Catalog Course Search Details

 Department:    DRMA

 Course #:    136

 Credits:    5

 Variable:     No

 IUs:    5

 CIP:    500501

 EPC:    n/a

 REV:    2024

 Course Description  

An introduction for the actor to the plays of William Shakespeare, including historical perspectives, script analysis, verse forms, and acting traditions, using the "Playing Shakespeare" videotape series from the Royal Shakespeare Company.

 Prerequisite  

Prerequisite: Grade of 2.0 or higher in ENGL 097, or AESL 098, or appropriate test score.

Contact Hours (based on 11 week quarter)

Lecture: 55

Lab: 0

Other: 0

Systems: 0

Clinical: 0

Intent: Distribution Requirement(s) Status:  

Academic Humanities  

Equivalencies At Other Institutions

Learning Outcomes

After completing this course, the student will be able to:

1. Complete a scansion study of Shakespeaean verse.
2. Understand the relationship between meter and meaning in poetic text.
3. Understand the components of prose, blank verse, and rhyming couplets.
4. Analyze poetic texts for both form and content.
5. Analyze a soliloquy or set speech for performance.
6. Develop staging alternatives for a scene using implied stage directions.
7. Understand the use of irony.
8. Understand the traditional and contemporary Shakespearean acting styles.

General Education Learning Values & Outcomes

Revised August 2008 and affects outlines for 2008 year 1 and later.

Course Contents

1. Two plays and various sonnets will be read and discussed with particular focus on the following topics:
   • Scansion and blank verse forms.
   • Meter and the relationship between meter and meaning.
   • Blank verse forms and their use in poetic drama.
   • Naturalistic acting and the Shakespearean text.
   • Poetry and emotion.
   • Character and language.
   • Irony as a dramatic device.
   • Play structure.