ENGL 205 (FALL 2009)
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH
FACULTY OF HUMANITIES
U NIVERSITY OF CALGARY
Instructor:
Office:
Phone:
E-mail:
Web:
Office hours:
Dr Michael Ullyot
Social Sciences 1106
(403) 220 4656
[email protected]
http://www.ucalgary.ca/~ullyot/
By appointment (phone or e-mail)
TA:
Office:
E-mail:
Office hours:
Lourdes Arciniega
Social Sciences 1127
[email protected]
Thursdays 12-1 or by appointment
COURSE DESCRIPTION & GOALS
The purpose of this course is to introduce English majors to the life and works of William Shakespeare, and to
instruct you in critical writing. We will read five plays (one comedy, one romance, one history, and two
tragedies) and a number of sonnets—but we will also learn about other plays and poems not on our reading
list. In this course you will learn university-level reading and writing habits: you will develop, discuss,
organize, and express critical responses to literary texts; you will read and annotate these texts for their
metrical, rhetorical, and thematic qualities, and use this evidence in a critical argument; you will paraphrase
Shakespearean English in your own words; and you will make decisions of staging and performance that
reflect your interpretation of a scene.
Lectures (on Tuesdays) will focus on interpreting the texts, including elements like generic conventions and
character motives. Each lecture will addresses a problem and take students through the steps necessary to
resolve it; they are similar to the problems you will address in your writing. Tutorials (on Thursdays) will
consist of more detailed discussion and exercises in critical writing.
TEXTBOOK
The Norton Shakespeare: Essential Plays / The Sonnets, ed. Stephen Greenblatt et al.
This book is available at the UofC Bookstore. You may, however, use any other second edition of The Norton
Shakespeare (2007); search bookfinder.com to find used copies for sale online.
EVALUATION
Critical Papers (3)
Quizzes (5)
Participation
Final Exam (scheduled by Registrar)
Bonus Exercise: Memorization
5+10+20=35%
15%
20%
30%
up to 5%
Each component is graded on a percentage scale. At right are their
equivalents in the University of Calgary’s official grading system.
You must complete and submit at least seven of these assignments
(three writing exercises, the final exam, and at least three of five in-class
quizzes) to earn a passing grade in this course.
90 + %
85 – 89 %
80 – 84 %
77 – 79 %
74 – 76 %
70 – 73 %
67 – 69 %
64 – 66 %
60 – 63 %
55 – 59 %
50 – 54 %
0 – 49 %
A+
A
A–
B+
B
B–
C+
C
C–
D+
D
F
4.0
4.0
3.7
3.3
3.0
2.7
2.3
2.0
1.7
1.3
1.0
0
ENGLISH 235H Course Outline | Page 1 of 6
CRITICAL P APERS (35%)
You will write three papers, respectively worth 5%, 10%, and 20%. Their maximum lengths will be 500,
1000, and 2000 words respectively. You must submit printed copies of these papers in class. See the Course
Schedule for due dates.
Each paper will focus on a different stage of writing a critical paper on Romeo and Juliet, at increasing length
and complexity. They will give you opportunities to develop the skills and habits necessary to writing a critical
paper, and they will draw on the writing exercises we practice in tutorials. Your grades on the latter two
papers will reflect how effectively you address critiques of your preceding paper(s).
Q UIZZES (15%)
There will be five quizzes, one on each of the five plays we are reading. They will ask a combination of shortanswer and/or multiple-choice questions, and a longer-format thematic question, to test your reading and
understanding of the whole play. For example, a short-answer question could ask what Leontes’s response is
to the oracle of Apollo in The Winter’s Tale, which you could answer in a sentence or by choosing from a list
of options. A longer-format question could ask how Leontes’s response typifies the mindset he reforms in the
final act of the play, which you could answer in a few sentences.
Quizzes will be administered at the beginning of the classes in which we begin each play (except Romeo and
Juliet); see the Course Schedule for dates. If you miss a quiz, there is no make-up exercise. Your grade on this
component of the course will be the average of your four highest quiz grades.
