ENG 121-01 - Introduction to Shakespeare

4 credits (Fall and Spring)

Students in this course will develop the skills of close reading, critical writing, and literary analysis. Assigned texts will come mainly from the poetry and dramatic works of William Shakespeare, and the course will use the readings to emphasize specific elements of Shakespeare’s art and context. For example, we will begin by reading Shakespeare’s sonnets to attend carefully to their language and technique, and later units will emphasize the interplay among tragedy, comedy, and history; the construction of race and gender on the Renaissance stage; critical and theoretical tools for analyzing Shakespeare; and Shakespeare’s legacies.

Prerequisite: None.
Instructor: Simpson