190 F19 Graham

190

English 190: Shakespeare

Section 1

MW 1:00-2:20; HH 139

Fall 2019

Prof. Ken Graham

HH 246; ex.32124

k2graham@uwaterloo.ca

Office Hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 11:30-12; Thursdays 2:30-3:30; or by appointment

Texts: Henry IV, Part One (Folger)

King Lear (Folger)

Much Ado About Nothing (Folger)

Othello (Folger)

The Winter’s Tale (Folger)

Aims of the Course

This course is an introduction to Shakespeare’s comedies, histories, tragedies, and romances. Its principal aim is to make us better – more careful, more perceptive, more knowledgeable – readers of Shakespeare’s plays, and thereby to make us more alert and alive to the problems that the plays invite us to experience and contemplate and to the pleasures that they invite us to share. Although we cannot hope to know these plays with any finality, we can become more aware of their involvement with the issues of their time and of the challenges, opportunities, and insights they present to modern readers.

Methods, Requirements, and Policies

The class will mix discussion, lecture, and performance. We will spend most class time discussing the readings, and regular contributions to the conversation will be encouraged from everyone. Graded work comprises:

  1. Class participation. I will expect you to attend conscientiously and to participate in an informed and productive manner. Quality is generally more important than quantity, but I am impressed by a willingness to go out on a limb. I am also as interested in the courtesy and respect with which you listen and respond to what others say as in the sharpness of your own perceptions. Attendance and punctuality count. It is your responsibility to inform me promptly of the reasons for an absence if you wish it to be excused. Weight = 10%
  1. Response papers (5). In these informal 2-page (~500-word) papers you will ask an interpretive question about the day’s play and explore one or more possible answers to it. You might ask, for example, about a theme, a character, or some aspect of narrative structure, staging, or language.

Your papers should be focussed and should refer to specific words and actions in the play, but they need not argue or take a position. The best questions aren’t easily answered, but invite a variety of responses. Responses are due at the start of class on the day a play first appears on the syllabus. You will receive two points for every paper you turn in on time, and one for every paper you turn in no later than December 3. Papers significantly shorter than 500 words may not receive full marks. As with any written assignment, you must properly acknowledge all sources of information you consult. Weight = 2% x 5 = 10%

  1. A mid-term exam, 80 minutes in length. This will be a closed-book exam on the first two plays; it will include identification passages and an essay question. Weight = 25%
  1. A formal essay, 1500-1800 words. The assignment is on page 5 below. Weight = 30%
  1. A final exam, 90 minutes in length. This will be a closed-book exam on the last three plays; it will include identification passages and an essay question. Weight = 25%

Class Schedule

Sept.      5           Th          Introduction

  1. TuHenry IV, Part One; response #1
  1. Th Henry IV, Part One
  1. Tu Henry IV, Part One
  1. Th Henry IV, Part One
  1. Tu King Lear; response #2
  1. Th King Lear

Oct.       1           Tu          King Lear

  1. Th King Lear
  1. Tu King Lear
  1. Th Mid-term exam 15-18 Tu-F Reading Week
  1. Tu Much Ado About Nothing; response #3
  1. Th Much Ado About Nothing
  1. Tu Much Ado About Nothing
  1. Th Much Ado About Nothing

Nov.   5 Tu Othello; response #4

7.     Th Othello

12.    Tu Othello

  1. ThOthello; essay drafts due
  1. TuDraft discussion day
  1. Th The Winter’s Tale; response #5
  1. Tu The Winter’s Tale; essays due, 1 p.m.
  1. Th The Winter’s Tale;

Dec.       3           Tu          The Winter’s Tale; review

Final Exam TBA

(The Fall semester final exam period is December 6-21. Missed exams may be made up only with a valid medical excuse.)

Class and University Policies

You must turn in a paper copy of all written assignments to receive credit. Late essays will be accepted without penalty only if prior permission has been granted; otherwise, the penalty will be 2% per day, including weekends. Sending me an electronic copy of a late essay will stop the late clock, but a paper copy must also be turned in either directly to me or to the English Department’s drop box (HH 2016E). If you do not turn in a completed draft of the essay on the draft due date, you will receive a penalty of 5% on the essay. If you do not satisfactorily complete the group draft response assignment, you will likewise receive a penalty of 5% on your essay. (If you do neither your total penalty will be 10%). Missed exams may be made up only with a valid medical excuse.

I will normally reply to email messages within 24 hours, weekends excepted. In the case of emails requiring lengthy replies, I may indicate to you that you should see me in person. Laptop

computers, tablets, smartphones, and other portable electronic devices may become distractions both to the user and to others and so may not normally be used in class. Speak with me if you believe you require an exemption from this policy.

All sources of information that you use in your written work in this class must be cited fully and scrupulously. If I suspect that you have committed an academic offense, including plagiarism, I will report it to the Associate Dean; if the offense is confirmed, the normal result is a failing grade on the assignment and a further five marks off the course grade.

Academic Integrity

In order to maintain a culture of academic integrity, members of the University of Waterloo are expected to promote honesty, trust, fairness, respect and responsibility. See the UWaterloo Academic Integrity webpage, https://uwaterloo.ca/arts/current-undergraduates/student-support/ethical-behaviour, for more information.

