Given the circumstances thrust upon us, and the extreme inconvenience for you all as students, it's my duty to make course completion as painless as possible.
1. You are welcome to revise your first paper, whether you have had a chance to meet with me or no. I'd be happy to teleconference with you via ZOOM (see link below) if that would help. If you choose to revise, the final version of the item is due no later than Friday, 1 May, 9 a.m., via email.
2. The exam over the first half of the course is due as before: Friday, 27 March, 9 a.m. via email. You are welcome to revise, and, as with the paper, we can use ZOOM if you like. If you choose to redo, the final version of the item is due no later than Friday, 1 May, 9 a.m., via email.
3. We'll cover Macbeth and King Lear by short assignments (5) to approximate class meetings rather than by formal papers or exams (see below).
PROMPT
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.
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.
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 1 May, 9 a.m., via email
An advantage for us as a Shakespeare course is that there are plenty of video and audio resources for seeing the plays such as ours, Macbeth and King Lear. Amazon Prime has three separate productions for each tragedy that are included with the subscription. One of them, unfortunately, is not the Roman Polanski production of Macbeth (1971), though it can be rented for a small fee.
The Folger Shakespeare Library has a videotaped, staged Macbeth that you might enjoy.
The public domain audio site, LibriVox, has several audio productions of the two works.
YouTube, strangely, has a fabulous audio production of King Lear, with a stellar cast.
Each Monday, beginning on 30 March, I'll post a link to a prompt in this space to which you'll respond, the results from you due the following Friday, beginning 3 April. These assignments will be short, 2 pp., and specific. They should be submitted like our regular papers and exams, a Word document attached to an email, due each Friday by 9 a.m. They cannot be late. If you miss the deadline: 0 for the assignment. stapletm@pfw.edu
Along with every prompt, I'll try to create a mini-lecture on part of the play in question designed to assist you in navigating it along with the assignment. Your textbook contains excellent introductions to both our tragedies.
There will be five of these prompts, plus one for extra credit. The logistics are simple. If you do all five, 90 pts., the equivalent of an A, will be averaged in with your two previous paper and exam grades, or your revisions of these. If you miss one: 80 pts. = B, and so on. Of course, the sixth, extra prompt can make up for one you missed. These are credit-only. I'll return them with comments.
Prompt 1: 30 March, due 3 April (Macbeth)
Prompt 2: 6 April, due 10 April (Macbeth)
Prompt 3: 13 April, due 17 April (King Lear)
Prompt 4: 20 April, due 24 April (King Lear)
Prompt 5 (plus extra credit): 27 April, due 1 May (King Lear)
How does your quoted evidence relate to the point you're making? Which words or phrases make reference to the concept you're trying to explain, and why does your evidence matter?
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.
Which words and phrases seem especially important in each quotation as they relate to the other quotations?
When it's time to analyze, avoid needless summary unless the meaning of a given passage is unclear or at issue. Why does something matter? Why is it important? What insight can you bring to the material?
When it's time to summarize, try to extract the basics from a given passage, scene, or chapter. Try to be as accurate as possible.
© Copyright M. L. Stapleton 1998-2030 All rights reserved.
good for nothing else, be wise. --Rochester