Introduction to Shakespeare

First Performed	Plays	First Printed
1590-91	Henry VI, Part I (H)	1594?
1590-91	Henry VI, Part II (H)	1594?
1591-92	Henry VI, Part III (H)	1623
1592-93	Richard III (T)	1597
1592-93	Comedy of Errors (C)	1623
1593-94	Titus Andronicus (T)	1594
1593-94	Taming of the Shrew (C)	1623
1594-95	Two Gentlemen of Verona (C)	1623
1594-95	Love's Labour's Lost (C)	1598?
1594-95	Romeo and Juliet (T)	1597
1595-96	Richard II (T)	1597
1595-96	A Midsummer Night's Dream (C)	1600
1596-97	King John (H)	1623
1596-97	The Merchant of Venice (C)	1600
1597-98	Henry IV, Part I (H)	1598
1597-98	Henry IV, Part II (H)	1600
1598-99	Much Ado About Nothing (C)	1600
1598-99	Henry V (H)	1600
1599-1600	Julius Caesar (T)	1623
1599-1600	As You Like It (C)	1623
1599-1600	Twelfth Night (C)	1623
1600-01	Hamlet (T)	1603
1600-01	The Merry Wives of Windsor (C)	1602
1601-02	Troilus and Cressida (P)	1609
1602-03	All's Well That Ends Well (P)	1623
1604-05	Measure for Measure (P)	1623
1604-05	Othello (T)	1622
1605-06	King Lear (T)	1608
1605-06	Macbeth (T)	1623
1606-07	Antony and Cleopatra (T)	1623
1607-08	Coriolanus (T)	1623
1607-08	Timon of Athens (T)	1623
1608-09	Pericles (R)	1609
1609-10	Cymbeline (T)	1623
1610-11	The Winter's Tale (R)	1623
1611-12	The Tempest (R)	1623
1612-13	Henry VIII (H)	1623
1612-13	The Two Noble Kinsmen* (C)	1634

This chart shows samples of the changes in English.

#1 is Old English or Anglo-Saxon (circa 450-1066 CE).
#2 is Middle English (circa 1066-1450 AD).
#3 is Modern English from about the time of Shakespeare.
#4 is another sample of Modern English, but it is more recent than #3.

Titus Andronicus by William Shakespeare

Saturninus, son to the late Emperor of Rome, [afterwards declared Emperor]

Bassianus, brother to Saturninus, in love with Lavinia

Titus Andronicus, a Roman, general against the Goths

Marcus Andronicus, tribune of the people, and brother to Titus

Lucius, Quintus, Martius, Mutius, sons to Titus Andronicus

Lavinia, daughter to Titus Andronicus

Young Lucius, a boy, son to Lucius

Tamora, queen of the Goths

Alarbus, Demetrius, Chiron, sons to Tamora

Aaron, a Moor, beloved by Tamora

MLA Format & Works Cited

Formatting:

http://www.easybib.com/guides/citation-guides/mla-format/


Works cited information:

https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_formatting_and_style_guide.html

Due Friday, December 14th - Austen Literary Analysis Essay

Overview: We engage in regular blog writing and discussion, and wrote and shared two pieces of creative writing. Now that your are scholars of Jane Austen it is time to put your intellect to the test.

Directions: Please choose one prompt below and compose an essay, using the work of Jane Austen. You must choose one of the two novels as the centerpiece of your discussion and use the other materials as supplementary works in your exploration. You must have a works cited with at least four pieces. Please consider the following in your study:

Major Works and Links to Full Text

• Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen
• Full Text:  https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1342/1342-h/1342-h.htm

• Persuasion by Jane Austen
• Full Text:  https://www.gutenberg.org/files/105/105-h/105-h.htm 

• Jane Austen Society 
• Website: http://jasna.org/

• Becoming Jane (2007) 
• Full Script: https://www.springfieldspringfield.co.uk/movie_script.phpmovie=becoming-jane 

• Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (2016)
• Full Script: https://www.springfieldspringfield.co.uk/movie_script.php?movie=pride-and-prejudice-and-zombies 

• Pride & Prejudice (1995) 
• Persuasion (1995) 

Prompts

Prompt 1. In many novels, a character has a misconception of himself or his world. Destroying or perpetuating this illusion contributes to a central theme of the novel. Choose a novel with a major character to whom this statement applies and write an essay in which you consider the following points: what the character’s illusion is and how it differs from reality as presented in the novel and how the destruction or perpetuation of the illusion develops a theme of the novel.

