Shakespeare as Dramatist

Catalog description

How great a dramatist is Shakespeare really, and what does it mean to be a great dramatist? Are there special qualities in his handling of “the essentials of declaimed verse,” in its music, psychology, grammar, conflicts, originality, characterizations, directness and even deliberate obscurity that render his poetry for the stage, as well as his prose, eternally satisfying, exciting, influential and magnetic? The course will examine a number of Shakespeare’s comedies, tragedies and history plays with a view to elucidating these issues, or to working out his perpetual attraction for actors and audiences alike.—Two papers, the first fairly short, the second longer, but both focused especially on the dramatic aspects of Shakespeare’s verse and prose.