English 417: Shakespeare I

Prof. Jim Garrett

Office: E & T A608
Office Hours: Tuesday 3-4pm, Thursday 10:30-11:30am
Phone: (323) 343-4163
Email: jgarret@calstatela.edu

Course Description
Prerequisites: Upper division standing is prerequisite to enrollment in 400-level courses. ENGL
102 or its equivalent is prerequisite to all upper division English courses. Prerequisite for all
literature courses: ENGL 250, or 200A, 200B or 200C unless otherwise stated.
Catalog Description: Shakespearean drama. Intensive study of five or six plays chosen from the
following: Julius Caesar, Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, Twelfth Night, The Merchant of Venice,
Henry IV–Part One, Richard III, and Hamlet; elements of Shakespearean drama.
Learning Objectives: English 417 introduces students to the basic elements of Shakespearean
drama (character, structure, setting, imagery, theme, verse form, and so on) and situates the plays
within their theatrical and sociopolitical contexts. Our goal is not to exhaust these plays, but
rather to learn and practice ways of reading that will enable us to read and understand
Shakespearean drama and to analyze and critique staged and cinematic performances of the plays.
After successfully completing this course, students will be able to:
1. Identify and distinguish among Shakespeare’s major works, and describe their relative
chronological position in the canon;
2. Identify the important political, religious, and cultural events that occurred during
Shakespeare’s life, and use these ideas to interpret the plays;
3. Describe the manner in which an Elizabethan play was performed;
4. Apply various critical approaches to Shakespeare’s life and/or works;
5. Analyze the importance of performance choices (text, casting, set, costume, blocking,
props, enunciation, and so on) in creating meaning;
6. Produce several original, documented essays demonstrating competency in critical
reading, literary analysis and writing.
Course Requirements: There is much reading and writing in this class. You will need to be
diligent about planning ahead and completing your tasks on time. Listed below are the required
assignments for this course:
1. Two writing assignments (each 20% of course grade)
2. A mid-term exam (20% of course grade)
3. A take-home final exam (20% of course grade)
4. Performance of a short monologue with an accompanying one-page character analysis
(5% of course grade)
5. Group performance of a scene with an accompanying 1-2 page scene analysis (10% of
course grade)

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 6. Attendance, punctuality, participation, effort (5% of course grade)
In order to pass this course all assignments (papers and exams) must be legitimately attempted.
Plagiarism (see description below) does NOT constitute a legitimate attempt of the assignment.
Texts
The following texts are required for this class:
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Henry V, Hamlet, King Lear, Macbeth, The Tempest
(preferably New Folger Library editions)
McDonald, Russ. The Bedford Companion to Shakespeare (2nd edition, Bedford, 2001)
The following texts are recommended for this class (they have not been ordered and therefore are
not available in the bookstore):
A Literary Terms Guide—Abrams, Glossary of Literary Terms (Wadsworth, 2008);
Cuddon, Penguin Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory (Penguin, 2000);
Hamilton, Essential Literary Terms (Norton, 2007); Harmon, A Handbook to Literature
(Prentice-Hall, 2008)
A Format/Style Guide—Gibaldi, MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (MLA,
2009); The Chicago Manual of Style (Univ. of Chicago, 2003); Turabian, et al, A Manual
for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations (Univ. of Chicago, 2007);
Williams, Style: Lessons in Clarity and Grace (Longman, many editions available)

Policies
Grading Policy: The distribution of points for the individual assignments in this course is listed in
“Requirements” above. For the quarter, 250 points are possible. Course grades are based on
standard percentages (i.e. 90% and greater is some version of an A, 80%-89% is some version of
a B and so on). Plus and minus grades are used in the class.
Electronic Devices: Please turn off all computers, cell phones, pagers, portable radios,
televisions, computers, MP3/CD/Disc/Mini-disc players, and any other electronic communication
and/or entertainment devices before coming to class. Please do not use telephones, text
messaging, instant messaging, IRC, email, snail mail, carrier pigeon, paper airplanes or any other
means of surreptitious and distracting communication during class.
Contacting the Instructor: Email is the most effective way of communicating with me outside of
class and my office hours. However, be reasonable. If you email me at 2:00 AM the morning
before a paper is due, don’t expect a response.
Attendance: Attendance is mandatory. I will take attendance at the start of every class. If you are
not present I will mark you absent. Arriving late will count as half of an absence. You are allowed
one absence without penalty. Each absence beyond the first one will reduce your course grade. If
you miss more than four classes you will be disqualified from taking the final and therefore will
fail the class.
Please read the assigned material thoroughly and thoughtfully prior to class and be prepared to
contribute to class discussions. If you do not voluntarily contribute to class discussion, I will call
on you. If you are absent, you are responsible for the material you missed; if possible, make
arrangements in advance with a classmate.