Prompt 2. A recurring theme in literature is the classic war between a passion and responsibility. For instance, a personal cause, a love, a desire for revenge, a determination to redress a wrong, or some other emotion or drive may conflict with moral duty. Choose a literary work in which a character confronts the demands of a private passion that conflicts with his or her responsibilities. In a well-written essay show clearly the nature of the conflict, its effects upon the character, and its significance to the work.

Prompt 3. Choose a distinguished novel or play in which some of the most significant events are mental or psychological; for example, awakenings, discoveries, changes in consciousness. In a well-organized essay, describe how the author manages to give these internal events the sense of excitement, suspense, and climax usually associated with external action. Do not merely summarize the plot.

Prompt 4. Novels and plays often include scenes of weddings, funerals, parties, and other social occasions. Such scenes may reveal the values of the characters and the society in which they live. Select a novel or play that includes such a scene and, in a focused essay, discuss the contribution the scene makes to the meaning of the work as a whole. You may choose a work from the list below or another novel or play of literary merit.

Prompt 5. In a novel or play, a confidant (male) or a confidante (female) is a character, often a friend or relative of the hero or heroine, whose role is to be present when the hero or heroine needs a sympathetic listener to confide in. Frequently the result is, as Henry James remarked, that the confidant or confidante can be as much "the reader's friend as the protagonist's." However, the author sometimes uses this character for other purposes as well. Choose a confidant or confidante from a novel or play of recognized literary merit and write an essay in which you discuss the various ways this character functions in the work. You may write your essay on one of the following novels or plays or on another of comparable quality. Do not write on a poem or short story.

Prompt 6. Many works of literature contain a character who intentionally deceives others. The character’s dishonesty may be intended either to help or to hurt. Such a character, for example, may choose to mislead others for personal safety, to spare someone’s feelings, or to carry out a crime. Choose a novel or play in which a character deceives others. Then, in a well-written essay, analyze the motives for that character’s deception and discuss how the deception contributes to the meaning of the work as a whole.

Mr. P's Ten Steps to Writing an Effective Essay

       1. Read and Read and Read Prompt: Whatever you choose, make sure to think about every facet of the question. Read over and over again. Think. Digest what you are about to accomplish.

2. Return to the text. Return to your blog responses, journal, and class notes. Go back and look your work again with the prompt in mind. How is everything new now that you are seeing the plays with the prompt in mind?

3. Rehearse. What? Yes! Rehearse and perform a verbal essay using the prompt and the works. How would you address a jury of your peers with you proposed thesis? What evidence would you use?

4. Find your Evidence: Find and cite valuable passages for each of the parts of the above prompt. Go to the net and cut and paste at least 10-12 passages and or quotations to use in your piece into a word document.

5. So what’s your point? Thesis statement: The questions in the prompt are guiding your essay. Look at your 10 major passages and ask yourself…what message am I taking away from this reading experience? Write a solid one sentence thesis statement of purpose.

6. Organization: Look at the list of quotations and organize the quotations into the paragraphs. DO NOT BE AFRAID TO JUMP AROUND. JUMP AROUND. JUMP UP, JUMP UP AND GET DOWN!

7. Your thesis and 10 Quotations. Your complete thesis is the heading and the 10 quotations should be arranged in the order you would use them in your argument.

8. Compose body paragraphs: Using the prompt and your accompanying quotations - start writing your essay. Make sure you come to some sort of conclusion in the third paragraph. You may even have a brief conclusion as another paragraph.

