• Ghose Indira

In this seminar we will be engaging with one of the greatest tragedies of Shakespeare, King Lear. The course is an exercise in close reading: we will be proceding act by act and scene by scene, paying particular attention to the language of the play. We will also compare the significant differences between the two existing versions of the play, the Quarto of 1608 and the Folio of 1623.

Credit requirements are regular attendance, active participation, class presentations, and an end of term paper of 3000 words. More than two unexcused absences disqualify students from gaining credit.

The number of students in this course is limited to twenty. Only the first twenty students to register will be accepted as participants.

On successful completion of the course, students will have gained in-depth knowledge of one of the most important Shakespearean tragedies. They will have acquired the critical and theoretical vocabulary with which to approach and analyse a Renaissance play. They will have engaged in close reading of the play and will have participated in class discussions. They will have learned to critically evaluate a text in the form of a research paper, using reasoned argumentation to articulate their ideas.

The required edition is:

William Shakespeare, King Lear, in The Norton Shakespeare: Tragedies, ed. Stephen Greenblatt et al., 3^rd ed. (New York: W. W. Norton, 2016).

This edition is ideal because it contains both versions of the play, printed on opposite pages, enabling us to compare them.

Please note: only scholary print editions are acceptable. Online versions will not be accepted in class.