ENG 405: Shakespeare
Archive

Unit 1: Sonnets
Monday 1/8

Reading (available in Canvas):

Topics

In-Class Exercise #1: Reading Early-Modern English Verse

Part 1. Reading for meaning

Sonnets Online

Shakespeare's language is culturally distant to us, but it is not foreign and it is Modern English--albeit early. On top of this cultural distance, much of Shakespeare's work is written in poetic verse--a type of writing that can be challenging no matter what era it is from. In this exercise, we will develop some reading strategies that you can use to help to acclimate yourself to this writing. Use your assigned sonnet and work through the steps below.

  1. Identify the sentences in the sonnet--reorganize so that there is a sentence on each line.
  2. Reorder the sentence if necessary into S-V-O order
  3. Identify and look up any unknown words, and note definitions for yourself. If there is a word you cannot find a definition for a word, or not a definition that seems to make sense today, try the OED--the Oxford English Dictionary --a diachronic dictionary that shows how the meanings of words change over time. See our Canvas site for login information.
  4. Read through the poem now, and write a prose summary of the meaning:

Part 2. Reading for analysis

While it's important to understand meaning, we also want to appreciate and analyze the artistic nuances of Shakespeare's language. Return to the original sonnet and work through the steps below.

  1. Identify and describe at least one specific, significant theme in the poem
  2. Describe the speaker and any other characters in the poem
  3. Identify significant formal features and figurative language in the poem ( click here if you need a review of literary terms )
  4. Choose one of the features from 1-3 above, and write a claim explaining this feature and its significance to the meaning of your sonnet.

Unit 1: Hamlet
Wednesday 1/10

BCS Reading:

Reading Bedford Companion to Shakespeare (hereafter BCS):

Play Reading:

Hamlet Act I

Hamlet Page

Discussion: Setting the Stage--Reviewing the Basics

Discussion: Setting the Stage--Reviewing the Basics

Plot Structure: Review

plot:
The events or actions in a story. Works of poetry, fiction, and drama can all have a plot, and the plot structure can take many forms.

1. exposition:
Term used in Freytag's Pyramid to describe events at the beginning of a story. The exposition is the starting point of a narrative and can be thought of as the status quo, before the complications of the plot begin.
2. inciting incident
Term used in Fretag's Pyramid for the event--sometimes described as a destabilizing event--that alters the status quo presented in the exposition and initiates the rising action of the plot.
3. rising action
Term used in Freytag's Pyramid to describe the plot complications that drive the narrative toward the climax. Often, much of the narrative energy is involved in developing the rising action.
4. climax
Term for the turning point in a narrative. After the climax has occurred, the characters in the story can never return to the status quo, or the state of affairs before the narrative complications took place. Narratives can have more than one climax, depending upon the complexity of the structure.
5. falling action
Term used in Freytag's Pyramid to describe events after the climax has taken place that drive the narrative toward the resolution.
6. resolution or conclusion
Term that describes the final state of affairs in a narrative--a new stable state; the resolution is the end to the story. Some narratives resist a resolution and remain open ended.
subplot:
a plot that is intertwined with the main plot but receives less time and attention. Usually a subplot is related in some way to the main plot--for example, it might provide a parallel, contrast, or commentary. A subplot may have some or all of the plot elements described above.
flashback:
a scene that interrupts the present action of a narrative to depict some earlier event that occurred before the story's opening.
foreshadowing:
use of hints or clues to suggest what will happen later in the narrative.
digression:
introduction of a different topic that interrupts the flow of a narrative; typically the narrative is rejoined after a digression.
frame narrative:
A literary technique where one narrative is nested within another. The frame narrative is often provides the occasion for telling the nested narrative and is frequently connected thematically to the inner story.
turn:
moment in a narrative where the meaning changes significantly. The term "turn" can be used in texts that do not have a fully-formed plot but do have a narrative element.