P ARTICIPATION (20%)
Your participation grade depends on four things: (1) your active and regular attendance at classes and
tutorials, (2) your informed and engaged participation in tutorial discussions, and your timely and regular
completion of exercises in and for tutorials: both (3) your posting of at least three answers to the discussion
questions, and (4) your readiness to read or paraphrase the assigned passage each week (details below).
That means you come to class and tutorial regularly, always prepared to discuss the day’s reading(s) with your
peers. You are required every week to post one-paragraph responses (<100 words) to at least three
discussion question 36 hours before the Thursday tutorial (i.e. before 9:30 Tuesday evening); you are
always encouraged to post a response to any discussion question, but in the first week of classes there will also
be a sign-up sheet for your three required responses. The Teaching Assistant (TA) and I will use these
responses to generate discussion in tutorials.
Persistently silent students are often the most intelligent and perceptive, who simply prefer not to speak in
class. To avoid our presuming any less of you, e-mail me or the TA regularly with your thoughts and
questions about the day’s readings. (Of course, you can contact me or your TA about anything to do with the
course no matter how often you speak in class or tutorial.) Don’t wait for the final week of the course, when
panic about your participation grade sets in.
Starting Sept 24, there will also be two other components based on two assigned passages per tutorial (from
the play we’re studying that week): a paraphrase, and a reading. The TA or I will start by setting each passage
in context (what’s happening around it, who’s speaking and why). For each passage, we will ask two students
at random to paraphrase it and to read it aloud. (That means you must always be ready to do either of these
tasks, for either passage, in every tutorial; by the end of the course everyone will have done one or the other.
ENGLISH 205 Course Outline | Page 2 of 6
The paraphrase should put the words of the passage in your own words—in modern English that is clear and
direct, but avoids clichée or colloquialism. Be prepared to answer questions on your interpretation of
particular lines and words. The reading should be done with careful attention to tone, pace (including pauses),
emphasis, language effects (including rhyme and meter) and the motives of the speaker in that context. Be
prepared for questions on these.
FINAL EXAM (30%)
The final exam will be scheduled by the Registrar. Students must be available for examinations up to the last
day of the examination period.
The exam will test your ability to apply the techniques of literary criticism we have developed throughout the
course to As You Like It, The Winter’s Tale, Hamlet, Richard III, and the sonnets we have read. It will include
sight passages from these texts, which you must identify and whose significance you must explain. It will also
include a longer essay on these texts. The exam will be open-book: you may use your annotated edition of
The Norton Shakespeare, but no other notes or books.
B ONUS EXERCISE (UP TO 5%)
Students who wish to improve their grade by up to 5% may choose any speech, longer than 20 lines, from
any of the five plays (except for the assigned passages) to memorize and perform—either for the class or for
me alone. For the full 5%, you will deliver an evocative and flawless performance, and offer thoughtful and
nuanced answers to questions about your interpretation.
The deadline to e-mail me ([email protected]) to arrange a date for your performance is October 1.
LAPTOP P OLICY
Please sit in the front row(s) if you are using a computer.
Laptop computers will be allowed in class only if you use them to take notes, follow along with classroom
demonstrations, or other course-related purposes. Those who cause a distraction by using them for any other
purpose will have this privilege withdrawn. Simply put, there is no need for any internet-connected program
to run on your computer.
S UBMISSION P OLICIES
I do not give extensions.
I penalize late assignments—submitted after class ends on the due date—at a rate of 5% daily for the first two
days, and 1% daily thereafter, excluding weekends and university holidays. (For example, a paper due on
Wednesday the 10th that you submit on Monday the 15th would be penalized 11%.)
The only legitimate excuse for late submissions is a documented medical emergency—as opposed to less
drastic misfortunes like the deaths of beloved family pets. Last-minute technological problems (e.g. printers,
mail servers, corrupted files) are your own responsibility. Prevent them from costing you marks by finishing
before the due date.
