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letteratura inglese (CORSO Magistrale)

A.A. 2011-2012 CdL LM-37   English Literature of the Renaissance   Prof. David Lucking

Course Description

The objective of this course is to equip students to embark upon a reasonably informed reading of the work of Shakespeare and his contemporaries even if they have no prior knowledge of the authors or of the period in which they were writing. The bulk of the course will consist in intensive analyses of works belonging to different phases in Shakespeare's career and representing the various poetic and dramatic modes in which he worked. As far as time and vocal stamina permit, these works will be read and discussed in class, hopefully with the active participation of the students. Relevant biographical and background information will be supplied in order to promote a fuller understanding of the texts under discussion, but will not be an object of independent study. The Arden Editions of Shakespeare's plays are particularly recommended for those who are really serious about getting to grips with the texts, since they contain authoritative introductions, useful supplementary material, and extensive annotations. Other editions of the plays are however perfectly acceptable, including those available at no cost on the Internet. If you plan to quote Shakespeare in essays, etc., you may find it useful to have simple text versions of the plays on hand so that you can transfer passages directly into the document you are working on. In such cases, however, you would be well advised to check this material against more authoritative versions before submitting your work. One of the best plain text versions currently available on the Internet is The Complete Moby(tm) Shakespeare, which can be downloaded in a single zipped file by clicking here.

Links

For reasons that might be worth investigating in depth, there seems to be a natural affinity between the Bard and the Web, and the Internet-savvy student has a wealth of Shakespeare-related material at his disposal. The problem in trying to catalogue such resources is that it often seems unwarrantably arbitrary to single out certain sites at the expense of others, while some sites shift location with such disconcerting frequency that it is difficult to keep track of them. The student wishing to pursue the shade of Shakespeare through the meanders of Cyberspace is therefore referred to the following portal maintained by Terry A. Gray, which is comprehensive in scope and updated on a regular basis:

• Mr. William Shakespeare and the Internet

Those interested in the Early Modern period of English Literature in general might want to consult the following site maintained by Anniina Jokinen:

• Lumarium