Setting

setting:
The time and place where the plot of the story takes place. Setting includes all important elements of context, including social environment.
physical location:
can refer to the overall location of a narrative (such as "Italy"), but also specific details of locations where plot actions take place (such as "dark, ancient, catacombs"). There may be many physical locations in a single narrative.
temporal setting:
the time when a narrative is set. The temporal setting may be in the past, present, or future. Past and present settings may be historical or fictional/imaginary. Consider also time representations within the text when analyzing temporal settings--time of day, duration of the story or events within the story, etc.

Character

character
Person represented in a narrative who is interpreted by the reader (or meant to be interpreted by the reader) as having moral, physical, emotional, and other human qualities. The character takes part in the plot action.
flat character:
This term was first introduced by writer E.M. Forster in his book Aspects of the Novel, and it refers to a character who can be simply described and who does not undergo change throughout the narrative. Contrary to popular belief, the term "flat" is not a negative or derogatory description.
round character:
This term was first introduced by writer E.M. Forster in his book Aspects of the Novel, and it refers to a character who is complex. As Forster described it: "The test of a round character is whether it is capable of surprising in a convincing way."
protagonist:
a main character in a narrative; the story may center around this character or be told from the point of view of this character. There may be more than one protagonist in a work. Usually, the protagonist is a dynamic character, a character who changes throughout the story, but this is not always true.
antagonist:
a character in a narrative who opposes the aims or goals of the protagonist or creates obstacles to the accomplishment of the plot. An antagonist is sometimes a foil of the protagonist.
minor character:
a character in a text who has a support role. Often minor characters can be described through their relationships to protagonist characters.
epiphany:
a sudden moment of self-realization. Characters who experience an epiphany are round characters.

Formal Features of Drama

drama or dramatic work
Genre of literature characterized by the interchange of direct speech by one, and more commonly, two or more characters. A drama is meant to be acted rather than merely read.
act:
largest unit of meaning in a drama or dramatic work, usually made up of one or more scenes . There are several typical types of organizations involving acts: the one act play is akin to a short story; all the development and action takes place in the short space of a single act. Three act plays and five act plays are typical for longer works. Though it is conventional to divide plays this way, it is not mandatory to have an act structure.
scene:
the smallest unit of meaning in a dramatic work, typically bounded by the entrance of characters at the beginning and their exit at the end. Usually, one or more scenes make up an act.
cast of characters:
List at the beginning of a drama that names the characters and gives a brief description of their relationships to each other or their function in the work.
dialogue:
the direct speech of different characters in a dramatic work.
stage directions:
text in the written form of a drama that indicates to the director, actors, and reader additional information about various aspects of the scene. Stage directions may provide instructions about setting (physical location, time of day, etc) as well as provide instructions for actors about how specific lines should be said. Stage directions are usually indicated with square brackets and italic text.

Discussion

  1. Describe the settings in the first act as specifically as possible. Include both physical and temporal elements.
  2. Identify and describe the traits of principle characters introduced in Act I.
  3. Identify and describe the function of minor characters in Act I.
  4. Explain the elements of the exposition in Act I.
  5. Find an example of figurative language in Act I: identify the type and explain the significance.
  6. Find an example of a formal feature in Act I: identify the type and explain the significance.
  7. Identify as many formal features of drama as you can in Act I; be sure to cite where you found them.

Unit 1: Hamlet
Monday 1/15

MLK Day--No Class

Unit 1: Hamlet
Wednesday 1/16

BCS Reading:

Play Reading:

Discussion: Tragedy

In-Class Exercise #2: Close Reading

Close reading is one of the fundamental tools of literary analysis; it also helps to develop your comprehension skills, especially in texts that are culturally and linguistically distant like the early modern English texts of Shakespeare. To perform a close reading, start with the meaning of passage. Next, examine how the meaning is delivered through specific (often artistic) use of language. In this phase, you should identify figurative language and formal features. If you need a refresher on these concepts, you can find a Selected List of Literary Terms as a review. For an even more comprehensive list of rhetorical figures that someone in Shakespeare's time would have been familiar with, see the Silva Rhetoricæ.

