English 499H: Shakespeare in Italy

Summer May-June 2017

Dr. D.R. Ransdell

MT (Time TBA)

Course Description:

Although William Shakespeare probably never traveled to Italy, he set a third of his plays there. As such, they make for a rich study for students in the Orvieto program. Filmmakers too have capitalized on these Italian connections, making special use of setting in their productions. In this course you will study a variety of these plays in written or cinematic form, read criticism about setting and Shakespeare’s use of Italian elements, and synthesize what you learn about this Italian connection in a final paper that discusses several “Italian” plays.

Materials:

Roe, Richard Paul. The Shakespeare Guide to Italy: Retracing the Bard's Unknown Travels. NY: Harper Perennial, 2011.[Currently this is only available in print form.]

Romeo & Juliet or Othello

The Taming of the Shrew or The Tempest

The Merchant of Venice

Much Ado about Nothing or A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Plus: One “Italian” play of your choice (can also be from Shakespeare)

Tragedies: Othelloor Romeo and Juliet, Coriolanus, Titus Andronicus, Julius Caesar, Anthony and Cleopatra

Comedies:The Taming of the Shrew, The Merchant of Venice(tragi-comic), Much Ado about Nothing, Twelfth Night (Illyrian coast), The Two Gentlemen of Verona, A Comedy of Errors, All’s Well that Ends Well, The Winter’s Tale, The Tempest (Italian characters on an unnamed island), Measure for Measure(the main setting is Vienna, but many characters are Italian), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (might be set in Sabbioneta, near Mantua)

Or a similar play, also with an Italian setting, from the Jacobean Era, such as:

Volpone (Ben Johnson), Women Beware Women (Thomas Middleton), The Duchess of Malfi(John Webster), orThe White Devil(John Webster)

Critical sources (Some are provided on my website; more possibilities are listed below; you can easily find sources through the UA library online search engine.)

Note: If you’re going from Tucson to Orvieto and back again, you might like to have hard copies of the plays. If you’re traveling before or after the program, you might want to use electronic versions instead.

Course Breakdown:

Mini-Analyses(4): 50%

Final Paper: 50%

Note that since this is a college writing course, you are naturally expected to submit writing that is free of grammatical and mechanical errors; otherwise you will lose credit. (See Grammar Challenge below.) Note that the course is offered for superior/pass/fail.

To begin preparing for your final paper, each week you will write a Mini-Analysis discussing one aspect of the play (in text or film version) in relation to at least one piece criticism. (This means a chapter from Roe, an article, an introduction, or a forward, NOT an anonymous e-source.) For your Mini-Analyses, consider questions such as: How does Shakespeare make use of Italy? How does setting inform or shape each play? What difference does Italy make? How does Italy contribute to Shakespeare’s creations?Why did Shakespeare choose to make his characters Italian? Your Mini-Analyses should be around 1000-1500 words each (3-5 pages).Present a controlling idea in your introductory paragraph and use topic sentences to help readers move among your points. Include quotes from the play and references to at least one critical source. Edit your work according to SWE—Standard Written English—and submit your analyses by class time on Mondays. (5/29, 6/5, 6/12, 6/19). Late analyses will lose 1/3 grade per day late.

Your Final Paper should discuss at least three “Italian” plays and include research from at least sixsources (each Roe chapter counts as a source). Usually you will want to draw quotes from each text you use. Show a sophisticated understanding of course materials and create an in-depth analysis in the form of an organized, edited academic paper. Cite sources inside your paper according to MLA and write a Works Cited page that lists the texts you used. (7-10 pages, approx.2500-3000 words, more thorough papers generally earn more credit). Due 6/23, but accepted without penalty through 6/28.Late papers lose 1/3 grade per day but will be accepted through July 2.

Sample directions your final papers might take:

Playgoer as Traveler: How does being in Italy affect your understanding of Italianate plays?

Italy as character: How does the use of Italy enhance/affect Shakespeare’s works?

Italy as historical backdrop: How does Shakespeare use key facts to create optimal dramatic tension?

Italy vs. England: How does Shakespeare’s use of setting compare from one country to another?

Filming Italy: How do directors use vivid Italian settings to punctuate Shakespeare’s plays?

