VICM2255 - The Victorians and Shakespeare

Objectives:

On successful completion of the module, students will be able to:

1 demonstrate critical awareness of Victorian interpretations of Shakespeare across a range of different cultural contexts (e.g. the theatre, education, literature, publishing and editing, biography, painting);
2 demonstrate high-level knowledge and critical understanding of the interpretation of Shakespeare in at least one of these contexts;
3 research and present a high-level case-study of the significance for the Victorians of a particular Shakespeare text or related topic, and critically evaluate its significance for the Victorian period;
4 demonstrate self-direction and originality in a sophisticated argument that uses appropriate evidence/illustrations and engages with contextual and critical literature.

Content:

The first session will provide an introduction to the module and an overview of the different contexts for the study of the Victorians and Shakespeare. Some short poems or passages from literary texts (eg Arnold’s ‘Shakespeare’, Tennyson’s ‘To W. C. Macready’, the ‘Coriolanus’ chapter in Charlotte Bronte’s Shirley) will be analysed and discussed.
Each of the next four sessions will be given over to analysis and discussion of a particular context for study of the Victorians and Shakespeare. For example:
Session 2: Shakespeare in literary texts (eg Dickens, Wilde)
Session 3: Shakespeare in the theatre
Session 4: Shakespeare and scenes from Shakespeare in painting
Session 5: Victorian Shakespeare scholarship: biography, editing, controversy

As part of preparation for assessment, the final session will include a case study of the stage history of The Life and Death of King John during the Victorian period.

Learning and Teaching Information:

The seminars will make use of a number of teaching and learning methods, including: short presentations by the tutor, informal presentations by students, structured exercises and plenary discussion. Students will be set reading to complete before the session and will be expected to bring their own reflections to bear on the exercises and discussion. Learning will be supported by Moodle, and also by occasional use of relevant video extracts and sound recordings.

Seminars
Contact hours: 6 x 2 hours
Intended group size: 12

Individual tutorials
Contact hours: 20 minutes per student
Intended Group size: 1

Additional Information
Students will have the opportunity to upgrade their registration from this module to the corresponding extended module VICM 2655. To do so, they must obtain approval from the module tutor on the basis of a detailed proposal presented in week 6 of the module. Once they have upgraded their registration, they will not be required to present for assessment for VICM 2255.

Assessment: