COML 3480 - Shakespeare and Europe

(crosslisted)
(also ENGL 3490)(HB) (LA-AS)

Fall. 4 credits.

W. J. Kennedy.

In their own times, Shakespeare’s plays registered a strong interest in the culture and society of Renaissance Europe beyond England. In later times, they cast a powerful spell over culture and society in 19th- and 20th-century Europe. This course will examine their debts to and influences upon continental drama. Readings will focus upon Shakespeare’s plays in relation to Italian comedy, early French tragedy, and plays by Friedrich Schiller, Bertolt Brecht, and Luigi Pirandello.