Shakespeare Matters

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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.

This course includes interactive activities, and interviews with a range of people engaged creatively and professionally with Shakespeare's plays. You'll be encouraged to interpret Shakespeare in your own way - to find 'your Shakespeare.'

You will learn how to read a Shakespeare play and gain the tools you need to interpret its language. You will also have the opportunity to experience what it's like to direct scenes from the plays. And you'll learn about the various kinds of Shakespearean drama, and the dramatic and poetic techniques Shakespeare uses to investigate the human condition.

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 enjoy Shakespeare’s plays
• How to understand and appreciate Shakespeare’s language and its power

Skills you learn

• Influencing Skills

Syllabus

Week 1: Your Shakespeare

• 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.

Week 2: A Midsummer Night’s Dream

• 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.

Week 3: Othello

• 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.

Week 4: The Winter’s Tale

• 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.

Week 5: Henry V

• 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.

Auto Summary

Discover the impact of Shakespeare's plays on emotions like love, hate, and jealousy in this foundational Arts & Humanities course by edX. Over 13 weeks, engage deeply with his timeless works. Available with Professional and Starter subscription options, it's perfect for those new to Shakespeare or looking to deepen their understanding.