HENA01106U Elective 2: Theme in British Studies B: Shakespeare and the English Language

In this course we shall study three plays -- A Midsummer Night's Dream, Henry V, Othello -- paying particular attention to the representation of English speech and English spelling: Shakespeare was composing his plays (not exactly 'writing' them) at a time when the uses of English were not yet standardized. We shall study questions of social and professional registers and the status of English among other languages; we shall also consider the use of English in the development of the idea of England as a nation.  And we shall be concerned with how drama provides a stage on which language, and a particular language, can be represented, examined, and played with.

Editions to be used will be those in the Oxford World's Classics series.