Shakespeare's Life, Work, and Characters
Offered By: Harvard University via edX
Course Description
Overview
Join us for an exploration of Shakespeare! From a biographical history of the playwright and his time to a review of his notable’s “outsider” characters: the disturbing and uncanny “others” whose presence at the margins of society is both celebrated and contested. From lectures filmed on-location in Venice, London, and Stratford-upon-Avon to conversations with artists, academics, and librarians at Harvard, you will have unprecedented access to a range of resources for unlocking Shakespeare's classic plays. You will also be invited to share your own theatrical interpretations and to consider how the meaning of a work of art changes depending on the time, context, and culture.
In Shakespeare’s Life and Work, learn how to read William Shakespeare's plays through his biography, Elizabethan and Jacobean history, and modern performance. Moving between the world in which Shakespeare lived and the present day, this course will introduce different kinds of literary analysis that you can use when reading Shakespeare.
In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the ghost of the dead King of Denmark appears to his son, setting off a chain of events that culminates in the play’s notoriously bloody finale. But how would this mysterious figure have been understood in Shakespeare’s world? You’ll learn the narrative sources of Hamlet, the religious convictions that shaped how people in Renaissance England understood the afterlife, and the ways that Shakespeare’s Ghost would have thrilled and challenged its original audience.
In William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice, the Jewish moneylender Shylock proposes a “merry sport” to the merchant Antonio: he will lend Antonio the money he needs if Antonio agrees to let Shylock take a pound of his flesh should he default. But what does Shylock want from the bond, and how merry does the play ultimately prove? In this section, you’ll be introduced to Jewish history in Venice and in England, to the ways in which Shakespeare’s own audience might have responded to the play and its genre, and to the history of the play’s production through the twenty-first century.
In William Shakespeare’s Othello, the Venetian general Othello represents himself to Desdemona and to the Venetian Senate through fantastic tales. Othello’s stories — about himself, to himself, and to others — sets in motion a tragic romance. You’ll learn the ways in which Shakespeare's characters tell stories within the play; how actors, directors, composers, and other artists tell stories through Othello in performance; and how the play grapples with larger issues including power, identity, and the boundary between fact and fiction.
Syllabus
Course 1: Shakespeare's Life and Work
Learn how to read William Shakespeare's plays through his biography, Elizabethan and Jacobean history, and modern performance.
Course 2: Shakespeare's Hamlet: The Ghost
Explore the haunting figure at the heart of one of William Shakespeare’s most famous plays.
Course 3: Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice: Shylock
An exploration of the magnetic and ambivalent character of Shylock in William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice.
Course 4: Shakespeare’s Othello: The Moor
Explore acts of storytelling in Shakespeare's Othello alongside world-class artists who interpret Othello's story in new forms and contexts today.
Courses
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In the first act of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet , the Ghost of the dead King of Denmark appears to his son, setting off a chain of events that culminates in the play’s notoriously bloody finale. But how would this mysterious figure have been understood in Shakespeare’s time?
Harvard professor Stephen Greenblatt guides learners through an exploration of the Ghost’s uncanny theatrical power and the historical contexts from which the character emerged. You will be introduced to the narrative sources of Hamlet, the religious convictions that shaped how Renaissance England understood the afterlife, and how the Ghost would have thrilled and challenged its original audience. By focusing on the Ghost, you will see how the play grapples with issues like death, mourning, remembrance, and the power of theatre.
Through short video lectures, readings from the play as well as later works by Coleridge and Joyce, and conversations with experts, you will develop critical tools with which to "unlock" the play's possible meanings.
If you're reading Hamlet for the first time, this course is a great introduction. If you're reading it for the hundredth time, it is the perfect chance to revisit and refresh your "take" on Shakespeare's greatest tragedy.
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In the first act of William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice , the Jewish moneylender Shylock proposes a “merry sport” to the merchant Antonio: he will lend Antonio the money he needs if Antonio agrees to let Shylock take a pound of his flesh should he default. Shylock calls this contract a “merry bond,” and Shakespeare’s First Folio calls the play a comedy. But what does Shylock want from the bond, and how merry does the play ultimately prove?
In this course, Harvard professor Stephen Greenblatt guides learners through an in-depth exploration of the character of Shylock. You'll learn about Jewish history in Europe, how early audiences might have responded to the play, and the history of the play’s production through the twenty-first century.
With short video lectures, readings from the play, and explorations of adaptations, you will develop critical tools with which to unlock the play's possible meanings.
If you're reading The Merchant of Venice for the first time, this course is a great introduction. If you're reading it for the hundredth time, it is the perfect chance to renew your understanding of one of Shakespeare’s most polarizing plays.
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In this course, we'll read William Shakespeare’s Othello and discuss the play from a variety of perspectives. The goal of the course is not to cover everything that has been written on Othello. Rather, it is to find a single point of entry to help us think about the play as a whole. Our entry point is storytelling.
We'll look at the ways in which Shakespeare's characters tell stories within the play––about themselves, to themselves, and to each other. We'll consider, too, how actors, directors, composers, and other artists tell stories through Othello in performance. By focusing on storytelling, we can see how the play grapples with larger issues including power, identity, and the boundary between fact and fiction.
From lectures filmed on-location in Venice and conversations with artists, academics, and librarians at Harvard, students will have unprecedented access to a range of resources for "unlocking" Shakespeare's classic play.
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How do we read Shakespeare? Do his plays belong to the past, or the present? To a famed dramatic genius or to readers and audiences around the globe? What do his plays really mean?
Moving between the world in which Shakespeare lived and the present day, this course will introduce different kinds of literary analysis that you can use when reading Shakespeare. With short videos filmed on location in England and readings covering topics like Shakespeare's contemporaries and the politics of modern performance, you will learn a range of critical tools that you can use to unlock the meaning and relevance of Shakespeare’s plays.
Join us as we visit Stratford-upon-Avon, where Shakespeare was born in 1564; London, the lively city where he began as an actor; and the Globe Theater, where his first plays were performed. This journey through Shakespeare’s life will transport you to another era and will give you a new perspective on his timeless work.
Taught by
Stephen Greenblatt and Bailey Sincox
Tags
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