9. Read your essay over: The professor’s eyes should not be the first set of eyes to read your essay. Make sure it is solid. Read it out loud.

10. Compose your introduction: Keep it brief and make sure the thesis statement you wrote is the last sentence.

Due Friday, November 30th - Persuasion & Pride Dialogue

Overview:  It appears that many of you have a preference for one novel over the other.  I would like you to see the merits and deficiencies of BOTH by engaging in a creative writing experience.

Directions:  Please finish reading Persuasion by Jane Austen.  For a blog response, please post a dialogue between one character from Pride and Prejudice and one from Persuasion.  The character from each book is trying to prove why his/her book is the superior work of Austen.  Use direct examples from each book as evidence.  As with the letter, please post a copy to Turnitin.com.  We will share the brilliance in class.

This will count as a major grade!!!!

Also, when you return from the break....there will be....zombies!

"It is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains."

Check out the book:

https://www.amazon.com/Pride-Prejudice-Zombies-Jane-Austen/dp/1594743355

Persuasion & Pride Dialogue Criteria & Rubric

A range has the following qualities:

• Well-written dialogue between a character from Pride and one from Persuasion
• Voice of each character is clear and satirical
• Script has a logical beginning, middle, and end with smooth transitions
• References to specific characters using specific examples of their dialogue and characterization
• References to specific storylines from the novels are cleverly incorporated into the dialogue
• References to themes from the novels are incorporated into the dialogue
• Allusions are incorporated to comedic effect
• Mr. Darcy says, “You must allow me to tell you how much I admire and love you!”

B range has the following qualities:

• Written dialogue between a character from Pride and one from Persuasion
• Voices of each character is clear
• Dialogue has a logical beginning, middle, and end
• References to characters using some examples of their dialogue and characterization
• References to general storylines from the novels
• References to themes from the novels
• Some allusions are incorporated
• Charlotte Lucas says, “I am quite content, Lizzy.”

C range has the following qualities:

• Dialogue is complete
• Dialogue does not have a logical progression
• General references to characters
• General references to general storylines from the novels
• General references to themes from the novels
• Perhaps too heavy on content from one book and not the other
• Mrs. Bennet says, “You have no respect for my poor nerves!”

D and F range has the following qualities:

• Dialogue is incomplete
• Dialogue consists of a series of moments
• Few references to characters
• Few references to general storylines from the novels
• Few references to themes from the novels
• No allusions are referenced
• Lady Catherine DeBourg says, “I am quite put out!”

Due Friday, November 16th - "Persuasion" by Jane Austen - Chapters 13-22, Pages 87-170

Directions: Please read Persuasion by Jane Austen - Chapters 13-22, Pages 87-170. This marks the beginning of Vol. II through climax of the novel. In this blog space, please respond to the reading using direct evidence from the text. Give your opinion and use your knowledge of Pride and Prejudice and Austen's background. Remember to respond to each other. Give feedback. Ask questions.

Due Tuesday, November 13th - Who am I?

Part I: Freewriting

Either in a series of bullet points or freewriting, explore the following as they pertain to you:

• “Nature” – Ethnicity, Race, Gender, Sexuality, Personality
• Institutional – Nationality, Religion, Profession
• Discourse – Environmentalist, Feminist, Libertarian, Marxist, Vegan
• Affinity – Scouts, Teenager, Goth

Part II: Journal Reflection

In a personal journal or Google Doc: Once you have compiled a comprehensive list, write about the experiences you have had with each. Do not hold back. Some will offer more passionate responses than others will. Some may upset you. Some may even surprise you.

This will be part of an on-going exploration as we examine the narrative that is our lives. We are all protagonists, characters narrating our existences through our first person point of view. Remember, there is a third person narrator - dual narrative if you will - telling the story of us. Let your voice be the true war story.


Part III: Blog Discussion

In this blog space: Post ONE section that you feel comfortable sharing with the class in a blog response. Read your classmates’ responses, and please respond directly to at least one student in which you share an experience and one where you learned something new.