ENGL 408/ENGL 408H Shakespeare and Company
Professor: Janet Morgan Haavisto, Ph.D.
Course Description: A study of Shakespeare as poet and playwright; an examination of his plays in performance
as well as in literary context. The plays chosen will vary from year to year but will usually include a mixture of
early and late works through a sampling of comedies, histories and tragedies. In our course on Shakespeare, we
will read and discuss plays and excerpts of plays plus samplings of his sonnets. In addition, we will read and
discuss works from other British and Irish authors.
Bring your laptop. We will do a fair amount of work online. I have purposely used mostly materials that can be
accessed online so that you will not have to pack a number of books, thus increasing the weight of your luggage.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: Being on email, Facebook, or sites to make
your travel plans when you are supposed to be focusing on class work
will constitute an absence for the class period, thus lowering your
participation grade as will engaging in side conversations during
class.
Texts: We will enjoy the full texts or excerpts from the following Shakespeare plays.
The First Folio Curriculum Guide http://www.shakespearetheatre.org/_pdf/first_folio/h41firstfolio.pdf
Twelfth Night http://shakespeare.mit.edu/twelfth_night/index.html
Macbeth http://shakespeare.mit.edu/macbeth/index.html
Hamlet http://shakespeare.mit.edu/hamlet/full.html
A Midsummer Night’s Dream http://shakespeare.mit.edu/midsummer/full.html We will see this play at
Shakespeare’s Globe theatre. This is the one play I would like for you to bring a hard copy of or print off
from the internet.
If you choose to buy hard copies of the plays, I recommend the editions published by the Folger Shakespeare
Library.
Henry V: We will view parts of the Kenneth Branagh film.
Taming of the Shrew: We will view this play in class.
Sonnets: http://shakespeare.mit.edu/Poetry/sonnets.html
Students will pair up and present one or two of the following sonnets to the class.
Sonnet 18 “Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Sonnet 29 “When, in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes,”
Sonnet 60 “Like as the waves make towards the pebbled shore,”
Sonnet 73 “That time of year thou mayst in me behold”
Sonnet 94 “They that have power to hurt and will do none,”
Sonnet 97 “How like a winter hath my absence been”
Sonnet 116 “Let me not to the marriage of true minds”
Sonnet 129 “The expense of spirit in a waste of shame”
Sonnet 130 “My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun;”
Sonnet 138 “When my love swears that she is made of truth,”
Sonnet 146 “Poor soul, the centre of my sinful earth,”
Other works as assigned. We will sample works from other British writers, including the following, among
others.
Dylan Thomas http://www.poemhunter.com/dylan-thomas/poems/page-2/ Ø
Good Night”
“Do Not Go Gentle into that
Matthew Arnold
Robert Burns
Wilfred Owen
Emily Brontë
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Sir Walter Scott
Charlotte Brontë
Charles Dickens
Sir Richard Steele
Robert Browning
Arthur Conan Doyle
William Wordsworth
Course Procedures:
•
Discussions of the readings, the sites, and of our impressions will allow us to analyze the works and the
UK that Shakespeare and his characters reveal to us.
•
Journal entries based on specific prompts will allow you to sort out what you read, learn, experience,
think. Refer to the rubric for reflective journals at the end of this syllabus.
•
You will write short papers, the subjects of which you will be given. They will be due after our
time in the British Isles has ended—no later than July 20.
•
You will have assignments at each of our field trip sites, often to be incorporated into your
journal and quizzes as well.
• By July 20, you will need to turn in your major project. We will discuss the options.
Grading:
Grading: 25 points each
•
Final Project—including insight; organization; proper documentation of primary and secondary
sources; accurate spelling, grammar, and syntax; depth of research; on-time submission; etc. See
options at the end of this syllabus.
•
Short Essays-- including insight; organization; proper documentation of primary and secondary
sources; accurate spelling, grammar, and syntax; depth of research; on-time submission; etc.
See options at the end of this syllabus.
•
Journal entries/Excursion Assignments—including insight and thoughtfulness, quality of entries, ontime submissions of entries when requested, response to the prompts (as opposed to writing entries
that fail to address the issues in the prompts), quality of writing (itemized above under paper). See
rubric at the end of this syllabus.
