Learning outcomes

The module will introduce students to the editorial tradition of play texts in the English Renaissance, focusing on the relation between the page and the stage.

Program

Programme: The module will discuss various versions of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, starting with a preliminary introduction to Arthur Brooke’s poem, to continue with an analysis of Q1 and Q2. The study will be situated within the context of the editorial tradition of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ quartos, and will take into account the most recent critical and philological positions on the subject.

Bibliography:

Primary texts:
1) William Shakespeare, The First Quarto of “Romeo and Juliet”, ed. Lukas Erne, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2007
2) William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, ed. G. Blackmore Evans, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press (New Cambridge Shakespeare) 1984
3) William Shakespeare, Romeo e Giulietta (parallel text), ed. S. Bigliazzi, Torino, Einaudi, 2012

Secondary texts:
1) Lukas Erne, Shakespeare as Literary Dramatist, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2003
2) Margreta de Grazia and Peter Stallybrass, “The Materiality of Shakespearean Text”, Shakespeare Quarterly, (44) 3, 1993, pp. 255-283;
3) Michael E. Mooney, “Text and Performance Romeo and Juliet, Quartos 1 and 2”, Colby Quarterly, 6 (1) 1990, pp. 122-132 (http://digitalcommons.colby.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2787&context=cq);
4) Stephen Orgel, Authentic Shakespeare, London and New York, Routledge, 2002, chapters 1-4 (pp. 1-47).

Teaching method: Lectures will be held in English.

Examination Methods

The exam will consist in an oral discussion in English of the module’s topics.