Concentrating on five of Shakespeare’s comedies, this seminar will inquire into the ways in which Shakespeare’s development of comedy’s distinctive theme of romantic love enabled him to explore a range of issues. These include hetero- and homosexual love, parent-child relationships, as well as broader political concerns. Essential to the endeavor will be the analysis of character, language, and plot. The ultimate aim will be to deepen our sense of the richness and variety of comedy as Shakespeare wrote it. It was the dramatic form he turned to more often than any other.
