How do Shakespeare and filmmakers who adapt his plays engage their audiences, construct meaning, and enable us to understand more fully our own culture and ourselves? This seminar will deepen our understanding and appreciation of Shakespeare’s drama and of his cinematic interpreters. We will focus on the following plays from three different genres—comedy, tragedy, and history: Twelfth Night, Romeo and Juliet, Henry IV Part I, Henry IV, Part II, and Henry V. Each of those plays will be paired with at least two film adaptations from different decades. We will think critically about Shakespeare’s gorgeous, funny, complicated, disturbing, and infinitely interesting work; in addition, we will consider how one “reads” film as an active and informed interpreter rather than a passive viewer. What we learn will be invaluable for our engagement with the richness and versatility of language, film, and culture.
During class, students will watch brief film clips rather than entire films; they will read the assigned plays and view the movies before each class meeting.
