| Description |
Course description
What on the green and blue earth might Shakespeare have to do with ecology, let alone ecocriticism, you might ask? What is ecocriticism anyway and how can it be utilized for an analysis of Shakespeare’s plays? This seminar deals with the link between literature, culture and questions relating to nature and our environment, from woods to seas to oceans. Though scholars have substantially published on the role of nature in/and the Bard’s works, which is, in fact, an ”old hat for Shakespeare” (Estok 2005: 110), ”[d]oing ecocritical Shakespeares” is quite new (ibid.). As opposed to simply discussing the theme of nature in Shakespeare’s plays, ecocritical Shakespeare often has a concrete political aim, wants to achieve social change and can be understood as explicitly activist. In this context, we will first explore the field of ecocriticism including terms such as ”ecophobia” (Estok 2011) and other branches such as postcolonial ecocriticism, animal studies, ocean studies or the blue humanities. We will then jointly turn to two selected dramas that offer themselves for an ecocritical analysis: Shakespeare’s comedy A Midsummer Night Dream that involves a group of lovers situated in a forest populated by fairies, and The Tempest. As one of Shakespeare’s last plays, The Tempest takes place on a remote island and features a Duke called Prospero, his daughter Miranda and his two servants, the airy spirit Ariel and the ‘monstrous’ figure Caliban. In addition, we will also revisit well-known cinematic adaptations of both plays and ask how we can entangle page, screen and ecology.
Key terms: Shakespeare, nature, environmentalism, material cultures, postcolonialism, gender, race
IMPORTANT: This class will be conducted ONLINE! Please consider this BEFORE signing up and commit to this class once you do!
Primary texts (please buy and read):*
Shakespeare, William. A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Ed. Grace Ioppollo. New York/London: 2018. ISBN-10: 9780393923575
Shakespeare, William. The Tempest. Ed. Peter Hulme. ISBN-10: 0393265420
*Exact editions, please, so we can work with the same page numbers! Please refrain from asking me about eBooks or other editions. While you can also use other versions (for Shakespeare, I recommend those by Norton or Arden as they are properly annotated and contain a lot of useful secondary material that will save you time in the library), you might struggle to find the discussed sections in class, so it is entirely your decision. There definitely are multiple and cheap second-hand editions available on the usual larger online platforms from only 10€ upwards (I checked!), so please order *NOW* and also start reading *ASAP* to avoid heavy backlog during the semester. Do not underestimate the primary texts' length (please check yourself) and consider that you will also have to read additional secondary texts, so I strongly recommend starting now.
Secondary texts (provided): tba.
Please note: You must have thoroughly read all assigned primary and secondary texts for each session in order to successfully participate in this class.
Films (provided):
A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Dir. Michael Hoffmann. UK/US: 1999.
The Tempest. Dir. Julie Taymor. US: 2010. |
