English and Anglo-American Studies - Studi Inglesi e Anglo-Americani

Topics Part I: The production and reception of commercial drama in the age of Shakespeare Part II: The afterlife of Shakespeare: page (editorial tradition) and stage (performance history and Global Shakespeare in Contemporary Performance)

No module-specific pre-requisites.

Primary Texts Please read as many plays by Shakespeare as you can. Please try to use good modern editions, such as Cambridge, Oxford, or Arden. PS: The Cambridge Shakespeare is now available to Sapienza students, so you can read all plays (and poems) online: https://www.cambridge.org/core/publications/collections/cambridge-shakespeare You can watch recent productions on several platforms: open access resources for global Shakespeare include ‘Global Shakespeares’ at MIT https://globalshakespeares.mit.edu/ and A / S / I / A http://a-s-i-a-web.org/en/splash.php ; The Globe Player https://globeplayer.tv/ , the National Theatre at Home https://www.ntathome.com/ and Digital Theatre https://www.digitaltheatre.com/consumer are excellent for recent mainstream productions in English but require a subscription.

In presenza

Assessment One max. 3,000-word, end-of-semester ESSAY (in English) consisting of a 'close analysis' of ONE of the primary texts studied on this module (or editing of a specific extract thereof ), supported by a 'thick description' of relevant contexts related to the production and reception of the primary text, including: 1. sources 2. models of early modern dramatic authorship 2. early modern staging practices 4. early modern printing practices 5. reception of the primary text in any given period, location, language or theatrical tradition of your own choice. The term 'thick description' is a research methodology borrowed from the social sciences, but now widely used by literary critics too, which helps researchers focus not only on the linguistic, theatrical, textual or bibliographical make-up of an early modern playbook (or poem) but also on the cultural practices and social agents (including but not only Shakespeare as author) that collaboratively produced the corpus of works now known as 'Shakespeare'.

Methodology I will give introductory lectures on (Part I) the material conditions of theatrical production in the age of Shakespeare, focusing on the rise of commercial drama, on the influences of earlier theatrical forms and traditions, and on the interplay between theatrical and print cultures in early modern London; and (Part II) the transmission of Shakespeare's works into print, starting with a pre-history of Shakespearean editing in the seventeenth century and then moving on to the main developments of the editorial tradition from the eighteenth century to the present; followed by a final block of lectures devoted to the re-presentation of Shakespeare's works in contemporary performance and across national, linguistic and cultural borders. My introductory lectures will be followed by workshops aimed at honing independent research skills. These workshops will be structured around preliminary readings made available via google classroom and practical group exercises that reflect (and will help you prepare for) this module's assessment.