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JOHN CABOT UNIVERSITY

COURSE CODE: "EN 345"
COURSE NAME: "Special Topics in Shakespeare"
SEMESTER & YEAR: Fall 2025
SYLLABUS

INSTRUCTOR: Livia Sacchetti
EMAIL: [email protected]
 HOURS: MW 10:00 AM 11:15 AM
TOTAL NO. OF CONTACT HOURS: 45
CREDITS: 3
PREREQUISITES: Prerequisites: EN 110 with a grade of C or above
OFFICE HOURS:
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course offers students the opportunity to work in depth on a theme or topic in Shakespearean studies. The course might adopt a specific theoretical or critical approach such as ecocriticism, gender studies, or postcolonialism, take a historicist approach, investigating Shakespeare’s literary and cultural context, or explore a special theme, such as Shakespeare and the Roman Empire, or Shakespeare and Folklore, or Shakespeare and Politics. This is a reading and writing intensive course. Students in 300-level literature classes are required to produce 5-6,000 words of critical writing.
SUMMARY OF COURSE CONTENT:

This course will investigate five of Shakespeare's plays from an ecocritical angle. It will consider Shakespeare's use of nature in these plays not only as a stage space but rather as a counterpoint to the geopolitical concerns on stage. The natural spaces, imagery, and forces at play offer an alternative form of order, one rooted in natural cycles, free from anthropocentric notions of hierarchy, and often implicitly matriarchal.

 

The course will start by exploring A Midsummer Night's Dream and As You Like it, two plays that juxtapose the Apollonian and stringent order of the polis to the Dionysian freedom of a forest. The latter dismantles the ideas of order established in the former, restoring nature's control. The course will then approach King Lear, considering its portrayal of the cosmological collapse that follows a failed geopolitical landscaping of the world. The movement from the palace to outdoor spaces controlled by a haunting storm juxtaposes the disorder caused by capricious kingship with the order of nature, which is both ferocious and restorative. Finally, the course will consider The Winter's Tale and The Tempest, both late plays. In the first, a pastoral setting, which takes up most of the second act, celebrates a life free from human order and devoted to natural cycles. In the second, the remote island on which the action takes place is a space where human order and elemental order meet in abstract, quasi-mythological terms.

 

In applying an ecocritical lens to Shakespeare, the course will consider the specific evolution of space on stage in terms of dramatic form (contrasting tragedy and romance) as well as dramaturgy. The presence and impact of open spaces, forests, winds, and trees (both imaginative and practical) will be studied in this light.
LEARNING OUTCOMES:

Upon completion of this course students will have mastered the principles of first-and second-wave eco-criticism and learned how to apply them as a critical lens. They will have understood the relationship between a literary text and a theoretical approach, both when these share a common origin and common concerns and when they stem from different roots (temporally or conceptually). They will have understood how a critical glance can illuminate and, at times, even reconfigure aspects, details, or patterns in a literary text. They will also have understood the relevance and impact the study of literature can have on their understanding of the world.

 

Students will write three critical papers adopting an ecocritical lens on the texts studied. They will also write a final exam, which will assess their capacity to approach a given text from such perspective. This is a reading and writing intensive course; students at this level are expected to produce 5000-6000 words of critical writing.
TEXTBOOK:
Book TitleAuthorPublisherISBN numberLibrary Call NumberCommentsFormatLocal BookstoreOnline Purchase
A Midsummer Night's DreamWilliam ShakespeareFolger Shakespeare---- All texts will be included in an e-anthology designed for this courseEbook Folger Shakespeare
As You Like ItWilliam ShakespeareFolger Shakespeare--- All texts will be included in an e-anthology designed for this courseEbook Folger Shakespeare
King LearWilliam ShakespeareFolger Shakespeare----- All texts will be included in an e-anthology designed for this courseEbook Folger Shakespeare
The Winter's TaleWilliam ShakespeareFolger Shakespeare----- All texts will be included in an e-anthology designed for this courseEbook Folger Shakespeare
The TempestWilliam ShakespeareFolger Shakespeare----- All texts will be included in an e-anthology designed for this courseEbook Folger Shakespeare
REQUIRED RESERVED READING:
NONE

RECOMMENDED RESERVED READING:
NONE
GRADING POLICY
-ASSESSMENT METHODS:
AssignmentGuidelinesWeight
First Essay1800-2200-word paper applying an ecocritical lens to a section or pattern in one or more plays studied.20%
MIDTERM Second Paper In-class analysis of a given extract25%
Final paper2000- 2200-word paper applying an ecocritical lens to a section or pattern in one or more plays studied.25%
Final Exam 20%
Active involvement in class discussionThis course is structured as a Socratic seminar; students are expected to take an active role in class discussion in order to earn full credit for this portion of the class.10%