Technicalities: Double-space your papers using Times New Roman 12. Late work will be marked down 1/3 grade per class period late. Remember to back up all your work in a couple of places.Barring technical difficulties, I’ll ask you to submit all your work via dropbox or d2l in Word or rtf.

Classroom Etiquette: Come to class on time and don’t leave until class is over. To avoid distracting classmates, please use electronic devices only for course materials. (Do not try to read our texts with your cell phone.) No food in class.

Attendance: You are allowed to miss one class; thereafter, each absence lowers your overall grade by 5%.(Exception: extreme, documented illness.) Field Trips sponsored by the program are considered classes and hence are subject to the same policy.

NOTE: If you need to miss a field trip, you must alert Alba or Claudio IN ADVANCE. Otherwise they—and all the other Orvieto participants--would be sitting at the bus stop waiting for you.

2% Bonus for Attending ALL classes and field trips!

Final Note: Plays were meant to be seen, not read, of course. If you possibly can, watch film versions of our materials. For example:

Zeffirelli’s Taming of the Shrew, Romeo and Juliet

Baz Luhrman’s Romeo and Juliet

Parker’s Othello

Hoffman’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream (filmed in Tuscany/Lazio)

Radford’s The Merchant of Venice

Branaugh’s Much Ado about Nothing

Note: On your free weekend, you might consider visiting Venice (Othello, Merchant), Verona (Romeo & Juliet, Two Gentlemen), Padova (Shrew), Sabbioneta (near Mantua) (A Midsummer Night’s Dream).

Daily Syllabus

NOTE: Summer school goes fast. Skim if you have to, but keep up.

Week 1:

T 5/23 For class: Read/watch Othello or Romeo & Juliet; be prepared to explain salient features of the play.

R 5/25*We’ll meet today to make up for Monday’s class. For class: Reading the corresponding chapter in Roe.

======

Week 2:

M 5/29 For class: Complete your mini-analysis on Othello or Romeo & Juliet. Also, read/watchThe Taming of the Shrewor The Tempest; be prepared to discuss plot elements and salient features.

T 5/30 For class: Read Roe’s Ch 4 or 12 and one of the following: “Levith on Shakespeare’s Italians,”“Levith on Padua,”or Marrapodi on “Italianate Unity”

======

Week 3:

M 6/5For class: Complete your mini-analysis on The Taming of the Shrew or The Tempest.Read/watchThe Merchant of Venice. Be prepared to discuss plot elements and salient features.

T 6/6Read Roe’s Chs. 5 & 6.

======

Week 4:

M 6/12For class: complete your mini-analysis on The Merchant of Venice. Read/watchMuch Ado about Nothing or A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Be prepared to discuss plot elements and salient features.

T 6/13Read Roe’s Ch 10 and“Levith on Messina,” andRaymond on the “Two Sicilies” or Ch 8 and two essays of your choice.

======

Week 5:

M 6/19 Complete your mini-analysis of Much Ado about Nothing or A Midsummer Night’s Dream.Read a play of your choice and be prepared to discuss the plot and salient features.

T 6/20Read several critical sources and be prepared to discuss them.

F 6/23Final Paper “due,”but accepted through June 28thwithout penalty.  Late papers lose 1/3 grade per day but will be accepted through July2.

Did Shakespeare Visit Italy?
.
Shakespeare's writings suggest that he visited Italy, although no other evidence is available to indicate that he ever set foot outside of Britain. As for the evidence in his writing, consider that more than a dozen of his plays–including The Merchant of Venice, Romeo and Juliet, All's Well That Ends Well, Othello, Coriolanus, Julius Caesar, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, The Taming of the Shrew, Much Ado About Nothing, and The Winter's Tale all have some or all of their scenes set in Italy. Consider, too, that plays not set in Italy are often well populated with people having Italian names. For example, although TheComedy of Errors takes place in Ephesus, Turkey, the names of many of the characters end with the Italian ''o'' or ''a'':–Angelo, Dromio, Adriana, Luciana. In Hamlet's Denmark, we find characters named Marcellus, Bernardo and Francisco. Practically all of the characters in Timon of Athens bear the names of ancient Romans–Lucullus, Flavius, Flaminius, Lucius, Sempronius, Servillius, Titus, Hortensius. Of course, it is quite possible that Shakespeare visited Italy only in his imagination. From by Michael Cummings

Possible Web Sources:

Berry, Ralph. “Shakespeare’s Venice.” Contemporary Review 272.1588 (1998): 252+. Literature Resource Center. Web.

