Course

The Plays of Shakespeare

Faculty
Language, Literature & Performing Arts
Department
English
Course code
ENGL 3112
Credits
3.00
Semester length
15 weeks
Max class size
25
Method(s) of instruction
Lecture
Seminar
Typically offered
To be determined

Overview

Course description
In this course, students will read six to seven of Shakespeare's plays, drawn from at least three subgenres (comedy, tragedy, history, romance, or “problem” play). Close textual analysis will be complemented by study of relevant criticism and features of the Elizabethan context for Shakespeare’s work. Students may be required to attend and critique a performance of a play.
Course content

All third-year English literature courses share the following features: 

  1. Students are presumed to have had first-year level instruction and experience in writing critical essays on literary subjects.
  2. Students are required to read in the course subject area beyond the texts assigned by the instructor.
  3. Students are required to incorporate into their oral and written coursework secondary source materials which may include biographical information, literary criticism or theory, unassigned texts by the author under study, relevant cultural or intellectual history, or other aesthetic works such as music or visual art.

Readings and topics vary with each instructor’s presentation of a course, but all course materials are consistent with the objectives and outcomes of this course.

Additionally, in English 3112

  1. Students will read six to seven of Shakespeare’s plays, drawn from at least three sub-genres as traditionally defined (comedy, tragedy, history, romance, or “problem” play).
  2. Students may read or view dramatic work(s) by one of Shakespeare’s contemporaries, or a modern adaptation or re-working of one of his works, for comparison purposes; and Students may be required to attend and critique a performance of a play.
Learning activities

Some or all of the following methods will be used:

  1. lecture/discussion;
  2. group work;
  3. peer review;
  4. independent research;
  5. instructor feedback on students’ work;
  6. individual consultation; and
  7. presentation (individual or group).
Means of assessment
  1. A minimum of two academic essays and a final exam worth at least 80% of the course grade (combined total).
  2. A maximum of 20% of the course grade may be based on informal writing (quizzes, short answer tests); oral reports/presentations; participation/preparation grades; and/or other non writing-intensive assignments.
Learning outcomes

Upon completion of any third-year English literature course, students should be able to

    1. read and analyze literary texts with increased skill and insight;
    2. integrate their understanding of literature into an evolving awareness of relevant cultural and historical contexts and perspectives;
    3. perceive connections among literary texts across genres, historical periods, and/or cultural contexts;
    4. conduct independent research to supplement the course material and integrate this information into course assignments; and
    5. write different kinds of literary analyses, such as thematic, technical, or theoretical.

Upon completion of English 3112, students should also have

    1. developed a strong familiarity with Shakespeare as Elizabethan playwright;
    2. understood and expressed in writing some major themes and poetic and/or dramatic techniques of Shakespeare as playwright; and
    3. explored and understood the relationship between the text as literature and as a blueprint for performance.
Textbook materials

Sample reading list:

  1. an anthology of Shakespeare’s plays, or stand-alone editions of the individual plays (6-7) assigned by the instructor;
  2. a coursepack, including biographical/historical/textual background materials for the plays, and/or literary criticism.

Note:  students may be required to pay to attend one or more performance(s).

Requisites

Prerequisites

Any two university-transfer first-year English literature courses, OR one university-transfer first-year English literature course and one university-transfer first-year Creative Writing or English writing course, AND a minimum of 45 credit hours.

Corequisites

No corequisite courses.

Equivalencies

No equivalent courses.

Course Guidelines

Course Guidelines for previous years are viewable by selecting the version desired. If you took this course and do not see a listing for the starting semester / year of the course, consider the previous version as the applicable version.

(Current)

Course Transfers

These are for current course guidelines only. For a full list of archived courses please see https://www.bctransferguide.ca

Institution Transfer details for ENGL 3112
Athabasca University (AU) AU ENGL 3XX (3)
Capilano University (CAPU) CAPU ENGL 3XX (3)
College of New Caledonia (CNC) CNC ENGL 2XX (3)
College of the Rockies (COTR) COTR ENGL 2XX (3)
Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) KPU ENGL 3320 (3)
Langara College (LANG) LANG ENGL 2XXX (3)
Northern Lights College (NLC) No credit
Simon Fraser University (SFU) SFU ENGL 311 (3)
Thompson Rivers University (TRU) TRU ENGL 3XXX (3)
Trinity Western University (TWU) TWU ENGL 351 (3) or TWU ENGL 352 (3)
University Canada West (UCW) UCW ENGL 3XX (3)
University of British Columbia - Vancouver (UBCV) UBCV ENGL_V 2nd (3)
University of Northern BC (UNBC) UNBC ENGL 280 (3)
University of the Fraser Valley (UFV) UFV ENGL 312 (4)

Course Offerings

Winter 2025