Discipline

Students are expected to know what constitutes academic integrity, to avoid committing academic offenses, and to take responsibility for their actions. Check the Office of Academic Integrity, https://uwaterloo.ca/academic-integrity/, for more information. A student who is unsure whether an action constitutes an offence, or who needs help in learning how to avoid offences (e.g., plagiarism, cheating) or about “rules” for group work/collaboration, should seek guidance from the course professor, academic advisor, or the Undergraduate Associate Dean. When misconduct has been found to have occurred, disciplinary penalties will be imposed under Policy 71 - Student Discipline. For information on categories of offences and types of penalties, students should refer to https://uwaterloo.ca/secretariat-general-counsel/policies-procedures-guidelines/policy-71. For typical penalties check Guidelines for the Assessment of Penalties, https://uwaterloo.ca/secretariat/guidelines/guidelines-assessment-penalties

Grievance

Students who believe that a decision affecting some aspect of their university life has been unfair or unreasonable may have grounds for initiating a grievance. Read Policy 70 - Student Petitions and Grievances, Section 4, https://uwaterloo.ca/secretariat-general-counsel/policies-procedures-guidelines/policy-70. When in doubt, please be certain to contact the department’s administrative assistant, who will provide further assistance.

Appeals

A decision made or penalty imposed under Policy 70 - Student Petitions and Grievances (other than a petition) or Policy 71 - Student Discipline may be appealed if there is a ground. Students who believe they have a ground for an appeal should refer to Policy 72 - Student Appeals, https://uwaterloo.ca/secretariat-general-counsel/policies-procedures-guidelines/policy-72.

Note for Students with Disabilities

The AccessAbility Services office (https://uwaterloo.ca/accessability-services/), located on the first floor of the Needles Hall extension (1401), collaborates with all academic departments to arrange appropriate accommodations for students with disabilities without compromising the academic integrity of the curriculum. If you require academic accommodations to lessen the impact of your disability, please register with the AS office at the beginning of each academic term.

Mental Health Support

On Campus

Counselling Services: counselling.services@uwaterloo.ca/ 519-888-4567 xt 32655

MATES: one-to-one peer support program offered by Federation of Students (FEDS) and Counselling Services

Health Services Emergency service: located across the creek form Student Life Centre

Off campus, 24/7

Good2Talk: Free confidential help line for post-secondary students. Phone: 1-866-925-5454

Grand River Hospital: Emergency care for mental health crisis. Phone: 519-749-433 ext. 6880

Here 24/7: Mental Health and Crisis Service Team. Phone: 1-844-437-3247

OK2BME: set of support services for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or questioning teens in Waterloo. Phone: 519-884-0000 extension 213

Full details can be found online at the Faculty of Arts website (https://uwaterloo.ca/arts/get-mental-health-support-when-you-need-it).

English 190 – Essay Assignment

Write an essay on one of the topics below. Your essay must argue a clear thesis, and it must take the form of a unified and well-structured defence of your thesis. It will be judged on the strength and originality of its thesis, on the quality, clarity, and coherence of its supporting arguments, and on the felicity and correctness of its expression. The essay must be 1500-1800 words, typed, and double-spaced, and follow a consistent documentation format (e.g. MLA Handbook, Chicago Manual of Style). Please use 12-point type and Times New Roman font, set one-inch margins, and number your pages. Late essays will be accepted without penalty only if prior permission has been granted. Otherwise, the penalty will be 2% per day, including weekends.

A full-length draft of the essay is due November 14. You will bring a copy for everyone in your writing group and a copy to hand in. In exchange you will receive copies of the drafts of your group’s other members. You will read these and write thoughtful comments on them by November 19. If you do not turn in and distribute a completed draft of your essay on time, you will receive a penalty of 5% on the paper. If you do not satisfactorily complete the group draft response assignment on time, you will likewise receive a penalty of 5% on your paper.

It is not necessary to consult secondary sources to write this essay, and doing so could hinder your creativity. If you do make use of such sources, however, be sure that they do not control or determine your argument; rather, your critical engagement with them, whether it takes the form of agreement or disagreement, must serve to advance, and must be clearly subordinate to, your own original thesis. Also be sure to cite all use of such sources fully and scrupulously.

Topic 1: marriage in Othello, Much Ado About Nothing, or The Winter’s Tale.

Topic 2: death (real or apparent) in any one or two of the five plays.

Topic 3: bastards in Much Ado and The Winter’s Tale.

Topic 4: 1 Henry IV’s Falstaff and King Lear’s Fool as sources of truth.

Topic 5: lies in 1 Henry IV and/or Othello.

Topic 6: fathers in any one or two of the five plays.

Topic 7: female speech in one or two of King Lear, Much Ado, Othello, or The Winter’s Tale.

Topic 8: comedy in 1 Henry IV or tragedy in Much Ado.

Topic 9: failed or successful conversation in King Lear, Othello, or Much Ado.

Topic 10: a topic of your own, drawn from your reading of the plays on the syllabus. You must discuss this topic with me and receive my approval by November 9.

DUE DATE: November 26, 1:00 p.m.