Shakespeare: Text and Performance
English 425/10476
3 Credits
Tuesday and Thursday 2.00 – 3.15 pm
Keystone Hall 106
M. G. Aune
Office Hours: TTh 8.00 – 9.15 & W 2.00-4.00
and by appointment
aune(at)calu.edu
724.938.4341
223 Azorsky Hall
Editing Project
For this project you will produce your own edition of
Shakespeare.
You will edit a selection of lines from one of the plays we
have read so far,
Taming of the Shrew,
Hamlet,
or Romeo &
Juliet.
The project will include 1.) your edited and glossed text,
2.) whatever notes you feel are necessary, and 3.) a three to four page essay
that identifies your intended audience and explains why you made the editing
decisions you did.
This essay should address the following questions:
Did you modernize?
If so, why?
To what extent? Did you add or remove stage
directions? Entrances/exits? Speech prefixes?
Were any changes silent?
Why did you gloss what you did?
Why did you put the glosses where you did?
You may wish to consult other editions of the play.
The Arden editions of the three plays are on reserve
at the library.
If you draw any information from these sources, you
must cite it in your text.
NB: You may not fully modernize the language or translate it into modern
English.
Your project will be graded on its clarity and usability,
how well it addresses its intended audience, and the comprehensiveness of the
essay.
Specific elements examined include: setting, glosses, stage
directions, speech prefixes, line numbers, act/scene divisions, poetry/prose,
font, font size, and punctuation.
For your copy text, use one of the selections below.
They are available in facsimile form at the Internet
Shakespeare Editions website <
http://internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/Library/facsimile/index.html>.
NB: These facsimiles are not downloadable; you must
work on-line.
The passages you may choose from are:
1.)
The Taming of the Shrew (F1
Brandeis) TLN 2674-2750 (Enter
Kate, Bianca and Widdow” to “Tis a wonder”) or
2.)
Romeo & Juliet (Q2) TLN
1-73 (“THE MOST EX-“ to “downe with the Montagues”) or
3.)
Hamlet
(Q2) TLN 3439-3498 (“O treble woe” to “Tell then in
patience”)
If there are questions or difficulties accessing these
materials, please contact me ahead of time.
Review Project
For this paper, you will write a three to
four page review of a commercial film (rather than a film of a staged
production) of a Shakespeare play we have read this term.
This will not be an informative or descriptive
review.
You will draw on your understanding of performance as
mediation to analyze how the film interprets the play.
The paper will have two parts.
The first part should begin with a brief paragraph
that communicates basic information about the film: the release date, the
director, the lead actors (not the whole cast), and anything else that your
reader needs to know to understand your review. The second, and longest, part of
the review will present your analysis of the director’s
interpretation of the play.
There are several strategies for doing this.
One is to begin with the themes of the play and ask
yourself how the film treats these themes.
Does it prefer one more than another?
Does it ignore one completely?
(For example, imagine a film of
Macbeth
that emphasizes the role of the Weird Sisters and makes Macbeth seem like a
puppet without free will.
How would this fit with your own view of the play?)
A second strategy is to look at the performance
cruces, within the play.
Compared to your own idea of what happens, how does
the film portray it?
(Imagine a film of
Macbeth
that has the Weird Sisters played by old men.
How would you evaluate that decision?)
A third strategy is to look at what the film leaves
out and/or what it adds.
On average, a Shakespeare film uses only about
thirty percent of the original lines.
Films will also change the setting (Macbeth
in Brooklyn in the 1970s) or emphasize certain
characters by giving them more screen time or more lines.
It is generally best to think about how the
performance cruces and any changes affect the themes of the play, in other
words, use a combination of all three strategies.
This project will be graded on the clarity and
support of its thesis, the extent to which it follows the directions, and its
awareness of performance as mediation.
Performance Project
We have explored and analyzed how editors and performers
have mediated Shakespeare’s texts. The last assignment and event of the term
will be your opportunity to present your own mediation.
Working in groups, choose a short scene or part of a
longer one (ca. 200-500 lines) from any play we’ve read this semester.
You must cast, costume, prepare a script, and direct
that scene.
The performances will take place in the classroom, so
observe the potentials and the limits of the space.
The script must contain the actual lines, speech
prefixes, stage directions, director’s notes, and any other information used for
your scene.
It is due the day of the performance.
Part of one class before the final examination, will be
given over to preparation.
The performances will take place during the final
examination period.
You will be evaluated in two ways.
Eighty of the two hundred possible points will be
based on your interpretation of the scene and how effectively you communicate
that interpretation to the class.
(That is, you will not be judged on your acting
ability.)
As with the group presentation, this score will be modified
by the peer response forms in order to determine each student’s score.
The remaining one hundred points will be based on a
three to four page written (following all the rules) explanation of your (not
your group’s) interpretation of the scene.
Each group member is to work independently on the
written portion.
This part of the project is due on the day of the
performances.
Here
are some places to begin in preparing your scene.
1.)
What happens in this scene?
2.)
What is the mood of the scene?
3.)
What motivates the characters, what do they want from one another?
4.)
What are the key lines or speeches? How would they be said? (Think about several
possibilities)
5.)
How does this scene develop the themes of the play, as you understand them?
For
the written portion, answer one of the following questions:
1.)
What did you learn about the character you played, and about his/her place in
the scene and the play?
2.)
What did you learn about the Elizabethan stage?
3.) What performative obligations did the text impose on
our group?
On your own role?
4.) What significant performative options were available to
you and/or your group?
What choices were made and why?
5.) What was the interpretive result?
What readings of character, action, and so on were
enabled or disabled, rejected or omitted by your choices?
6.)
How did the scene embody questions of gender?
NB: Do not summarize the scene.
Your paper should describe what you have done and
analyze your performance.
The
written portion and the group forms (described below) are due on the day of the
performance.
Group rules
In order for evaluation and grading to be consistent and
reflect work done by individuals in your performance project, a number of
procedures must be followed.
Ethical group participation means that each member
is responsible for the group’s performance.
Each member must contribute as well as encourage
others to contribute.
During the first group meeting, the group must generate an
agreement that describes the group’s goal.
The goal will be to earn a high score on the
project, but in a manner that values the opinions of all members.
Group members must be committed to the group’s
goals, complete their individual tasks, avoid interpersonal conflict, encourage
group participation, and keep the discussion focused.
This document is to be no more than one page, it
must list the group number, each member’s name and contact information (whatever
means is most reliable), the group’s goal, and the responsibilities of members.
Each group member and the instructor must receive a
typed copy of this and a copy must be included with the materials you give me.
Each group must meet at least twice outside of class for
each project.
Time will also be provided in class for group work.
On the day of the performance project each group member must
turn in a
Group Member Evaluation
Form for each member.
Each member must also fill out and turn in a
Peer
Rating of Group Members.
These forms must be completed before class. These forms are available for download
here and from the
Blackboard site.
This webpage was designed for the use of the students of California University of Pennsylvania by M. G. Aune. Last updated 22 January 2010.
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