Bevington, David. “The Comedy of Errors as Early Experimental Shakespeare.” Bulletin of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. 2003. 13-25.

Freed, Eugene. “”News on the Rialto”: Shakespeare’s Venice.” Shakespeare in Southern Africa 21 (2009): Web.

Jones, Robert C. “Italian Settings.” Studies in English Literature 1500-1900. 10.2 (1970): 251-68.

Kahn, Coppélia. "The Taming of the Shrew: Shakespeare's Mirror of Marriage.” Modern Language Studies5.1 (1975): 88-102. Web.

Kehler, Dorothea. “Echoes of the Induction inThe Taming of the Shrew.”Renaissance Papers1986. 31-42. Web.

Parks, George B. “The Development of The Two Gentlemen of Verona. The Huntington Library Bulletin (1937): 1-11. Web.

Praz, Mario. “Shakespeare and Italy.” Sydney Studies in English. Sydney, 1977. 3-18. Web. <http:/scholarship.library.usyd.edu.au>

Parks, George B. “The Development of The Two Gentlemen of Verona. The Huntington Library Bulletin (1937): 1-11. Web.

Praz, Mario. “Shakespeare and Italy.” Sydney Studies in English. Sydney, 1977. 3-18. Web. <http:/scholarship.library.usyd.edu.au>

Richmond, Hugh Macraie. “The Two Sicilies: Ethnic Conflict in Much Ado about Nothing.” Shakespeare Newsletter Spring-Summer 2007: 17+. Literature Resource Center. Web.

Zeeveld, W.G. “Coriolanus’ and Jacobean Politics.” Modern Language Review 57.3 (1962): 321-34. JSTOR. Web.

D.R.’s Grammar Highlights

Note that following these simple guidelines might help you prevent common mistakes.

When you make grammar mistakes, your readers may have to reread your sentence in order to understand it. That confuses them and makes them lose time. If you make enough mistakes, they’ll start to disagree with your opinions automatically! Instead, observe some simple rules to make your writing more effective.

1) Add a comma after a long introductory phrase: Even though it was long after midnight, I wrote three more drafts of my English essay. This comma helps your readers find the subject of your sentence.

2) Add a comma after a conjunction ONLY when the phrase that follows is an independent clause (a complete sentence). I thought I had enough time to write my essay, but I had to work until dawn to finish my work. (Note the difference: I thought I had enough time to write my essay but had to work until dawn to finish my work. No subject= no comma.)

3) Use commas around non-restrictive (unnecessary) clauses: My roommate, who never turns off her alarm clock, drives me crazy. The sentence could simply read “My roommate drives me crazy.” (If you have two roommates, the information becomes necessary so that you can explain which roommate is the sleepyhead: My roommate who never turns off her alarm clock drives me crazy. My other roommate never bothers to set one.)

4) Divide closely connected sentences with a semi-colon; use a comma after words such as “however.” We went to a terrific party last night; however, the food tasted awful.

5) Avoid run-ons. In other words, don’t run two sentences together your readers will be irritated. See what I mean? Run-ons are frustrating for readers because they assume they have misread and have to go back and reread your sentence only to find out that YOU are the one who made the mistake. Instead write: Don’t run two sentences together. Your readers will be irritated. If you want the sentences to work closely together, you might use a semi-colon instead: Don’t run two sentences together; your readers will be irritated.

6) Avoid fragments unless they are clearly used on purpose. A fragment is a word or phrase masquerading as a sentence but that is incomplete in some way. Bad idea? Once in a while it makes sense to use a fragment stylistically, but you have to be careful that it doesn’t seem like a mistake. For example, “Bad idea” isn’t a full sentence, but it demonstrates my example.

7) Avoid “number” mistakes. Grammatically, “everyone” is singular, but “their” is plural. Therefore it’s awkward to write: Everyone should bring their syllabus. Instead make the phrase plural: Students should bring their syllabi. (You can also use the singular form, but it’s awkward too: Everyone should bring his or her syllabus.)

8) Use colons precisely. A colon means one of two things: a list is coming or an example is coming. List: For class read three comedies: Twelfth Night, Much Ado about Nothing, Two Gentleman of Verona. Twelfth Night has a famous first line: “If music be the food of love, play on.”