Digicampus
Proseminar: "This Great Stage of Fools": Fools and Folly on the Shakespearean Stage - Details
Nachrichtenbox schließen
Sie sind nicht in Stud.IP angemeldet.
Lehrveranstaltung wird online/digital abgehalten.

Allgemeine Informationen

Veranstaltungsname Proseminar: "This Great Stage of Fools": Fools and Folly on the Shakespearean Stage
Semester SS 2020
Aktuelle Anzahl der Teilnehmenden 10
maximale Teilnehmendenanzahl 40
Heimat-Einrichtung Englische Literaturwissenschaft
beteiligte Einrichtungen ZZZ_Literaturwissenschaft (Anglistik/Amerikanistik)
Veranstaltungstyp Proseminar in der Kategorie Lehre
Erster Termin Dienstag, 28.04.2020 14:00 - 15:30, Ort: (D 2122)
Voraussetzungen *EAS-1411*:
If you are allotted to this course you will automatically be signed up for the corresponding Übung "Drama Analysis" (Mondays, 15:45-17:15)
Be sure to keep this slot free in your timetable.

*EAS-1412*
If you are wrongly allotted to the Übung, please make sure to sign out of it, in order to open up the slot for your fellow students.
Lernorganisation Erwartete Beteiligung an der Lehrveranstaltung: Regelmäßige Teilnahme
Leistungsnachweis term paper / portfolio
Online/Digitale Veranstaltung Veranstaltung wird online/digital abgehalten.
Hauptunterrichtssprache englisch
Literaturhinweise Please get hold of your own copies of the plays we will discuss. I suggest you either buy an edition of Shakespeare's Complete Works (costs: ca. 40 EUR) or single editions of the three plays we'll read. Recommended editions: see below.
IMPORTANT: simplified English/abridged editions or online only editions are NOT PERMITTED.

Recommended editions:
- Complete Works: The Norton Shakespeare, 3rd ed. ISBN: 978-0393263121

- single editions: Arden Shakespeare, 3rd Series
A Midsummer Night's Dream. Ed. Sukanta Chaudhuri. Bloomsbury, 2017. ISBN: 9781408133491
As You Like It. Ed. Juliet Dusinberre. Bloomsbury, 2006. ISBN: 9781904271222
Twelfth Night. Ed. Keir Elam. Bloomsbury, 2008. ISBN: 9781903436981
King Lear. Ed. R.A. Foakes. Bloomsbury, 1997. ISBN: 9781903436585




Please note: for the time being, our university provides access to www.dramaonlinelibrary.com (you must be logged into the university network via the VPN client). On this page, you can access the recommended single editions of our plays, including all annotations. However, free access through the university may be discontinued in May or June.
A Midsummer Night's Dream: https://www.dramaonlinelibrary.com/plays/a-midsummer-nights-dream-arden-shakespeare-second-series-iid-127014
As You Like It: https://www.dramaonlinelibrary.com/plays/as-you-like-it-arden-shakespeare-third-series-iid-137572
Twelfth Night: https://www.dramaonlinelibrary.com/plays/twelfth-night-arden-shakespeare-third-series-iid-133547
King Lear: https://www.dramaonlinelibrary.com/plays/king-lear-arden-shakespeare-third-series-iid-130992
Sonstiges *EAS-1411*:
If you are allotted to this course you will automatically be signed up for the corresponding Übung "Drama Analysis" (Mondays, 15:45-17:15)
Be sure to keep this slot free in your timetable.

*EAS-1412*
If you are wrongly allotted to the Übung, please make sure to sign out of it, in order to open up the slot for your fellow students.
ECTS-Punkte 6

Räume und Zeiten

(D 2122)
Dienstag: 14:00 - 15:30, wöchentlich (12x)

Kommentar/Beschreibung

[[Due to the current lockdown of the university, the topic of this seminar (formerly: Eco-Drama: Contemporary Theatre and the Ecological Crisis) had to be changed. The Eco-Drama seminar will be offered again next year.]]

In this seminar we will look at the role of fools (and, to a lesser extent, ‘foolish’ behaviour) in Shakespeare’s plays. The stage character of the fool has its roots both in mediaeval folk traditions and festivities, such as May Games, Mystery Plays, and, of course, carnival, and in the practice of the social exclusion of those deemed mentally ill. The performances of stage fools range from clownish buffooning, coarse humour, singing and dancing to sophisticated wordplays and witty criticism of their masters. A particularly interesting type of fool is the court fool or jester, who, protected by his status as fool (and therefore not to be taken seriously), is ‘licensed’ to poke fun at his ruler.
This seminar will try to find out how the real-life role of the fool, which was commonly known in 16th- and early 17th-century England, is ‘translated’ onto the Shakespearean stage. What is the function of Shakespeare’s fools in the wider context of his plays? Do they represent certain cultural values or traditions? And how do they fit in the Renaissance worldview? The four plays we will read present us with different types of fools: the mechanicals’ comical dim-wittedness and Puck’s mischief in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Touchstone’s acerbic wit in As You Like It, the wordplays and pranks by Feste in Twelfth Night, and the fierce criticism uttered by the (nameless) fool in King Lear. We will look at differences and commonalities between them and discuss the influence of dramatic genre (A Midsummer Night’s Dream, As You Like It and Twelfth Night are comedies, King Lear is a tragedy) on the role of the fool.

Anmelderegeln

Diese Veranstaltung gehört zum Anmeldeset "ELW/ALW/NELK: BA/LA Aufbaumodul (Proseminar)".
Folgende Regeln gelten für die Anmeldung:
  • Diese Regel gilt von 16.04.2020 00:00 bis 21.04.2020 23:59.
    Die Anmeldung zu maximal 1 Veranstaltungen des Anmeldesets ist erlaubt.
  • Es wird eine festgelegte Anzahl von Plätzen in den Veranstaltungen verteilt.
    Die Plätze in den betreffenden Veranstaltungen wurden am 22.04.2020 um 00:00 verteilt. Weitere Plätze werden evtl. über Wartelisten zur Verfügung gestellt.
  • Die Anmeldung ist möglich von 16.04.2020, 00:00 bis 21.04.2020, 23:59.
Veranstaltungszuordnung: