106-037 Shakespearean Worlds

Usually 25 points of first year English, see Prerequisites

This subject explores the phenomenon called 'Shakespeare', situating individual texts in their cultural contexts, both Renaissance and contemporary. Amongst topics to be considered are playhouses and playwriting, Elizabethan cosmologies, politics and sexuality, audiences and actors. Students should complete the subject with a knowledge of a range of Shakespearean texts and contexts; having developed some understanding of changing cultural forces active within the plays; and having gained some understanding of shifting critical appraisals of Shakespeare.