F0506 The Venice of Shakespeare and Jonson in Theatre and on Film

The plays we will study in this course were written around the year 1600, by English playwrights, but take place in Venice, Verona and Padua. Clearly, Shakespeare and Ben Jonson were fascinated by what they knew of Venice and its environs, and also wanted to use Italian story-material for their plays. The focus will be on the cultural, social and political meanings invested in the Venetian setting by the plays. We will trace the references to the unique Venetian city-scapes and try to understand their role in the shaping of the plots.\r\n

As no scenery was used in the Elizabethan playhouse, Shakespeare had to rely on the power of his poetry on the one hand, and on the singular spatial properties of his theatre building on the other, to convey the visual image of a city on which he himself had never set eyes. In this course, we shall discuss some famous theatrical and cinematic productions. The image of Venice in Ben Jonson\'s Volpone will provide a useful point of reference.

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We will read the following plays: 1. Romeo and Juliet, 2. The Merchant of Venice, 3. The Taming of the Shrew, 4. Othello, 5. Volpone. The first four are by Shakespeare and the last by his contemporary, Ben Jonson. No previous university-level course in Shakespeare is required, although I will assume a general acquaintance with Shakespeare and at least one or two of his plays. See note below about the use of translated texts.

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We will view and analyze videos or DVDs of all these plays, emphasizing the depiction of locale. Notable among them will be historical productions by Orson Welles, Laurence Olivier, Michel Tourneur, Franco Zeffirelli, Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor, Ian McKellan, and Kenneth Branagh.

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Prospective students are asked to read the above plays over the summer vacation, so that they can easily refresh their reading in preparation for the classes. For those who find the English daunting, I strongly recommend reading the plays in translation, but, from time to time, comparing the translation to the English text. From my experience with students in Israel, I know that you soon overcome the initial difficulty, and sometimes even discover that the original is easier to read than the translations, which become quickly outdated. Try it out for yourself and see! But, by all means, do bring along the translations if you feel more confident with them!

\r\nIn any case, our work will be text-oriented, which means we will, among other things, read and interpret in class. You will get up to 10 bonus points added to your grade for performing in class short scenes from the plays. You do not have to memorize the texts and can perform with book in hand. Also, if there are enough of you from any one country, you can perform using a translation into your own language – but you must be prepared to explain (in English!) the special flavour endowed by your language to the dialogue and acting! A similar bonus will be given for painting a scenic design for a possible production – and explaining your conception to the class.