LIBS 115: Shakespeare: Stage/Page/Screen

Course Description

What has made the plays of Shakespeare so relevant to a well-rounded education in universities around the world? How do Shakespeare's plays transcend his period making him, in Ben Jonson's words, "not of age, but for all time"? In this course we shall discuss the literary, stage and film traditions of Shakespeare's plays as well as the wholesale borrowings from, echoes and parodies of them in popular culture, from Dr. Who to graphic novels, and the commercialization of Shakespeare in such unlikely mediums as Levis jean commercials. This course challenges students to consider how the medium of the artistic work (e.g. film, play, illustration) affects interpretation and how the artisitc work is conditioned by the social contexts of its time. From comic books to live performance, Slings and Arrows to Kenneth Branagh, this course explores the textual, performance and visual history of a selection of Shakespeare's plays and the cultural signifigance of Shakespeare today. Note: the course will include an excursion to see a play at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Ontario, Canada.