“Shakespeare's comic genius was just as good as his tragic.” This seminar will test that claim with a famous early comedy, The Taming of the Shrew. The battle of the sexes between Kate and Petruchio will entertain you, especially in performance. The resolution, where Shakespeare flips and contrasts his two plot lines, may surprise you. The Norton Critical Edition will place The Shrew in its early-modern contexts of folklore and patriarchal ideology. Then the class will sample some adaptations, read some essays, and get the feminist response. Lastly, YouTube selections will enhance the readings and reveal his Shrew as a founding text for Shakespeare's later comic triumphs.

Note: This course will not meet on Monday, October 13 and will resume the following the Monday.