This course will provide an introduction to Shakespeare for students with little or no previous exposure to the Bard. One of our main goals will be to cure that dreaded disease, Shakes-fear. We will ease into the topic by reading Gary Blackwood’s Shakespeare Stealer, a work of historical fiction, written for young readers, which provides a very accessible and surprisingly accurate introduction to the world of Elizabethan London and Shakespeare’s acting company. After this introduction, we will read (or listen to) six Shakespeare plays -- two tragedies (Hamlet and Macbeth), two comedies (The Tempest and Measure for Measure), and two histories (Henry IV, Part I and Henry V). We will go to see three of these plays performed live at the American Shakespeare Center in Staunton. In addition to textbook expenses, students should be prepared to pay for theater tickets and chartered bus transportation to and from Staunton -- probably about $250 total for three field trips. Note also that the field trips (each about 5 hours in duration) will be in the evenings, and one of them will be on a Friday night.

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