Part 1. Example Passage

Hamlet 1.2.70-73

Gertrude: Good Hamlet, cast thy nighted colour off,
And let thine eye look like a friend on Denmark.
Do not for ever with thy vailed lids
Seek for thy noble father in the dust.

  1. Context--what is happening when these lines are spoken; consider both occasion and character relationships:
  2. Comprehension--write what the passage means:
  3. Identification--name/locate the figurative language and formal features:
  4. Analysis--explain how the form is significant for conveying the meaning:

Part 2. Your Turn

Work with your group on your assigned passage, and be prepared to share your results with the class.

  1. Context:
  2. Comprehension:
  3. Identification:
  4. Analysis:

Unit 1: Hamlet
Monday 1/22

BCS Reading:

Play Reading:

Student Led Activity #1

Discussion: Publication History and Versioning

Unit 1: Hamlet
Wednesday 1/24

In-Class Exercise #3: Hamlet in Memes Preparation

In the first homework assignment, we will engage with several important skills for the rest of the term--understanding meaning in the plays, thinking about how visualization is important in drama, and experimenting with adaptation. Work with your assigned group to create memes to represent the most significant moments of meaning in the play. You should create at least 2 memes per student for homework, but use this time in class to determine which specific parts of the play to represent and brainstorm how they could be represented effectively through the genre of the meme.

There are 20 scenes in this play, so for the homework assignment, each student will have their own scene to choose a meme from. Your individual scene will be assigned during class. To prepare for your individual assignment, you will work with your group to practice the process of selecting what to meme-ify and create memes.

Steps

  1. Review your scene
  2. Discuss what is the most significant element that should be represented
  3. Discuss how it could be represented (remember, it's ok to change the tone to fit the medium, but the content should be accurately represented)
  4. Create a visual representation with an appropriate caption--be creative!

Tools

Some free meme-maker programs are listed below. It is recommended you use one of these to create your memes. If you want to upload your own images for your meme, links to Shakespeare image databases are also included below: Shakespeare Illustrated, which has images of paintings based on Shakespeare's plays or from Emory University's Shakespeare and the players site, which has images of postcards from late 19th and early 20th century stage adaptations of Shakespeare's plays. However, you are also free to use contemporary images or any image that is representative of the meaning you are trying to convey.

Meme makers

Image Resources

List of Scene Assignments

Unit 2: Merchant of Venice
Week 4: Monday 1/29

Play Reading:

Student Led Activity #2

Viewing (excerpts):

DE #1: Hamlet in Memes due by midnight 1/29/24

Unit 2: Merchant of Venice
Week 4: Wednesday 1/31

BCS Reading:

Play Reading:

In-Class Exercise #4: Genre Analysis--Comedy

Part 1: Comedy as a genre

  1. In our BCS reading for this week for this week (pp. 81-85), comedy is defined as "a literary structure ... that moves toward a happy ending and implies a positive understanding of human experience" (81). List as many specific characteristics of comedy given in your BCS text:
  2. Now, work from your list and identify examples from the play that demonstrate these traits. If a trait doesn't apply, mark it as N/A.
  3. After examining this list of examples, explain how Merchant of Venice fits into the genre of comedy
  4. Are there any significant elements of plot that do not fit with the definition of comedy? Explain:

Part 2: Discussion

  1. Group A: Analyze the settings introduced in this play: Venice and Belmont. Choose several specific passages that provide details about each and discuss why these settings are important.
  2. Group B: Analyze the character of Portia. How does she represent her suitors? How does she represent her own situation? What agency (power to affect her own fate) does she have, and how is this both complicated and enhanced by her father's final wishes? Be sure to provide specific examples.
  3. Group C: Analyze the representation of parent-child relationships in this play, considering in particular the relationships between Shylock and Jessica and Portia and her father. How are children controlled by their parents, and why is this significant? What power do children exert? What is the role of duty in this relationship? You might consider as a contrast the relationship in the low comic plot between Lancelet and old Gobbo.
  4. Group D: Analyze the representation of Shylock. What seems to be the dominant discourse about Jews in Venice? (provide support) How does Shylock himself describe the way Christians, and particularly Antonio, have treated him? How do these cultural realities influence Shylock's behavior related to the bond and Antonio?

Unit 2: Merchant of Venice
Week 5: 2/5-2/9

Primary Historical/Literary Reading (available on Canvas)

BCS Reading:

Reading (available on Canvas):

Kaplan, M. Lindsay. The Merchant of Venice: Texts and Contexts.

Student Led Activity #3

Discussion: Merchant of Venice within a Tradition of Adaptation

In-Class #5: Analyzing Historical Context

Readings:

• BCS Ch 7: Clothing pp. 231-33
• BCS Ch 7: Getting and Spending pp. 233-236
Kaplan, M. Lindsay. The Merchant of Venice: Texts and Contexts.
• "Jews in England." 248-249.
• Foxe, John. from Acts and Monuments. 251-55.
• Usque, Samuel. from Consolation for the Tribulations of Israel. 288-92.

Part 1. Identification

Using the BCS readings for today, work with your group to identify specific elements of Merchant of Venice that are informed by the context about clothing and class covered in those sections. Give specific examples from the play (with act.scene.line references).

Part 2. Analysis

Use the readings from the critical edition of Merchant of Venice edited by Lindsay Kaplan to answer the questions below.

  1. Explain the historical realities that caused Jewish people to be marginalized and discriminated against in early modern Europe and England.
  2. Explain the origin of stereotypes about Jewish people and how they are related to the legal constraints Jewish people contended with in this period.
  3. Explain how Usque describes the treatment of Jewish people in England.
  4. How does the representation of Shylock in Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice interact with these historical realities? In what ways does Shylock draw on dominant discourses about Jewish people? In what ways does this character demonstrate subversive discourse? Explain.

Part 3. Homework Preparation

Unfortunately, the upswing in anti-semetic dicourse has made issues raised by this play increasingly relevant today. For this unit's digital engagement, you will be writing a researched blog that educates people about the development of cultural discourses about Jewish people historically and use this explanation to inform your audience about the lasting damage these discourses can do through identification of current-day examples of these ideas. Use your remaining time to begin researching examples and facts about the rising anti-semetism in our culture today.

Definitions for Reference

discourse:
General term for spoken or written communication. More specifically, discourse can be thought of as the cultural conversation about a topic within a discourse community.
discourse community:
A group of individuals that shares a common understanding based on systematic principles of communication and/or vocabulary within a specific discursive situation. Discourse communities have traditionally been based on geography and a common language, such as English or French, but discourse communities can also be more specific groups who share certain experiences and specialized vocabulary specific to their activities: e.g., video game players, members of a class in school, soldiers in the armed forces, etc.
dominant discourse:
The prevailing view about a certain topic within a discourse community.
competing discourse:
Discursive situation where there is no dominant view and two or more opinions/ideas about a topic compete for dominance.
subversive discourse:
Type of discourse that represents a non-dominant position on a topic in a discourse community. A subversive discourse actively works to destabilize the dominant discourse.

Unit 3: Measure for Measure
Week 6: 2/12-2/16

Quiz #4: Measure for Measure due by midnight Sunday 2/11

Digital Engagement #2: Connecting Past to Present (researched blog) due by midnight Monday 2/12

Play Reading:

Student Led Activity #4

Discussion: "Problem Plays"

BCS Reading:

In-Class Exercise #6: Close Reading 2--Developing an Analytical Framework

In this exercise, we will take close reading a step further by using it as a tool for creating a broader analytical framework for examining a longer work. Start by close reading a selected passage that focuses on the representation of justice in the play.

