ENGL 4270

Advanced Seminar in Shakespeare

Course Description

Course information provided by the 2023-2024 Catalog.

The seminar focuses on Shakespeare's last plays including those known by the generic title of 'romances' – Pericles, Cymbeline, The Winter's Tale and The Tempest – as well as his collaborations – All is True (Henry VIII) and The Two Noble Kinsmen – and finally the currently much discussed 'lost play' Cardenio, which links Shakespeare in intriguing ways to that other great writer of the early modern period, Cervantes. As we study the final works of Shakespeare's career, we will consider the critical-theoretical question of lateness itself. What is a "late" work? What does that mean specifically in the case of Shakespeare? We will pay particular attention to dramatic form and historical context – including ways in which the plays themselves call the notion of historical context into question.

Distribution Category (ALC-AS, LA-AS)

When Offered Spring.

Breadth Requirement (HB)

Satisfies Requirement This course counts toward the pre-1800 requirement for English majors.

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