ENG 3114 Spring 2023 Bourus

In this course, students will survey a rich variety of film, video and new media adaptations of a handful of Shakespeare’s plays (Hamlet, Macbeth, Taming of the Shrew, Romeo & Juliet, Henry IV Pt. 1 & 2, and Henry V). We will be viewing adaptations spanning over 100 years, from all around the globe. Students will gain a working vocabulary of theatrical and cinematic terms, and they will read a number of works by major film theorists discussing the nature of cinematic “adaptation” in relation to the stage and the page. Students will gain familiarity with the canonical Shakespearean directors and auteurs (Bhardwaj, Branagh, Kurosawa, Olivier, Taymor, Welles, Zeffirelli). They will also develop a familiarity with lesser-known filmmakers working in a variety of genres. Students will read and respond to secondary sources that interrogate the intersection of cinema and Shakespeare studies. By the end of the course, students will be able to closely read and analyze filmic texts using terms drawn from literature, theatre/performance studies, and film studies. Students will also be able to illustrate familiarity with some of the major ideas and theories surrounding cinematic adaptation.

No prior knowledge of Shakespeare is required.

This course meets the Genre requirement for LMC majors