  1. Discuss the logic of justice that the play presents to this point; consider in particular the representation of Claudio and Juliet's crime and justice and mercy in general by various characters--in particular the Duke, Escalus and Angelo and Isabella. Consider these issues and perform a rhetorical analysis/close reading of the passages below.
  1. Group A: Duke: 1.3.20-32, 37-58
  2. Group B: Escalus and Angelo: 2.1.1-33
  3. Group C: Angelo: 2.2.117-33
  4. Group D: Isabella: 2.2.134-36, 139-52
  1. Next, find at least 2 passages later in the text related to justice that you can put into conversation with your original passage. List the references act.scene.line here:
  2. Finally, describe the relationship among your passages. Be sure to explain the significance in relation to the logic of justice in the play that your collection of passages demonstrate.

Unit 3: Measure for Measure
Week 7: 2/19-2/23

Quiz #5: Measure for Measure context readings due by midnight Sunday 2/18

Reading (available in Canvas):

Student Led Activity #5

Discussion: Power and Sex in Early Modern England

In-Class Exercise #7: Adaptation Brainstorming

As we have seen, Shakespeare's plays are part of a continuum of literary tradition. Shakespeare often adapted other sources, and his plays in turn have been continuously adapted, starting in the Restoration and continuing to today, to suit them to a variety of new cultural moment. Today, there are two different types of adaptations: direct adaptations that maintain the original language (perhaps trimming some lines and scenes) but set the play in a different time period. Adaptations of this type may also make additional changes, such as gender-blind casting, or modify staging to account for new technologies in a more modern setting. Conceptual adaptations do not maintain the original langauge, but they do keep key elements of the plot; adaptations of this type, like the films She's the Man (Twelfth Night) or 10 Things I Hate about You (Taming of the Shrew) are true to the conceptual framework--including character relationships and main plot elements--even while making significant changes to the original.

Your next Digital Engagement will be writing a concept paper and sample scene for an adaptation of Measure for Measure. In this exercise, you will identify the type of adaptation you want to write and make some key decisions about your version of Shakespeare's play.

  1. Describe key elements of the play: what are the plot points/character/setting elements etc. that you feel are so important to the meaning that they must be included in an adaptation.
  2. List possible settings, locations, times, situations etc. that would be a good fit for dramatizing this core meaning. Be creative; the only thing off limits is early modern England staging/period.
  3. Choose the strongest possibility from the list and start listing the key modifications you would need to make for this adaptation to work, or any problems you would need to solve--you don't need to solve all the problems right now.

Unit 4: Richard III
Week 8: 2/26-3/1

Quiz #6: Richard III Acts I-III due by midnight Sunday 2/25

Digital Engagement #3: Adaptation of Measure for Measure due by midnight, Monday 3/26

Play Reading

BCS Reading:

Student Led Activity #6

Recommended Viewing:

In-Class Exercise #8: Visualizing Meaning

Part 1: Analysis

  1. Discuss how authority is represented in the play. How does Richard exert authority while he does not have any official power? How does he do so once he is king? What are the significant differences between these two states of power? Consider also how Richard uses religion in relation to power--how does he subvert Christian ideology to support his own ends (see, for example, 3.7.96-end of scene)?
  2. Compare Richard's success as a wooer--first in 1.2 with Anne and then with Elizabeth in 4.4 starting around line 205, after the Duchess exits.
  3. Choose one of the dreams told or shown in the play and discuss its significance and role in the plot (for example, Clarence's dream: 1.4.9-65, Stanley's dream related by his messenger: 3.2.10-18, the dreams of Richmond and Richard starting 5.3.122). Analyze the overall use of dreams in the play. Does a consistent logic of dreams emerge, or does each have a specific meaning only in context? Both, neither, explain.
  4. Is there any power for women in this play (see for example 2.2, 4.1, 4.4): if not, why not? if so, what is it (give specific examples)? How is power related to status? (or is it.) Do women have means for altering their own fate? If so how, if not, why not?
  5. Analyze the use of violence in this play. Discuss both covert and overt violence and how they differ in their use and meaning. What types of violence are shown and which are only told, and what is the difference? Does a hierarchy of violence emerge in terms of morality--explain (remember, even "good" characters are violent in this play).
  6. Compare the characterization Richard and Henry Tudor. How is each marked in terms of morality? How do they differ as leaders? Be sure to examine the speech each makes to the troops before battle as you compare these figures.

