Shakespeare Matters Prerequisites No prerequisites required.

Course Dates This is a self-paced course, so you can learn when it suits you. Finish Date: December 31, 2021 0:00 AM UTC

Time Commitment Between 2 to 3 hours per section.

Assessments and Certification To qualify for a certificate, all quizzes, discussions and the assignment must be completed. edX will only issue certificates to participants that have chosen the ‘Verified Track’ and complete the course with a grade of 60% or higher. When your certificate is available, you will be notified in your edX dashboard.

Grading Scheme Pass (60% or higher) Fail (under 60%)

Course Syllabus Course Overview Shakespeare’s work has influenced the way we think about our relationships and ourselves. His plays are still as relevant today as when they were written almost 400 years ago.

In this introductory course, you will learn how Shakespeare uses emotion in his plays, how his characters experience and manipulate emotions, and how the emotional resonance of the plays makes them powerfully relevant to the modern world.

As you follow and engage with the emotional journeys of characters in tragedy, comedy, tragicomedy, and history; you will discover patterns of plot, action, and speech that will help you appreciate, understand, and discuss Shakespeare’s plays.

Each week of the course will focus on a different emotion. You’ll cover the range of emotions found in Hamlet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Othello, The Winter’s Tale, and King Henry V.

What you will learn: • Why Shakespeare still matters, all through a focus on emotions

• Ideas and techniques that will help you understand as well as enjoyShakespeare’s plays

• How to understand and appreciate Shakespeare’s language and itspower.

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Section 1: Your Shakespeare Section 1 Learning Objectives • Imagine the Shakespearean world and experience Shakespeare’s

language • Investigate the ways in which Shakespeare speaks to us now • Explore Hamlet - Shakespeare's most famous play - and its

importance • Encounter and explore key terms and other information that will

help you understand, enjoy, and discuss Shakespeare's plays.

Section 1 Assessment Requirements • Quiz questions and participation in discussions.

Section 2: A Midsummer Night’s Dream Section 2 Learning Objectives

• Explore Shakespearean comedy • Learn key terms relevant to Shakespearean comedy, and

discover their dramatic effects in A Midsummer Night’s Dream

• Investigate love and its representation in A Midsummer Night’s Dream

• Discuss love - now and in Shakespeare's time • Learn about the poetic features of Shakespeare's language of

love.

Section 2 Assessment Requirements • Quiz questions and participation in discussions.

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Section 3: Othello Section 3 Learning Objectives • Explore Shakespearean tragedy and learn relevant key terms • Investigate the classical origins of tragedy and explore how

Shakespeare 'breaks the rules' • Learn more about the language that Shakespeare uses, and why

he uses it • Investigate the psychology of hate • Explore and discuss the enduring legacy of tragedy.

Section 3 Assessment Requirements • Quiz questions and participation in discussions.

Section 4: The Winter’s Tale Section 4 Learning Objectives

• Explore the features of Shakespearean tragicomedy • Investigate the psychology of jealousy, and its destructive

pull • Sharpen your understanding of human weakness and the

power of forgiveness • Explore the restorative power of time • Extend your thinking as a director of Shakespeare's plays • Explore the ways in which Shakespeare 'writes' emotions into

the language he uses.

Section 4 Assessment Requirements

• Quiz questions and participation in discussions.

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Section 5: Henry V Section 5 Learning Objectives • Explore the Shakespearean history play • Investigate the ways in which King Henry V manipulates

emotions for his own political ends • Discover the contemporary relevance of King Henry V, and some

of the reasons why it is one of Shakespeare's most adapted plays

• See King Henry V through the eyes of a director • Become familiar with some of the most famous speeches in all

of Shakespeare's plays, and understand their emotional power. Section 5 Assessment Requirements

• Quiz questions, participation in discussion and assignment.

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