01   MW4   CAC   70193    JACKSON   MU-210

What is it that has made Shakespeare the man “not of an age, but for all time?” Why do his works remain staples of American theatrical companies and college courses, even as they continue to haunt popular culture—in movies such as Ten Things I Hate About You, Shakespeare in Love, Romeo + Juliet, or Westside Story, for example, or novels like Mama Day and A Thousand Acres?

This introductory course for majors and non-majors will sample some of the comedies, histories, tragedies and romances on which the Shakespearean mystique rests: works like A Midsummer Night’s Dream, As You Like It, Antony and Cleopatra, King Lear, Richard II, 1 Henry IV, The Tempest, and The Winter’s Tale. We will do a little dramatic reading, act a scene or two, and explore what makes these tales of murder and intrigue, betrayal and revenge, tragic love and love triumphant, comedy, adventure, and transformation so enduringly …Shakespearean.