Part 2: Visualizing I

Work through this exercise after watching the excerpts of the 1995 film adaptation of Richard III

  1. Identify key differences in representations of character
  2. Idenitfy key differences in representations of plot--both larger structural changes as well as localized changes
  3. Describe the setting--both physical and temporal and identify key elements of setting.
  4. Identify at least 1 significant example of delivery and explain why it is important.
  5. Identify at least 1 significant example of blocking and explain why it is important.

Week 9: Spring Break--No Class

Unit 4: Richard III
Week 10: 3/11-3/16

Quiz #7: Richard III Historical Context midnight Sunday 3/10

BCS Reading:

Reading (available on Canvas)

Student Led Activity #7

Discussion

In-Class #9: Timeline Brainstorming

Recommended Viewing:

In-Class Exercise #9: Timeline Brainstorming

For this play, you will create a digital timeline relevant to Richard III. In this exercise, you will complete preparatory work for your homework assignment.

  1. In Richard III, Shakespeare takes many liberties with the span of time and order of historical events that are represented. Use the contextual materials for this unit and perform additional research as needed to list key events from the Wars of the Roses with their actual historical times. Then map events from the play to your list using act.scene.line references that you can refer to later.
  2. Look at this list and and identify key moments where the differences are particularly significant. These will become points on your timeline.

Tools

You can use any timeline creator tool you wish. One that I recommend is https://time.graphics/editor. This tool does require a free account, but you can log in with an existing Google account. If you have extra time you should start familiarizing yourself with a timeline tool.

Unit 5: Othello
Week 11: 3/18-3/23

Quiz #8: Othello Acts I-III midnight Sunday 3/17

Digital Engagement #4: RIII Timeline due by midnight Monday 3/18

Play Reading:

BCS Reading

Student Led Activity #8

Recommended Viewing

In-Class Exercise #10: Using Patterns to Build an Argument

Part 1. Feature Pattern

In the first act of the play, there are several moments when the structure of climax (or anti-climax) are used. Analyze the instances listed below. Examine the kiaros of the example (who is using the figure in what context), identify whether it is an example of climax or anticlimax and explain why, and analyze the significance of the example in relation to the larger meaning of the scene/exchange. Then theorize about the use of this figure in the early scenes of the play--is there broader significance to this structural pattern as the play progresses?

  1. Group A--1.1.86-87: Awake! what, ho, Brabantio! thieves! thieves! thieves!
    Look to your house, your daughter and your bags!
  2. Group B--1.1.148-50: Your daughter, if you have not given her leave,
    I say again, hath made a gross revolt;
    Tying her duty, beauty, wit and fortunes
    In an extravagant and wheeling stranger
    Of here and every where
  3. Group C--1.2.36-7: My parts, my title and my perfect soul
    Shall manifest me rightly.
  4. Group D--1.2.84-90: If she in chains of magic were not bound,
    Whether a maid so tender, fair and happy,
    So opposite to marriage that she shunned
    The wealthy curled darlings of our nation,
    Would ever have, to incur a general mock,
    Run from her guardage to the sooty bosom
    Of such a thing as thou
  5. All--1.3.114-16: and she, in spite of nature,
    Of years, of country, credit, every thing,
    To fall in love with what she fear'd to look on!
  6. All--1.3.340-2: Come, Desdemona: I have but an hour
    Of love, of worldly matters and direction,
    To spend with thee: we must obey the time.
  1. Use the Digital Concordance to search for the term indicated below. What cultural connotations are attached to your term? Explain distinct meanings (each term listed below has at least 2) that you see. Identify significant patterns in the use of your term.

