Renaissance Literature

This course serves as an introduction to the plays of Shakespeare. Because some familiarity with the work of Shakespeare's contemporaries will better allow us to appreciate the unique character and achievement of Shakespeare's dramatic literature, and the singular contribution of Shakespeare to the history of poetry and thinking, our reading will be guided by careful attention not only to the language of the plays but also to the intellectual context from which they emerged. We will examine, for instance, how Shakespeare situated his work in relation to the sceptical intellectual climate fostered by Montaigne, the revolution in tragic drama effected by Marlowe, and the emergence of the learned Ben Jonson as Shakespeare's greatest rival. Primary reading will include: the history play Richard II; the comedies A Midsummer Night's Dream and The Merchant of Venice; the tragedies Hamlet, Othello, and Macbeth; and the romance The Tempest.