Shakespeare’s First Folio (1623)

Peter Medine
Spring 2023
Wednesdays |  
1 PM – 3 PM
February 1, 8, 15, 22, March 1, 15, 22, 29, April 5, 12, 2023
Course Format: Hybrid
Location: Main Campus
Tuition: $295

Attend In Person OR Online

This seminar will explore the enduring relevance of Shakespeare’s drama, extending from love to politics, to human fate. To mark the 400th anniversary of the First Folio, we shall study six of the plays in their genres: comedy, history, and tragedy. We shall then focus on the plays’ plots, in which comedy proceeds from relative disorder to order and tragedy from relative order to disorder. Originating in the 16th century, the history play is distinguished by subject but depends on plots that conform to comic and tragic patterns. Mindful that Shakespeare was a practical man of the theatre, we shall supplement the textual discussion with scenes from DVD productions. As Shakespeare’s contemporary Ben Jonson put it in the preface to the First Folio, “Shakespeare was not of an age but for all time.”

Hybrid Course Format

  • All classes will be delivered in-person and online via live video streaming. Students will enroll in their preferred format during registration.
  • In-Person classes will be held in the Rubel Room at the University of Arizona’s Poetry Center (1508 E Helen St, Tucson, AZ 85721). Enrollment for in-person classes is limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis. All student enrolled to attend in person also have complete online access and may choose to attend one or all class sessions remotely if desired.
  • Online students may attend all classes via live video streaming and will be able to participate in all course Q&A sessions with the professor in real time. A high-speed internet connection and a device capable of running Zoom are required to connect. Online access will be password protected and only available to enrolled students.
  • Class Recordings – All HSP classes regardless of format are recorded and available for every enrolled student to watch for the duration of the course and one month after the last class session. This option is offered to aid students who may be unable to attend the live class times but desire to enroll and participate asynchronously. We hope this option also aids students who are traveling or have an important appointment that conflicts with a class session to stay connected and engaged with the course material.

Registration Will Open Online:
Monday, NOVEMBER 21, 2022, at 8 AM (AZ Time)

Required Reading
  • Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream
  • Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet
  • Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night
  • Shakespeare’s Richard III
  • Shakespeare’s Othello

Meet Your Instructor

Professor Emeritus

PETER E. MEDINE is Professor Emeritus at the University of Arizona, where he served in the English Department from 1969 to 2014. He has written, edited, or coedited seven books in Early Modern English studies. His most recent coedited book is Visionary Milton: Essays in Prophecy and Violence (2010). He is the recipient of several Humanities Seminars Superior Teaching Awards and the College of Humanities Award for Outreach Service.  

Location

POETRY CENTER
Dorothy Rubel Room
1508 E Helen
Tucson, AZ 85721
United States

Located on the SE corner of Helen Street and Vine Avenue, one block north of Speedway and three blocks west of Campbell Ave.

Street map image of Poetry Center

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