This course requires a great deal of reading and it is imperative that you DO the reading and attend class regularly.  To encourage you to do both, you will occasionally be given a brief quiz or in-class writing assignment (1 to 1 1/2 pages) as we begin work on each new text. In addition, you will be asked to write two slightly longer papers (4-6 pages) and two exams.  Grades will be calculated using the following scale:

Class Participation                                                     20%

(Including virtual class participation,

and regular class attendance)

Papers (2)                                                                   40%

(The papers will be weighted

equally -- 20% each)

Exams (2)                                                                   40%

            Mid-term                        15%

            Final                              25%

Since some of the material that we will cover in the beginning of the semester will continue to be pertinent throughout the course (i.e. – matters of staging, historical context and what little is known of Shakespeare’s personal history), the final exam will include questions of a cumulative nature, though the majority of it will concern material covered since the mid-term.