Skip to main content Skip to navigation

Term 1 Schedule

In 2024-25, the primary texts for Term 1 will be Henry IV Part 1 and Henry IV Part 2 which students should purchase in the Arden editions.

Week 1: Introduction

Review: HENRY IV PART 1 or 'HOTSPUR' / HENRY IV PART 2 or 'FALSTAFF' / HENRY  V at Shakespeare's Globe - Theatre News and Reviews

    Primary texts:

    Secondary texts:

    Further texts:

    Week 2: Shakespeare's intertextuality

    Warrior Queens in Holinshed's Woodcuts

    Seminar 2 individual prep: You have all been set a Shakespeare play. Using the resources linked to on the course Moodle, find out about three adaptations of this play in three different media and post a short description of each (1-2 sentences) on the Forum on the Moodle.

    Primary texts:

    • Holinshed, Raphael, Chronicles (1577). Please read the extracts 'Owen Glendower and the Welsh rebellion' and 'The Battle of Shrewsbury', which are accessible hereLink opens in a new window.
    • Daniel, Samuel, The Civil Wars Between the Two Houses of Lancaster and York (1595). Please read sections 85-115, which are accessible hereLink opens in a new window.
    • Anonymous, The Famous Victories of Henry V (circa 1580). A modern language version of the text is accessible hereLink opens in a new window.

    Secondary texts:

    Further texts:

    Archival material: Early European Books

    Week 3: Early adaptations

    Droll - Wikipedia

    Seminar 3 individual prep: Find out about three pre-1900 adaptations of your previously assigned play in three different media and post a short description of each (1-2 sentences) on the Forum on the Moodle. (Hint: you may wish to use Early English Books Online, the Folger Digital Image Collection, or Prompt Books from the Folger Shakespeare Library, all of which are linked to on the Moodle. There are potted stage histories for each play in The Oxford Companion to Shakespeare, also linked to on the Moodle.)

    Primary texts:

    Secondary texts:

    Further texts:

    Archival material: Folger Digital Image Collection

    Week 4: Auteur Shakespeare

    Review: Chimes at Midnight - Slant Magazine

    Seminar 4 individual prep: Prepare a case for the Shakespearean play you’d like the class to explore in Term 2. It will help if you are able to point to several examples of adaptations, productions, or other cultural reworkings of this text that your classmates might be interested in exploring in detail. Please post a short summary of no more than 5 sentences to the Moodle. We will decide which two plays will be studied in Term 2 during this seminar.

    Primary text: Welles, Orson, dir. (1966) Chimes at Midnight, Internacional Films and Alpine Films. Available on KanopyLink opens in a new window with your university log-in.

    Secondary texts:

    Week 5: Queering Shakespeare

    My Own Private Idaho: The cult 90s film that blazed a trail - BBC Culture

    Seminar 5 individual prep: Choose which of the two plays selected by your class you want to focus on in Term 2. Research three adaptations you’d consider leading a class on in Term 2, and post a summary of each adaptation to the forum on the Moodle. You will be put into groups for Term 2 in this seminar. Please do bear in mind that each group will be deciding upon a maximum budget per person for Term 2 expenditure, so it would be sensible to include in your selection at least some texts that would be free for the class to access.

    Primary text: Van Sant, Gus, dir. (1991), My Own Private Idaho, New Line Cinema. Available on Box of BroadcastsLink opens in a new window.

    Secondary texts:

    Further texts:

    Week 7: Celebrity Shakespeare

    The Hollow Crown (2012)

    Week 7 group prep: With your groups, prepare  a list of up to three adaptations, in order of preference, that you would like to lead a class on next term. You should consult with your fellow group members in person or by email ahead of the session.  Please include in your list the cost to students of accessing each of your choices (you can get an estimate for most things online). We discussed a budget to spend on term 2 texts and adaptations. You are therefore welcome to include on your lists items that cost money to purchase (as long as they are within your group’s chosen budget), but if you do so, at least one of your top two choices must be free to access. (If your first choice is free, a second choice is probably not necessary.) You can see a substantial list of adaptations that are free to access online on the list of adaptations posted to the Moodle. Many plays and films are included in the library’s online resources such as Drama Online and Box of Broadcasts. 

    Primary texts:

    Secondary texts:

    Week 8: Superhero Shakespeare

    Revisiting Thor: Has It Aged Well? - Geek Ireland

    Week 8 individual prep: Identify a piece of academic secondary reading you would like to set the class for your session in Term 2. Each group member should find a separate piece of reading, though you should liaise with your partner(s) in order to ensure you’re not setting the same reading as them. The reading should be either an article in a scholarly journal or a book chapter. Please read it before setting it! If you cannot find anything on the primary text, something on the writer/director, the genre, the style, or adaptation theory more broadly would also be appropriate.

    Primary text: Branagh, Kenneth, dir. (2011), Thor, Marvel Studios. Available on Box of BroadcastsLink opens in a new window and Disney+Link opens in a new window with a subscription.

    Secondary texts:

    Further texts:

    Week 9: Gendering Shakespeare

    Shakespeare Trilogy review – Phyllida Lloyd's searing triumph | Theatre |  The Guardian

    Primary text: Lloyd, Phyllida, dir. (2016), The Donmar Warehouse's All-Female Shakespeare Trilogy: Henry IV, Donmar Warehouse. Available on Digital Theatre+Link opens in a new window.

    Secondary texts:

    Further texts:

    Week 10: Multiverse Shakespeare

    The Prince review – playful romp through Shakespearean roles | Theatre | The  Guardian

    Primary text: Thorn, Abigail (2022) The Prince, Methuen Drama.

    Secondary texts: Iftikhar, Asyia (2022), 'The Prince review: Abigail Thorn’s debut play reinvents Shakespeare with a queer, trans twist'Link opens in a new window and 'YouTuber and playwright Abigail Thorn explains why Shakespeare has ‘so much trans potentialLink opens in a new window" in Pink News.