Now come up with your own search term: it can be related to your previous search, but does not have to be.

  1. explain why you chose this term
  2. how many total hits were there:
  3. list some significant/interesting examples:
  4. describe patterns that you see in the use of this term:
  5. explain significant findings:

Unit 5: Othello
Week 12: 3/25-3/30

Quiz #9: Othello Criticism midnight Sunday 3/25

Reading as Assigned (available on Canvas)

Recommended Viewing

Student Led Activity #8

Recommended Viewing

In-Class Exercise #11: Planning an Infographic

Your next digital engagement will be an infographic that explains the argument of the critical article you have been working on. For this exercise, you will start the planning stages. Complete the following tasks:

  1. Identify key points in the critical argument that you will highlight in your infographic. State these points in clear and simple phrases or short sentences.
  2. Think about the structure of the argument: draw it (this will help you create a visualization later).
  3. Experiment with an infographic maker (see list below). Find one you are comfortable with.

Infographic Makers

Reference: Characteristics of Effective Infographics

Unit 6: The Tempest
Week 13: 3/31-4/6

Quiz #10: The Tempest Criticism midnight Sunday 3/31

Digital Engagement #5: Critical Analysis Infographic due by midnight Monday 4/1 (no joking! ;) )

BCS Reading

Play Reading

Recommended Viewing:

Student Led Activity #9

In-Class Exercise #12: Synthesis

Part 1. Discussion and Analysis

  1. Group A: Prospero is responsible for "raising" not only Miranda, but Ariel and Caliban as well. What kind of father is he? What are his responsibilities towards each of these characters and does he live up to them (why/why not)? What is the role of nature and nurture in the character of the child? What are the reciprocal responsibilities of the child?
  2. Group B: Describe Prospero and the King of Naples as rulers (consider Prospero both as ruler of the island and a ruler in Milan before he is deposed). What do these representations of authority figures suggest about the role of authority in the various societies represented? What values are desirable in a good ruler? What are the weaknesses of each as a ruler?
  3. Group C: Describe Miranda; discuss how much control she has over her actions in specific situations. What is the relationship between desire and action as represented in the character of Miranda? Is Miranda a typical feminine representation, or does her environment alter her relationship to conventions of femininity--if so, how so? if not, why not?
  4. Group D: There are a number of instances of treachery/rebellion in this play. Discuss specific instances of treachery and/or rebellion and compare them. What do these instances suggest about the value system on the island? Are there any cases where treachery/rebellion is a positive action?
  5. Group A: What sort of moral system or system of justice is demonstrated in this play? Discuss specific instances and analyze whether a consistent system of morality and justice operates throughout the play. If so, how does it apply across different cultures? If not, what are the differences and why?
  6. Group B:Consider Ariel and Caliban as creatures of Prospero and compare them. What capabilities and responsibilities does each have? What desires does each have? How do they complete their work? How do they demonstrate independence? How does Prospero exert control over each of them? If these characters are meant to be foils of one another, what issues are emphasized through the representations of these characters? What is the ultimate outcome for each, and what is the significance of this?
  7. Group C: What is the role of magic and superstition in this play? How does it correlate with the contrast between reality and fantasy? What elements are necessary to achieve magic on Prospero's island? How are both magic and superstition related to power?
  8. Group D: Discuss the romantic plot in this play. The romantic plot conventionally signals the return of order through marriage or the promise of marriage at the end of the play. Does the romantic plot in The Tempest perform this function? If so, how; if not, why not? What other devices are used to show the restoration of order at the end of the play; what is the key focus?

Part 2. Synthesis

In this final exercise, we will look back over the term and analyze connections among primary texts.