ENGLISH 205 Course Outline | Page 3 of 6
N.B. Please make all efforts to submit printed papers directly to me or your TA, in class or tutorials. If that
is impossible, take your paper to the Department office (SS1152) and put it in the drop-box, where your
paper will be date-stamped and placed in my mailbox. Always keep a copy in case of loss. Papers will not be
returned by office staff.
A CADEMIC I NTEGRITY
Using any source whatsoever without clearly documenting it is a serious academic offense. If you
submit an assignment that includes material (even a very small amount) that you did not write, but that is
presented as your own work, you are guilty of plagiarism. The consequences include failure on the assignment
or in the course, and suspension or expulsion from the university. For details, see
http://www.ucalgary.ca/pubs/calendar/current/how/How_LB.htm.
R ESOURCES
My guide to effective critical writing includes advice on drafting and revising, managing your time, citing
secondary sources, and avoiding plagiarism: http://www.ucalgary.ca/~ullyot/teaching_writing.htm
The Department’s guide to essay presentation: http://www.ucalgary.ca/UofC/eduweb/grammar/guide.htm
English Department Website: http://www.english.ucalgary.ca
Offers information about courses, programs, policies, events and contacts in the Department of English.
Academic regulations and schedules: Consult the calendar for course information, university and faculty
regulations, dates, deadlines and schedules, student, faculty and university rights and responsibilities. The
homepage for the University Calendar is: http://www.ucalgary.ca/pubs/calendar/current/index.htm
Guidelines on e-mail etiquette: http://www.ucalgary.ca/it/self_help/email/general/etiquette.html
Grade appeals: http://www.ucalgary.ca/pubs/calendar/current/how/
Consult the University Calendar under “Reappraisal of Grades and Academic Appeals.” Please note that “mere
dissatisfaction with a decision is not sufficient grounds for the appeal of a grade or other academic decision.”
Students with disabilities: http://www.ucalgary.ca/UofC/Others/DRC/
If you are a student with a disability who may require academic accommodation, you must register with the
Disability Resource Centre (220-8237), and discuss your needs with me no later than fourteen (14) days after
the start of this course.
Safewalk Program: http://www.ucalgary.ca/UofC/departments/RISK/security/safewalk/about.html
Campus Security will escort individuals day or night: call 220-5333. Use any campus phone, emergency
phone or the yellow phone located at most parking lot pay booths.
COURSE S CHEDULE
Read the assigned texts before every class, and be prepared to discuss them. Read the entire play and its
introduction for the first day we begin discussing it (e.g. all of As You Like It for Sept 22). Always bring
your textbook to class (both lecture and tutorial).
ENGLISH 205 Course Outline | Page 4 of 6
All readings are required (and will be on the final exam), except for Recommended [R] readings. Other
abbreviations: DQ = Discussion Question; AP = Assigned Passage; {T} = Tutorial; {L} = Lecture.
Date / Format
Sept 8 {L}
Sept 10 {T}
Sept 15 {L}
Sept 17 {T}
Sept 22 {L}
Sept 24 {T}
Sept 29 {L}
Oct 1 {T}
Oct 6 {L}
Oct 8 {T}
Oct 13 {L}
Oct 15 {T}
Topics / Readings
Deadlines / Assignments
INTRODUCTION
Course requirements and policies
Critical reading and writing
Shakespeare’s life, works, and cultural meaning
Shakespeare’s Life and Art [42-67]
Sonnets 17, 55, 65, 72
DQ: How does Shakespeare’s attitude to future legacies vary
in these sonnets?
SHAKESPEARE’S THEATRE
Theatrical genres
The Shakespearean Stage 1 [79-99]
Henry V: Prologue [844], 3.0 [865], Epilogue [909]
Reading and annotating Shakespeare
DQ: How did you annotate the Henry V readings this week?
COMEDY
Shakespearean Comedy [103-18] [R]
As You Like It [377-443]
Romeo and Juliet, Act I [925-50]
Sonnets 15, 38, 60
DQ: How do these two plays, which end so differently,
begin similarly? Is it only the end of a play that determines
whether it’s a comedy or tragedy?