•
Participation —including ATTENDANCE, evidence of preparation by having read assignments,
insight, interest in discussions, civility (not participating in side conversations during group
discussions; politeness to fellow discussants; not doing email or Facebook or travel plans during
class, etc.). and attending excursions (complete with noticeable effort to glean understanding and
insight from what you experience)
Rubrics for Reflective Journaling
MARKING
RUBRICS*
4 - Excellent
3 - Proficient
2 - Average
1 - Poor
Reflections:
Ability to
integrate
learning into
real-world
experiences and
analyze issues
with a critical
attitude
Ability to
proficiently
demonstrate
reflection and
deep thinking of
acquired
knowledge and
concepts, and
integrate them
into different
issues from wide
range of
perspectives
(e.g. different
contexts,
cultures,
disciplines etc.);
creative
solutions and
critical thinking
skills
demonstrated in
the writing
Showing
satisfactory
ability to relate
acquired
knowledge to
previous
experiences;
demonstrating
attempt to
analyze the
issues from a
number of
different
perspectives
Includes
description of
events, and a
little further
consideration
behind the
events using a
relatively
descriptive style
of language; no
evidence of
using multiple
perspectives in
analyzing the
issues
Only includes
mere
descriptions of
theoretical
knowledge; no
reflection is
demonstrated
beyond the
descriptions
Presentation:
Articulation and
Writing is wellfocused;
Arguments or
perspectives are
Arguments or
perspectives are
Does not show
any original
organization of
ideas and
perspectives
arguments or
perspectives are
precisely defined
and explained;
coherent flow in
developing an
insightful idea
demonstrated
clearly stated;
organized flow
in writing but
not deep enough
to be very
insightful
vaguely
mentioned; the
writing lacked
an organized
flow and the
ideas were hard
to follow
thinking or
perspectives;
chaotic in
organization and
presentation of
ideas
Completeness:
Incorporation of
the journal
entries into a
whole,
demonstration of
the learning
process
Concrete
connections
between journal
entries into a
whole;
demonstrating
clear steps in the
developmental
learning process
Journal entries
can be generally
connected; still
able to observe
how the student
develops during
the learning
process
Weak
connections
between journal
entries;
development
gained from the
learning process
is hardly
observed
No connections
between journal
entries; The
entries are mere
descriptions of
events rather
than showing a
sequence of
learning steps
* Chan C.(2009) Assessment: Reflective Journal, Assessment Resources@HKU, University of Hong Kong
[http://ar.cetl.hku.hk]: Available: Accessed: 3/23/2013. For more info: http://ar.cetl.hku.hk/am_rj.htm#6
SHORT ESSAY ASSIGNMENTS FOR Shakespeare and Company 2015
Dr. Haavisto
In short, but well developed and grammatically correct, essays please respond to the following prompts.
Cite copiously from the works to demonstrate that you have read them. Feel free to use other sources.
All I ask is that you document them accurately and not claim as your own ideas produced by another.
Citing other sources actually strengthens your arguments. I expect 2-4 page essays (12-point Times New
Roman, standard margins, accurately documented in MLA or APA format).
Please write on both of the following prompts.
1. In what ways do the works of Shakespeare reflect British identity in his time and even now?
2. Are Shakespeare’s sonnets really good poetry or are they revered because he wrote them?
Support your argument.
Those who are taking Shakespeare for Honors credit should also complete the following essay prompt. It
can be as long as you wish, but remember that quality is important; length for its own sake is not.
Prompt:
Select any play other than King John. You may select a comedy, a tragedy, or a history. Why is your
play important? What do we learn about Shakespeare from reading/studying/thinking about this play?
Why would he write such a work?
Project Options for England, Scotland, and Ireland 2015
Please discuss with me which project you wish to complete.
Select an option from the ones listed below. Please do a thorough job.
Writing should be grammatically correct, so please proofread. Be sure
to label completely any photos, pictures, graphs, figures, maps, etc.
that you include in your project. Be sure to attribute appropriately any
material you import from websites and document appropriately any
material you quote or paraphrase from any source.
Option 1:
Create a digital scrapbook of your British Isles experience. Include photographs, pictures, drawings, etc.
Include labels, explanatory and historical comments, your insights and reactions, names of the people in
photographs as well as any items or information you would like to include. Consider what you want to
keep, remember, share with others, or be able to refer to at a later date. Include history and significance
where doing so will add to understanding and memory.
For example, if you have a picture of Edinburgh Castle, provide information about its history,
significance, purpose, etc.
I STRONGLY SUGGEST THAT YOU USE POWERPOINT FOR THIS SCRAPBOOK.
If you wish to make a hardcopy scrapbook, you need to make a copy of it for me, too.
YOU MUST PROVIDE A HARDCOPY OR CD COPY OF YOUR WORK FOR ME. While I realize
that you will have all kinds of alternative methods of submitting your work (all of which methods you will
think are preferable to my requirement), please plan to submit a cd or hardcopy of your work or email it
if that is feasible.
My contact information:
Janet M. Haavisto, Ph.D.
Professor of English
Director of University Honors and Enrichment Programs
Jacksonville University
Gooding 122
2800 University Blvd. N.
Jacksonville, FL 32211
Office: 904-256-7178
Linda Christoffersen, Honors Administrative Coordinator: 904-256-7049
Fax: 904-256-7154
[email protected]
If you choose to complete on of the following projects, you may email it to me as a Word attachment. You
must ok your topic(s) with me.
Option 2:
Select a research topic of interest to you. Write a substantial research paper (well documented) that
explores your topic in-depth. 15-20 pages
Option 3:
Select two research topics of interest to you. Write two research papers (well documented) that explore
your topics in-depth. 8-10 pages each
Option 4:
Select three research topics of interest to you. Write three research papers (well documented) that
explore your topics in-depth. 5-7 pages each
Sample topics:
Norman Architecture in the British Isles
Pagan Religions of the Ancient British Isles
Current British Economic Issues
Agricultural Policies of the British Isles (ancient, current, whenever)
Irish Mythology (or English, Scots, Welsh)
A great British writer
English and Scots Legal Systems
Elementary Curriculum in the British Isles
Higher Education System in the British Isles
History of the Jews in the British Isles
Devolution
The British Isles and the European Union
The Jacobite Rebellions and Their Aftermaths