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Written Assignments: Please note the following carefully when preparing your written
assignments for this class:
• Written assignments must be typed following standard formatting practices for college
writing—use a readable type style and size (12 point type), indent paragraphs, double
space between lines, and use one inch margins. Any style guide will contain information on
formatting your written assignments for submission.
• Before handing in written assignments, edit and proofread your work carefully.
• Do not use plastic covers or report folders or title pages on your written assignments.
Each assignment, though, should have your name, the course number, the date, and my
name on separate lines (double-spaced) in the upper left corner of the first page. If the
paper has a title, center it on the first page, after the above information.
• Use page numbers and place them in the upper right corner of the page. If you are
uncertain how to have word processing software generate the correct page number in the
header of your document, ask someone in one of the labs.
• MLA format and style conventions should be followed for all written assignments (essays
and responses). For more information on MLA format and style conventions, see The
MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, the appropriate section of a recent
(published after 2000) writer’s handbook, or one of the many reputable online sources.
• Late papers are not accepted. The assignment due dates are distributed on the first day of
class, and the assignments are made available often weeks before they are due.
Academic Dishonesty/Cheating: Collaborating with others is encouraged when you are planning
your papers, reviewing each other’s work, preparing for presentations or for exams. Study or
reading groups can be effective ways to study and learn. However, when you write your papers,
the text needs to be your own.
• You must carefully observe the standard rules for acknowledging the sources of words
and ideas. If you make use of a phrase or a quote or if you paraphrase another writer’s
words or ideas, you must acknowledge the source of these words or ideas telling us the
source of these materials. APA and MLA style differ on the exact format of this attribution,
but the simple version is the name of the author and the page number (if appropriate) in
parentheses at the end of the sentence containing the use of the source material. If you fail
to acknowledge properly the source of your text, you will receive a zero on the
assignment and be reported to the Student Disciplinary Officer.
• If you plagiarize or otherwise misrepresent the source of your work, you will receive a
zero on the assignment and be reported to the Student Disciplinary Officer.

Schedule
Reading Due Assignments
3/31 Campus Closed: Cesar Chavez Day
4/2 Course Introduction; Overview of Shakespearean Drama
4/7 Macbeth (Acts 1-3); “Reading Shakespeare’s Language” in

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 Reading Due Assignments
Macbeth Folger edition (xv-xxiv); “To What End Are All
These Words?” (36-58)
4/9 Macbeth (Acts 4-5)
4/14 Macbeth (cont.); McDonald, “Performances, Playhouses, Assign monologues
and Players” (109-126)
4/16 A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Act 1.1-2.1)
4/21 A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Acts 2-5); McDonald,
“Shakespeare, ‘Shakespeare,’ and the Problem of
Authorship” (11-28)
4/23 A Midsummer Night’s Dream (cont.); Monologue
Preparation
4/28 Henry V (Acts 1-3); McDonald, “Town and Country: Life in
Shakespeare’s England” (219-236); Monologue Preparation
4/30 Henry V (Acts 4-5); Monologue Preparation
5/5 Henry V (cont.); Monologue Preparation
5/7 Monologue Performances Character Analysis Due
5/12 Midterm Exam First Writing Assignment
Due
5/14 Hamlet (Act 1)
5/19 Hamlet (Acts 2-5); McDonald, “Politics and Religion: Early
Modern Ideologies” (303-325)
5/21 Hamlet (cont.)
5/26 Hamlet (cont.); McDonald, “Men and Women: Gender,
Family, Society” (253-277); Start The Tempest
5/28 The Tempest (Acts 1-3); Set up Performance Groups
6/2 The Tempest (Acts 4-5); Group Performance Preparation Second Writing
Assignment Due
6/4 The Tempest (cont.); Group Performance Preparation Assign Take-home Final
6/9 Final Exam 10:45-1:15—Group Performances
6/11 No Class Meeting Take-home Final due in
my campus mailbox

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Still Need
• Literary Terms
• Guide to Reading Shakespeare
• Monologue Assignment
• Monologue Grading Rubric and Form (for student assessment)
• Midterm Notes
• Midterm
• Essay Assignments
• Final Notes
• Final
• Group Performance Assignment (incl. list of appropriate scenes)
• Group Performance Assessment Rubric and Form (for student assessment)

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