AP 1: Romeo and Juliet I.Prologue [933-34]
AP 2: As You Like It 2.1.1-17 [399]
As You Like It [continued]
Sonnets 103, 127, 130
DQ: How do these sonnets compare with Rosalind’s
critique of Phoebe in 3.5?
AP 1: As You Like It 3.5.47-64 [424]
AP 2: As You Like It 4.1.81-92 [427]
LANGUAGE
Romeo and Juliet, Acts II-III [950-82]
DQ: How does Shakespeare explore knowledge and
ignorance, clarity and difficulty, in 3.5?
AP 1: Romeo and Juliet 2.1.127-48 [953-54]
AP 2: Romeo and Juliet 2.2.15-30 [956]
ROMANCE
Shakespearean Romance [1499-1513] [R]
The Winter’s Tale [1515-95]
Romeo and Juliet, Act IV [982-92]
Sonnets 93, 94
Quiz 1: As You Like It
Writing Exercise 1: Using
evidence
Writing Exercise 2:
Organizing and outlining
Deadline to e-mail
instructor requesting date
for Bonus Exercise
Critical Paper 1 due
Quiz 2: The Winter’s Tale
ENGLISH 205 Course Outline | Page 5 of 6
Oct 20 {L}
Oct 22 {T}
Oct 27 {L}
Oct 29 {T}
Nov 3 {L}
Nov 5 {T}
Nov 10 {L}
Nov 17 {L}
Nov 19 {T}
Nov 24 {L}
Nov 26 {T}
Dec 1 {L}
Dec 3 {T}
DQ: Would Leontes agree with the speaker of these sonnets?
AP 1: The Winter’s Tale 1.2.188-208 [1532-33]
AP 2: The Winter’s Tale 3.2.20-52 [1551-52]
The Winter’s Tale [continued]
Simon Forman on the play [1746-48]
Sonnets 97, 98
DQ: How would you, as a theatre director, stage (1) Exit,
pursued by a bear and (2) Hermione’s reanimation?
AP 1: The Winter’s Tale 4.1.1-32 [1559-60]
AP 2: Sonnet 98 [1701]
TRAGEDY
Shakespearean Tragedy [913-32] [R]
Hamlet [1067-1168]
Sonnet 122
DQ: Why does Hamlet record the ghost’s message on his
writing ‘tables’ in 1.5?
AP 1: Hamlet 1.2.76-86 [1086]
AP 2: Hamlet 2.2.566-582 [1115-16]
Hamlet [continued]
Sonnet 129
DQ: How does Hamlet’s treatment of Ophelia in 3.1 reflect
his opinion of his mother’s conduct?
AP 1: Hamlet 3.1.58-70 [1117]
AP 2: Hamlet 3.3.36-50 [1130]
[No class]
Hamlet [continued]
Romeo and Juliet, Act V [993-1000]
DQ: What function does Hamlet’s conversation with the
gravedigger (‘First Clown’) in 5.1 have in the play?
AP 1: Hamlet 4.7.89-98 [1150]
AP 2: Hamlet 5.2.163-182 [1164]
HISTORY
Shakespearean History [579-91] [R]
Richard III [593-682]
DQ: Do Richard’s soliloquies in Act I persuade you (the
audience) to his cause?
AP 1: Richard III 1.2.226-50 [611]
AP 2: Richard III 3.5.1-11 [644]
Richard III [continued]
DQ: Abraham Lincoln once wrote, “We trust, sir, that God
is on our side. It is more important to know that we are on
God’s side.” Do Richmond’s repeated appeals to God in 5.5
address Lincoln’s objection?
AP 1: Richard III 4.4.328-48 [667]
AP 2: Richard III 5.5.194-208
Dec 8 {L}
Final review / wrap-up
Dec 11-21
Exam Period (Final Exam)
Writing Exercise 3:
Paragraphs
Quiz 3: Hamlet
Writing Exercise 4:
Introductions and
Conclusions
Quiz 4: Romeo and Juliet
Critical Paper 2 due
Quiz 5: Richard III
Writing Exercise 5:
Revisions
Critical Paper 3 due
ENGLISH 205 Course Outline | Page 6 of 6