This is a take-home exam, which means that you are permitted to consult assigned texts and essays as well as your class notes for this course, but it is expected that you will work alone.
Answer all three questions below with essays of at least 1000 words.
(25 points) Scholars Phyllis Rackin and Jean Howard have observed that “in classical and medieval gender ideology, unlike our own, women’s natures were regarded as more appetitive than men’s, and…sensual self-indulgence was identified as a female—and effeminating—vice.” In a similar way, early modern English culture tended to idealize the friendship between two men whereas, according to Stephen Orgel, “the love of men for women was often presented as dangerous and destructive.”
Discuss in detail how two of the plays we have read this semester—one History play and one Comedy—represent women, portray marriage, and discuss issues of gender and sexual difference.
(25 points) In an essay entitled “Rehearsal, Performance, Plays” Tiffany Stern argues that when Shakespeare created roles it was with a limited number of character types in mind, representative of the acting skills of his company:
“In opting to flesh out characters in…distinctive way[s] wherever possible, modern editors lose what they do not want to recognize: the mass-produced qualities of many of Shakespeare’s characters; the way one king is often like another, because frequently he is writing for the same actor. Knowing the way Shakespeare wrote can help explain why it is that some characters seem to exist in more than one play: there are across-play types traceable to actors’ personalities.”
Choose two of the plays we have read and (1.) describe the important character types (king, clown, braggart, old man, etc.) in these plays and (2.) the acting skills each role would have demanded. (3.) See if you can find instances (as Stern does) where a given role links two plays together and (4.) explain why Shakespeare might have made this connection. Please remember the #1 rule of close reading: “less=more”. That is, you want to offer in-depth discussions of just a few characters (preferably 2 but certainly no more than 3) rather than filling the essay with superficial observations about many roles.
(50 points) Happy to be finished with your Shakespeare class, you decide to celebrate by watching either your favorite film comedy or an episode of your favorite sit-com TV show. But as you watch, you find yourself thinking about this beloved and familiar movie or show in a new way—through the lens of Shakespearean comedy. Choosing one of the comedies we’ve read this semester, compare and contrast it with your selected film or show. (You may choose anything so long as it is, broadly speaking, a comedy.) Does your modern comedy operate differently than Shakespeare’s? How and, more importantly, why? Does it display a metatheatrical awareness of itself as a comedy in the way that Shakespearean comedies often do? Consider such things as the plot structure, the presentation and development (or non-development) of characters, and the ending or resolution. You may also wish to address the setting as well as sound effects and musical themes. Why did the director and/or actor(s) make these choices? Are they united in some way, perhaps pointing to a larger message or theme? As you consider each of these elements, use Shakespeare’s play as a point of comparison and contrast.
