English 353: Advanced Shakespeare: Love, Sex, & Gender

From Lysander's "The course of true love never did run smooth!" to Lady Macbeth's "Come, you spirits / That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here," Shakespeare's plays and poems grapple with erotic love, human sexuality, and the complex workings of gender in human experience. Writing for the English stage during a period when female roles were played by male actors, Shakespeare often explored the ways in which gender is constructed and performed, yet his writings also include archetypes of masculinity and femininity; and he fashions lovers whose passions and desires range from the sublime to the ridiculous. The course will expose students to advanced-level study of Shakespeare's poetry and plays, with particular attention to the themes of love, sex, and gender. May be taken as a 300-level elective for the English major. Runs concurrently as English 230; students enrolled in 353 will be required to complete additional readings in Shakespeare criticism and write a research paper on a topic of their choosing related to the course material.