  1. Use your work in Part 1. above as a foundation and list a specific themes and concepts in The Tempest
  2. list 3-5 cultural/discursive elements in The Tempest. Explain each.
  3. return to each of your lists and add notes about other plays we've read this term that can be put into conversation with The Tempest on the basis of the terms/ideas you've identified. Remember, the connection doesn't have to be simply similarity.
  4. Choose 3 of your connections to explain to the class and be prepared to share:

Unit 6: The Tempest
Week 14: 4/8-4/13

Workshop #1: Visual Representations of The Tempest

While there is a dearth of adaptations of a problem play like Measure for Measure, The Tempest, despite it's quirks, has been the subject of an array of multimedia representations for centuries. Characters like Caliban and Ariel have been imagined by artists all over the world, and many film makers have attempted to create Prospero's magical scenes through their craft. In your final Digital Engagement, you will research this visual history and create a collection that explores these visualizations.

Today, you will work on locating and sourcing visualizations.

Challenge 1: Film Versions

Locate as many film versions of The Tempest as you can. Be sure to track complete citation information as indicated below.

For each film, note:

Challenge 2: Film/TV Adaptations

Find as many adaptations of The Tempest as you can. These are more difficult to locate because they may not be called The Tempest. You may have to do additional research to locate them. Follow the breadcrumbs! Log all of the applicable infomation. I've listed one to get you started.

For each film, note:

For each TV episode/show, note:

Challenge 3: Artworks/still visual representations

Find as many still representations of The Tempest or its characters as you can. As noted, there is a long history of such images, particularly representing the characters of Caliban, Ariel, Miranda, and Prospero. A Google Image search is a good place to start, but a find will only "count" if you can provide full source information as indicated below:

Resource

Workshop #2: Planning a Collection

After Workshop #1, you should have numerous examples of visualizations of The Tempest. For your final Digital Engagement, you will select, organize, and present a collection of these visualizations. Today you will work on planning your collection.

Part 1. Purpose and Audience

Your collection should be of use to others, so start by thinking about your audience and purpose. For example, if you want to create a guide to film adapations of The Tempest, your audience would be people interested in Shakespeare and theatre/film. Your purpose would be to create a user-friendly collection that would allow this audience to find out some kind of information (which you would figure out) about this collection of items. Knowing these details would make it easy for you to select and organize your collection.

  1. What is your purpose?
  2. Describe items that belong in a collection with this purpose:
  3. Who would be interested in this purpose? What are their needs?

Part 2. Selection and Data Collection

Now that you have refined your purpose and identified your audience and their needs, return to your data:

  1. Identify items that you have already collected that are suitable
  2. What additional items should you find: start searching or describe your search process for later:
  3. Is there any additional information that you will need about your items besides what you have collected? Explain.

Part 3. Designing your display

Now that you have a sense of what belongs in your collection, think about the best way to deliver the content of your display. Make some notes below; you can focus on how you will deliver your display or you can make notes about different options and consult with me about your final design:

Digital Engagement #6: Visual Digital Humanities

Format: See below

Due: midnight, Saturday 4/13

Instructions

Digital humanities, broadly speaking, is applying digital tools to humanist study. We have been working towards this end for your final Digital Engagement. Over the past week, you have been collecting a specific kind of data, in the last Workshop you developed a purpose to guide the organization and presentation of this data, and you considered who your audience is and their needs.

To complete this assignment, you will do the following:

  1. Write a project statement that includes your collection title, a description of your collection, including the criteria for including items in the collection, a description of your purpose and audience, and an explanation of why this collection effectively meets your audience's needs.
  2. Present your items
  1. Option A: create the digital presentation. For example, if a website with a navigatable slide show of images is the best way to present you items, build that website. Use this option if you have prior experience with the needed digital technology.
  2. Option B: provide a list of your items and describe in detail the presentation method you would use, including a mock up of the interface (may be AI generated). Use this option if you are uncertain how to create your ideal collection presentation from a technical standpoint.

For either presentation option, you should include full citation information about your items in some way.

Evaluation Criteria

Your digital collection will be evaluated on the following components: