Great courses (DVD). Literature & language. English literature

Lecturer: Professor Marc C. Conner, Washington and Lee University

Shakespeare's plays are masterworks, but they can be hard to understand for a modern English speaker. Gain direct insight into Shakespeare's writing in this course which explains how to enter Shakespeare's world, how to grasp what's happening in his plays, and how to enjoy each play on both the page and the stage

Rated TVPG

Mode of access: World Wide Web

Episode 1

Approaching Shakespeare - The Scene Begins

Episode 2

Shakespeare's Theater and Stagecraft

Episode 3

A Midsummer Night's Dream - Comic Tools

Episode 4

A Midsummer Night's Dream - Comic Structure

Episode 5

Romeo and Juliet - Words, Words, Words

Episode 6

Romeo and Juliet - The Tools of Tragedy

Episode 7

Appearance versus Reality in Twelfth Night

Episode 8

Twelfth Night - More Comic Tools

Episode 9

Richard II - History and Kingship

Episode 10

Politics as Theater in Henry IV, Part I

Episode 11

Henry IV, Part 2 - Contrast and Complexity

Episode 12

The Drama of Ideas in Henry V

Episode 13

Macbeth - 'Foul and Fair'

Episode 14

The Tragic Woman in Macbeth

Episode 15

Staging Hamlet

Episode 16

The Religious Drama of Hamlet

Episode 17

The Women of Hamlet

Episode 18

The Merchant of Venice - Comedy or Tragedy?

Episode 19

The Arc of Character in The Merchant of Venice

Episode 20

Measure for Measure - Is This Comedy?

Episode 21

Measure for Measure - Overcoming Tragedy

Episode 22

Tools of Romance in The Tempest

Episode 23

The Tempest - Shakespeare's Farewell to Art

Episode 24

The Tools for a Lifetime of Shakespeare