Shakespeare’s Comedies

This course surveys William Shakespeare's comedies, including famous works such as A Midsummer Night's Dream , Twelfth Night , and The Tempest , as well as less produced plays like The Two Gentlemen of Verona .

Although the primary focus of study is the plays themselves, we also use them as launching points to consider a variety of topics and questions.

Discussions and supplemental readings address the nature of comedy and its purposes, the historical and political context for these plays in early modern England, their performance history and afterlives on stage and screen, and the role of Shakespeare as a cultural touchstone.