L41500 / L52501: Major plays of Shakespeare

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You are allowed five (5) absences for any reason you choose. Students who miss more than this will fail the course, without exception, regardless of circumstances. I do not distinguish between “excused” and “unexcused” absences, nor am I responsible for material that you miss because you are absent. Students who miss the attendance call (the first five minutes of class) will be marked absent; students who get up and leave in the middle of class will be marked absent. Please take care of your rest room issues BEFORE class. If you must leave, give us the high sign.  DON'T JUST GET UP AND WALK OUT.

NOTE: if you signed up for the class, it is understood that you can attend it regardless of family or employment obligations. If you have emergencies, this is why you have absences allowed.  Doctors's notes, team travel letters, and other personal effects do not entitle students to extra absences. If circumstances prevent you from observing the attendance policy, drop the course.   

Your paper and take-home exams are due on the scheduled non-class dates by 9 a.m. via email. Late papers = 0. No exceptions. These will be short, 4-5 pp. for undergrads, 10-12 pp. for grads. Your paper and first exam may be revised after meeting with the instructor in the office and discussing your plans.

It should go without saying that students are also expected to do their own work; indebtedness to secondary materials (either printed or electronic) must be clearly indicated so as to avoid plagiarism: 

—(piecemeal) using someone else’s words and phrases as if they were your own, not pararphrasing or summarizing properly, even with proper documentation;
—(grotesque) using someone else’s ideas as if they were your own, without proper documentation;
—(more grotesque) allowing someone else to write your paper for you.     

 PLEASE DO NOT BE A PLAGIARIST! THIS IS UNNECESSARY, AS WELL AS UNETHICAL   

The course grade will be determined by a rough averaging together of your  paper, take-home midterm, and  take-home final exam.  I  reserve the right to take into additional factors into account; improvement, class participation, and, of course, attendance. Grades are not negotiable, personal, or subject to the influence of extracurricular academic factors. 

You may email me at any time. I will usually get back to you quickly: stapletm@pfw.edu

NOTE WELL: 
I always acknowledge an email submission with a reply confirming receipt. If you DON'T hear from me after a reasonable period of time, it means I didn't get the paper. It is YOUR responsibility to follow up in this case, not mine.  

Hamlet has been Shakespeare's most studied work. One reason: its complicated textual history. As we discussed, many modern editions conflate the trio of early editions: the First Quarto (Q1 1603); the Second Quarto (Q2 1604); and the First Folio (F1 1623). All differ significantly from one another. Each has at least one great passage that does not exist in the other two.  

It seems unthinkable to excise the "So oft it chances in particular men" meditation (1.4.17-38). The 1948 Laurence Oliver film production transposes the passage to the beginning and frames the entire movie with it. 

Why, specifically, is the section so important?  Why should it be retained? Why should it be excised? Pick a side and argue it.

Please see the hints just above on writing papers for a college literature course. Attend to the WRITING page on the home menu tab.

Paragraphs should be focused on a single topic, with topic sentences, evidence, and analysis. They should not consist of a series of broad, unrelated statements.

Late papers = 0

3-4 pp.

DUE FRIDAY 28 FEBRUARY, 9 A.M., VIA EMAIL: 

stapletm@pfw.edu

Be sure that I acknowledge the receipt of your paper by  responding to the email including your paper.

Microsoft Word only. 

Please keep in mind that you may revise this paper as often as you like, as long as you meet with me to discuss it after you have turned it in the first time. Revisions are due on or before the due date for the fourth essay, 8 May

Our first three works, Julius Caesar, Hamlet, and Othello, might not seem to have much in common at first glance. As thinking people, however, you know that this would be a superficial observation.  Find three somewhat brief (i.e., not enormous) passages, one from each play, that have something significant in common with one another. Use these selections to show the common thread you have detected.

Paragraphs should be focused on a single topic, with topic sentences, evidence, and analysis. They should not consist of a series of broad, unrelated statements.

Late papers = 0

3-4 pp.

DUE FRIDAY 27 MARCH, 9 A.M., VIA EMAIL: 

stapletm@pfw.edu

Be sure that I acknowledge the receipt of your exam in responding to the email including your exam. 

Microsoft Word only. 

Please keep in mind that you may revise this paper as often as you like, as long as you meet with me to discuss it after you have turned it in the first time. Revisions are due on or before the due date for the fourth essay, 8 May 

"The web of our life is of a mingled yarn, good and ill together."

Let's take this splendid observation and apply it to our plays.  You only need confine yourself to Lear and Macbeth, but feel free to use the earlier texts.  

Paragraphs should be focused on a single topic, with topic sentences, evidence, and analysis. They should not consist of a series of broad, unrelated statements. 

DUE FRIDAY 8 MAY,  9 A.M., VIA EMAIL: 

Late papers = 0

3-4 pp.

stapletm@pfw.edu

Be sure that I acknowledge the receipt of your exam in responding to the email including your exam. 

Microsoft Word only.