-ASSESSMENT CRITERIA:
AWork of this quality directly addresses the question or problem raised and provides a coherent argument displaying an extensive knowledge of relevant information or content. This type of work demonstrates the ability to critically evaluate concepts and theory and has an element of novelty and originality. There is clear evidence of a significant amount of reading beyond that required for the course.
BThis is highly competent level of performance and directly addresses the question or problem raised.There is a demonstration of some ability to critically evaluatetheory and concepts and relate them to practice. Discussions reflect the student’s own arguments and are not simply a repetition of standard lecture andreference material. The work does not suffer from any major errors or omissions and provides evidence of reading beyond the required assignments.
CThis is an acceptable level of performance and provides answers that are clear but limited, reflecting the information offered in the lectures and reference readings.
DThis level of performances demonstrates that the student lacks a coherent grasp of the material.Important information is omitted and irrelevant points included.In effect, the student has barely done enough to persuade the instructor that s/he should not fail.
FThis work fails to show any knowledge or understanding of the issues raised in the question. Most of the material in the answer is irrelevant.
-ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS:
Attendance in this course is mandatory; for excused absences, please refer to the Dean of Students' communications. Unexcused absences will affect your grade. Leaving class for longer than 15 minutes will result in an absence unless this has been allowed by the Professor.
ACADEMIC HONESTY
As stated in the university catalog, any student who commits an act of academic dishonesty will receive a failing grade on the work in which the dishonesty occurred. In addition, acts of academic dishonesty, irrespective of the weight of the assignment, may result in the student receiving a failing grade in the course. Instances of academic dishonesty will be reported to the Dean of Academic Affairs. A student who is reported twice for academic dishonesty is subject to summary dismissal from the University. In such a case, the Academic Council will then make a recommendation to the President, who will make the final decision.
STUDENTS WITH LEARNING OR OTHER DISABILITIES
John Cabot University does not discriminate on the basis of disability or handicap. Students with approved accommodations must inform their professors at the beginning of the term. Please see the website for the complete policy.
SCHEDULE

Week 1  

Introduction

to the theoretical and conceptual frameworks. Critical readings and discussion

·      Different forms of ecocriticism/ application

·      The nature and role of drama

·      Space on stage/ Space on the Jacobean stage

·      Nature on stage

·      Dramaturgy

 

Week 2  

A Midsummer Night's Dream Acts I and II

·      Stage space: the polis – origin and order

o  Ecocritical perspective

o  Ecocritical dramaturgy

 

Week 3  

A Midsummer Night's Dream Acts III and IV

·      Stage space: Subversion of order – the forest

o  Ecocritical perspective

o  Ecocritical dramaturgy

o  Nature on stage – the space of the forest

 

 

Week 4  

A Midsummer Night's Dream Act V As You Like It Act I

·      Resolution: Unresolved spaces

o  Ecocritical perspective

o  Ecocritical dramaturgy

·      The self and the shadow self—the forest

o  Nature on stage – the space of the forest

 

 

Week 5  

As You Like It Acts II and III

·      The self and the shadow self—the forest

o   Ecocritical perspective

o  Ecocritical dramaturgy

o  Nature on stage – the space of the forest

Paper one due

 

 

Week 6 

As You Like It Acts IV and V

·      The self and the shadow self—the forest

o   Ecocritical perspective

o  Ecocritical dramaturgy

o  Nature on stage – the space of the forest

 

Week 7  

King Lear  Acts I and II

·      The collapse of the polis/ kingship/ the palace

o  The nature of disorder/ disorder of nature

o  Ecocritical perspective

o  Ecocritical dramaturgy

 

Week 8  

King Lear  Acts III and VI

·      The storm

o  The nature of disorder/ disorder of nature

o  Ecocritical perspective

o  Ecocritical dramaturgy

o  Climate and political climate

o  Notions of progress

o  Anthropocentric order

 

Week 9  

King Lear  Acts III and VI

·      The storm

o  The nature of disorder/ disorder of nature

o  Ecocritical perspective

o  Ecocritical dramaturgy

o  Climate and political climate

o  Notions of progress

o  Anthropocentric order

Week 10  

The Winter’s Tale  Acts I, II, III

·      The collapse of order/ Collapse of the tragedy

·      Archaic structures

o  Ecocritical perspective

o  Ecocritical dramaturgy

o  Climate and political climate

o  Notions of progress

o  Anthropocentric order

·      Paper two due

Week 11  

 The Winter’s Tale  Act IV

·      Nature as a stage space: The festival

o  Ecocritical perspective

o  Ecocritical dramaturgy

o  Climate and political climate

o  Notions of progress

o  Anthropocentric order

o  Matriarchal patterns/ order

o  The Masque – the order of nature

o  Class structure/ natural order

 

Week 12  

The Winter’s Tale  Acts V

·      Nature as a stage space: The resolution

o  Disorder as order

o  Ecocritical perspective

o  Ecocritical dramaturgy

o  Climate and political climate

o  Notions of progress vs cycles

o  Anthropocentric order vs natural order

The Tempest  Act I

·      Nature as a stage space: The elements

o  Ariel’s island

o  Imagery and magic

o  Ecocritical perspective

o  Ecocritical dramaturgy

o  Climate and political climate

o  Notions of progress vs cycles

o  Anthropocentric order vs elemental order

 

Week 13  

The Tempest  Acts I and III

·      Nature as a stage space: The elements

o  Ariel’s island

o  Imagery and magic

o  Ecocritical perspective

o  Ecocritical dramaturgy

o  Climate and political climate

o  Notions of progress vs cycles

o  Anthropocentric order vs elemental order

·      Paper three due

 

Week 14  

 The Tempest  Act IV and V

·      Nature as a stage space: The elements

o  Ariel’s island

o  Imagery and magic

o  Ecocritical perspective

o  Ecocritical dramaturgy

o  Climate and political climate

o  Notions of progress vs cycles

o  Anthropocentric order vs elemental order

 

Week 15  

Final

Examination