Syllabus
GENERAL INFORMATION
Office: LA 233 Hours: please contact me
email: stapletm@pfw.edu phone: 481.6841 (message)
webpage: www.elmlsteach.org
Text:
Greenblatt et al., eds., The Norton Shakespeare: Essential Plays. The Sonnets (vol. 3E)
Please note: this is the edition I'll be using. If you choose not to buy it, you might have some minor difficulty following along.
Electronic Devices:
Yes, please. Feel free. I only ask that you use their magic powers for Good. E. g. don't use your phone as a textbook.
“When beggars die, there are no comets seen”
Julius Caesar
14 16 21 23 28 January
“There is nothing good or bad but thinking makes it so”
Hamlet
30 January; 4 6 11 13 February
“Virtue? a fig! ‘Tis in ourselves that we are thus or thus”
Othello
18 20 25 27 February; 3 March
ANALYTICAL ESSAY DUE FRIDAY 28 FEBRUARY, 9 A.M., VIA EMAIL:
“My mind is full of scorpions”
Macbeth
“Speak what we feel, not what we ought to say”
King Lear
31 March; 2 7 9 14 April
“No grave shall clip in it a pair so famous”
Antony and Cleopatra
21 23 28 30 APRIL
NO CLASS ON 16 APRIL
SECOND EXAM DUE FRIDAY 8 MAY, 9 A.M. VIA EMAIL:
COURSE POLICIES
ATTENDANCE AND GOOD MANNERS
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.
DUE DATES
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.
DON'T BE A PLAGIARY
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
GRADING
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.
COMMUNICATION
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.
First paper
Prompt
TBD
SUGGESTIONS AND SPECS
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:
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
first exam
The Prompt
TBD
SUGGESTIONS AND SPECS
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:
Be sure that I acknowledge the receipt of your exam in responding to the email including your exam.
Microsoft Word only.
second exam
PROMPT
"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 the second half of the course, but feel free to use the earlier texts.
SUGGESTIONS AND SPECS
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 28 FEBRUARY, 9 A.M., VIA EMAIL:
Late papers = 0
3-4 pp.
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 exam 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