The marriage of Shakespeare and film is seen as a commonplace of modern culture but has it been always harmonious? Shakespeare wrote his plays for the early modern playhouse—a context vastly different to cinema—but they have since gone on to shape the possibilities of film as a medium. In return, film has shaped the possibilities of ‘Shakespeare’. This course explores the relationship between two mighty cultural entities and the ways that, together, they have been used to speak to and of their times. Plays to be studied include Henry V, Hamlet, and Romeo and Juliet. Directors whose work will be under investigation include Laurence Olivier, Kenneth Branagh and Baz Luhrmann.

1. Analyse a scene from Shakespeare by identifying features of its dramatic language and its original context of performance

2. Identify and describe a range of film genre and film techniques applied to the interpretation of Shakespeare's plays

3. Collaborate in a creative presentation project which analyses filmic interpretations of a Shakespeare scene

4. Construct an essay which demonstrates thorough research and original argument on the subject of Shakespeare and film

1000 word scene analysis (20%) [Learning Outcome 1]

Presentation project (30%) [Learning Outcomes 1, 2, 3]

2000 word essay (40%) [Learning Outcomes 1, 2, 4]

Participation (10%) [Learning Outcomes 1, 2]

This course consists of one 90 minute lecture, one 1 hour tutorial, and film viewing sessions in some weeks. 7.5 hours of associated study time per week is also expected.

12 units of English (ENGL) or Drama (DRAM) courses or one English (ENGL) or Drama (DRAM) course and FILM1002 Introduction to Film and New Media.

ENGL1055 Shakespeare and Film, an Introduction to the screen adaptation of literary texts.

The course will complement work in ENGL2012.

Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Macbeth, The Tempest

Stephen Greenblatt (ed.),  The Norton Shakespeare 2^nd edition