Department of English

William Shakespeare's famous depiction of England's last medieval king, Richard III, has captivated and enraged audiences for centuries. Shakespeare's king is as sexy and charming as he is violent and conniving, inspiring authors like John Steinbeck to write their own irresistibly attractive villains. This course will explore Shakespeare's Richard III in the context of the "sexy bad guy" trope, tracing representations of Richard III from the contemporary tv romance adaption of Philippa Gregory's The White Queen to the historical chronicle Shakespeare used as a source for his play. We will read feminist and disability criticism, learn about the famous discovery of Richard III's body in a parking lot in England, and think through the play's contributions to genres like horror and true crime. This course also includes several trips to the archives to view original Shakespeare Folios, including the copy owned by John Milton that inspired his own enticing bad guy, Satan in Paradise Lost.