Mary Ellen Lamb                                                        Section leaders:

English 365                                                                 Section 1: Mary Ellen Lamb

Spring 2011                                                                Section 2: Laura Borger

E-mail: marylamb@ siu.edu.                                        Section 3: Steve Sorrell

This semester, we will be reading the following plays: As You Like It, Twelfth Night, Hamlet, Othello, Winter’s Tale, and Tempest.  The texts for the term are paperback Signet editions of the plays we will be reading. You are required to bring your text to class, since we will be working with specific passages, so it is a good idea to buy all the texts for the semester right away. Because we will be referring to specific pages numbers, and because of the advantages of marking up your text, you need to bring this specific text; electronic texts do not substitute. Films of these plays are also on reserve in the library, and we will be looking at short snippets of films in class as well.

These plays roughly work in pairs. The comedies As You Like It and Twelfth Night both explore issues of love; they both include cross-dressed women pretending to be boys; they both include fools who often tell the truth. The tragedies Hamlet and Othello feature  characters (Hamlet, Iago, and later Othello) who are consummate actors; but their methods and purposes in acting are very different. These raise the question of how acting may affect character. The romances or late plays Winter’s Tale and Tempest explore what might lie beyond tragedy. They are plays of second chances. In Winter’s Tale, the jealous Othello figure is arguably responsible for the death of his wife in Act 3, but he has sixteen years to repent by the end of Act 5. In Tempest, the protagonist chooses not to revenge his wrongs even though those who committed them were completely in his power. But both of these romances raise questions about their own plausibility. They invite wonder, but also allow for skepticism.

We will be devoting about six classes for each play. The schedule for each class period is attached on a separate sheet. Mondays and Wednesdays we will be meeting as a group in the large lecture hall in Lawson. Fridays you will break out into smaller sections for discussion, as noted here.

Mondays and Wednesdays: Lawson 101

Fridays:  Section 1: Dr. Lamb, maryelamb@siu.edu, Lawson 101

                Section 2: Laura Borger, borger@siu.edu, Parkinson 108

                Section 3: Steve Sorrell, corwin9@siu.edu, Wham 206.       

For most plays, the first Friday discussion period will include a quiz on the reading. For each play, you will usually be handing in a response at the beginning of the second discussion period (see calendar on the separate sheet). Neither the quiz nor the response page can be made up by e-mail or any other means, so missing discussion periods will seriously affect your grade. There is some leeway, however, with a coupon you will each be issued to excuse you from one response; and the lowest quiz grade will be dropped. Attendance will be taken for discussion sections and also for lecture classes on Monday and Wednesday. On Monday and Wednesday, you are expected to sign in on your section leader’s list as you enter the class. For every lecture missed, you are required to hand in, to your section leader, a single-spaced page including notes from the missed class and a response to the material covered during that class. Ten absences, including both lecture and discussion classes, fails you for the course.

Rather than telling you during each class period what the reading assignment is for the next time, I am giving you this general schedule. A more detailed schedule with dates is available on a separate sheet.

Class assignments:

Class 1 (lecture): For the first class on each play, you are required to read acts one and two before the lecture begins. If you haven’t already read the play, the lecture won’t make very much sense to you because we will be talking about something you haven’t read. I reserve the right to give a pop quiz.

Class 2 (lecture): For the second class, read to the end of act 4.

Class 3 (discussion session):  Review acts 1-4. There will be a reading quiz up to the end of act 4. You will have the opportunity to ask questions about any plot elements or other issues that caused you difficulty before the quiz. Be sure to mark passages that are not clear to you, or which raise questions in your mind.

Class 4 (lecture): Read act 5 and review acts 1-4 to be sure that you understand them.

Class 5 (lecture): Sometimes this class will include some film or other presentation for discussion about the choices a director or actor has made.

Class 6 (discussion session): For class 6, there will usually be a short response paper due, on a topic assigned during class 3. Each Signet edition includes a brief essay, usually titled “<Play> on Stage and Screen.” It would be useful to read the last few pages—the ones that deal with twentieth and twenty-first century productions—of this essay before the class. Some of these are better than others.

Grades:

     Grades will consist of the following six parts, weighed equally.

     1-3) 3 tests. These will consist of identification of quotes discussed in class (1/2) and an essay (1/2), to be given on Monday, February 20; Monday, April 2; and during the exam time set by the dean during exam week. The first test is given after the first two plays; the second test is given after the next two plays. The exam will be primarily over the last two plays, but it may also include an essay question covering the plays studied during the semester. If desired, students may substitute a third paper (5-7 pp.) for the exam comparing/contrasting an issue of interest in two plays they have not yet written on. Because the purpose of these tests is partly to determine if you have been fully human/fully alive during class, they will draw heavily from class lectures. In the past, students have found that highlighting or circling passages we discuss in class has helped to focus their studying. Absences from lectures and discussions will dramatically reduce your ability to perform well on tests.

     4-5) 2 papers, 5-7pp. (doublespaced), due Friday, March 9 and Wednesday, April 18, with abstracts telling us what you will be writing about due on Wednesday, Feb. 22 and Wednesday, April 4, respectively. Individual conferences with your discussion leader are required before the papers are due; in general they are comparing/contrasting any issue of interest in any two plays covered so far this semester.  These will be “thought” papers rather than research papers, so you will not need to read criticism. If you do read criticism, be sure to footnote it. Using someone else’s sentences (even just one or two of them) as your own is plagiarism, and will immediately fail you for the paper; more than a few sentences will fail you for the entire course. This applies to Cliff or Monarch notes and also websites. Also be sure to acknowledge ideas from other sources. Material from class lectures or discussion groups is considered common property, however, and you may use it without fear of plagiarism. You may also draw on your responses if they are related to your paper topic.

     6) Quizzes and response paragraphs. As noted above, there will be a short reading quiz, usually during the first small-group session of each play. In the second small-group session, you will be bringing in a response paragraph on a designated topic or on an issue or problem of interest. Any grade on reactions will depend not on "correctness" of insight but on the depth /freshness/ originality of response. The purpose of these paragraphs is to help you to explore what you think and feel at a given time. Paragraphs are graded pass+, pass, pass-, and fail (usually given for work not handed in). Paragraphs are due at the beginning of the class (not in a mailbox or by e-mail) and cannot be handed in late or made up later. There may also be “pop” quizzes. You will have a coupon, however, to excuse you from one response, and the lowest quiz grade will be dropped.

Office hours:

Dr. Lamb’s office is 2237 Faner, and her office hours are MWF 10-11 and 1-2, and you can arrange for other times if these are difficult. Laura Borger and Steve Sorrell share the office 2265, and they will announce their office hours on the first Friday meeting. All three of us welcome visits, to chat about the classes, the readings, papers, your Academic Future, or anything else of interest to you.    

How to do well in this class:

     Spend serious time and emotional investment in reading the plays and then re-reading them. Read actively. Mark up your text before we deal with specific scenes in class, so you can have something to react to. Put an X where you are not sure about something, and an ! for a reaction, positive or negative. React to what you read, and bring in those reactions into class.

    Come to every class. Pay close attention and take good notes. Mark up your text. Since tests are primarily taken from class material, you will have a good idea of what might be on the test if you take notes in your book, as well as on paper. Circle the passages we discuss in class.

    For the response paragraphs, think for yourself and come up with your own ideas. Originality is rewarded in this class.

     For your paper, invest in the issue or questions provided, so that the paper will be interesting for you to do. Again, originality is rewarded. The paper will be graded primarily on the degree of deep thought you show. Correct grammar also counts.

     Look at the films. Just as you will do better if you read actively, you will do better if you look actively, as well. Think about the directors’ choices, and what you would have done in a similar or a different way. If you have any problems following the plays, looking at the films can really help.

     Come talk to your discussion leader during office hours, or by appointment, especially if at anytime you feel like you are not getting what you want to out of the reading. Don’t let time go by if you have trouble understanding a passage. We are in this field because we love conversations about Shakespeare.

 Other advice:

    Do not rely on No Fear Shakespeare, Monarch notes or Spark notes some other shortcut rather than reading the plays yourself. Monarch notes may be useful to help you understand a play if you are having trouble, but the experience is like reading a movie review instead of seeing the movie—it’s not very interesting, and you never really remember very well what is happening.

    Do not miss class, or come in late enough to miss any announcements about paragraphs due.

    Do not plagiarize your papers, even partially, from another source—this will give you an immediate F in the class. You are now officially warned, and so you cannot plead ignorance.

    Don’t be a stranger—if you have any difficulty or concerns, see your discussion leader right away!