HENB01142U English - Elective 3, topic 2: Shakespeare’s comedies, early and late

2016 is will be celebrated all over the world in commemoration of the 400^th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death, and this course is one of our contributions. Among Shakespeare’s last works are comedies known as the Late Romances; but how do these relate to his earlier comedies? With this question in mind, we will read two pairs of comedies: Much Ado About Nothing (1598-1600) and The Winter’s Tale (1610-11), both dealing with the destructive power of sexual jealousy and the work of redemption; and the two supernatural plays A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1594-96) and The Tempest (1611).