Shakespeare on Film

About this course:

In this course, we view and discuss film adaptions of six of Shakespeare’s plays: Macbeth, Hamlet, Lear, Romeo and Juliet, Titus, and Coriolanus. Our discussion includes what Aristotle called the diagnosis of a dramatic tragedy: plot, character, thought, diction, melody, and spectacle. We place particular emphasis on rising action—a series of events that create suspense in the narrative, and the climax—the part of the story where the suspense reaches its highest part. “The play’s the thing wherein to capture the conscience...”