| CODE | ENG1282 | ||||||||
| TITLE | Shakespeare and the Idea of Tragedy | ||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 01 - Year 1 in Modular Undergraduate Course | ||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 5 | ||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 2 | ||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | English | ||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | Shakespeare's tragedies are widely recognised as being some of the most important works of literature ever written. Their imaginative wealth, poetic richness and commanding mastery of dramatic form are perhaps unsurpassed in the English language. Less assured, however, is an understanding of how Shakespeare's plays modify what is meant by 'tragedy'. In this regard it is perhaps telling that the great Shakespearean scholar Kenneth Muir has remarked that 'There is no such thing as Shakespearean tragedy: there are only Shakespearean tragedies'. This study-unit offers students a thoroughgoing introduction to Shakespearean tragedy while at the same time highlighting the limitations of genre criticism. Particular reference will be made to themes such as heroism, violence, redemption, catharsis, evil, free will and fate. The following plays are for detailed study: Hamlet, Othello, Macbeth and King Lear. Study-unit Aims: - To provide students with a thoroughgoing understanding of the idea of tragedy and how that is modified by Shakespearean drama; - To provide students with a detailed introduction to Hamlet, Othello, King Lear and Macbeth; - To ensure that students are conversant with some of the main trends in Shakespearean scholarship pertaining to the tragedies and the idea of tragedy; - To encourage students to see beyond the limitations of traditional genre criticism in relation to Shakespeare's oeuvre. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Give a detailed account of the principal ways in which Shakespeare's most important plays invite us to think about tragedy; - Write intelligently and at length about Shakespeare's four most important tragedies; - Discuss the critical reception of Shakespeare's tragedies, displaying an awareness of recent trends in the scholarship 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Compare and evaluate different critical approaches to literature; - Analyse the ways in which different conceptual frameworks render various interpretations; - Read literature with a sensitivity to historical and ideological contexts. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main Text/s: - Shakespeare, William, Four Tragedies: Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth (London: Penguin, 1996). Supplementary texts: - Belsey, Catherine, Why Shakespeare? (London: Palgrave, 2007). - Dillon, Janette, The Cambridge Introduction to Shakespeare's Tragedies (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007). - Dollimore, Jonathan, Radical Tragedy (Durham, N. Carolina: Duke University Press, 1993). - Dutton, Richard, and Jean E. Howard, eds., A Companion to Shakespeare's Works, Vol. I: The Tragedies (Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2003). - Kiernan, Victor, Eight Tragedies of Shakespeare (London: Verso, 1996). - McEachern, Claire, ed., The Cambridge Companion to Shakespearean Tragedy (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004). - Mangan, Michael, A Preface to Shakespeare's Tragedies (Harlow, Essex: Longman, 1991). - Muir, Kenneth, Shakespeare’s Tragic Sequence (Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 1979). A reading pack will be provided at the start of the study-unit. |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture | ||||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
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| LECTURER/S | Krista Bonello Rutter Giappone |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2023/4. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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