Fulfills General Requirement in Arts and Letters

Shakespeare’s poetry and plays present a variety of voices--from goddesses to maids, kings to fools, French to Irish to inhuman. Whether part of a dramatic monologue read in private solitude or a comic exchange heard in the public playhouse, these voices reveal the power of the spoken word in Renaissance England. This course will examine the voices of Shakespeare’s poetic and theatrical figures, both how syntax, diction, meter, and pronunciation reveal character, and how these characters perform the manifold powers of voice--for example, to bless, to condemn, to seduce. Active class participation will be required. In addition to short written assignments, a longer paper, and a final exam, students will be expected to deliver an oral presentation.