selecting and using electronic and/or archival resources for planning and undertaking research and writing.

(S8) Students will gain organisational skills in managing time and workloads, and in meeting deadlines.


Syllabus

 

Particular attention will be paid in this module to Shakespeare’s plays alongside material by contemporaries – especially Christopher Marlowe and Ben Jonson – and also by his Restoration and eighteenth-century adapters and ‘improvers’, critics and performers. The typical syllabus for this module may include the following: Seminar 1: Shakespeare and Jonson: The Winter’s Tale and The Alchemist Seminar 2: Shakespeare and Marlowe: Richard II and Edward II Seminar 3: Shakespeare as Co-Author: All Is True and Sir Thomas More Seminar 4: Shakespeare and Milton: Comus, A Midsummer Night's Dream, and Paradise Lost Seminar 5: Richard III: Sources, Adaptation, Performance in the 18th Century Seminar 6: Garrick's Hamlet


Teaching and Learning Strategies

Teaching Method 1 - Seminar
Description:
Attendance Recorded: Yes
Notes: 6 x 2 hour seminars


Teaching Schedule

  Lectures Seminars Tutorials Lab Practicals Fieldwork Placement Other TOTAL
Study Hours   12

        12
Timetable (if known)              
Private Study 138
TOTAL HOURS 150

Assessment

EXAM Duration Timing
(Semester)
% of
final
mark
Resit/resubmission
opportunity
Penalty for late
submission
Notes
             
CONTINUOUS Duration Timing
(Semester)
% of
final
mark
Resit/resubmission
opportunity
Penalty for late
submission
Notes
Essay plan or practice essay         
Assessment 1 There is a resit opportunity. Standard UoL penalty applies for late submission. This is an anonymous assessment.    100       

Recommended Texts

Reading lists are managed at readinglists.liverpool.ac.uk. Click here to access the reading lists for this module.