Exploring Shakespeare’s Tragedies: Shakespeare’s Early Language + Romeo and Juliet
November 16 @ 2:00 PM
Participatory Study Event – Led by Clare Smout (3 hours)
Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet challenged existing conventions of tragedy by its focus on teenage love, yet it was an instant success, as is clear from the many quotations and references in contemporary writing. Why did it come to be so enduringly popular?
This session offers an opportunity to look more deeply at a familiar play and to examine Shakespeare’s developing craftsmanship, including his use of source material, staging and structure. However, we will concentrate in most detail on Shakespeare’s very varied use of language in this play and consider how characteristic it is of the first half of his career.
This event consists of an introductory talk, followed by group discussions, video clips from a variety of productions, and practical work on the play’s language. A break for coffee and cake is included. These events are suitable for those aged 18 and over.
Clare Smout is a locally-based Shakespeare specialist. She spent 20 years in professional theatre, before moving sideways into academic research and teaching. Clare has taught Shakespeare to students of all ages, including lecturing at the University of Birmingham and as a guest tutor at the University of Cambridge’s Institute of Continuing Education.
This is part of a series of five sessions on Exploring Shakespeare’s Tragedies. These are stand-alone sessions. Come to as many or as few as you wish.
- Sat 26 October 2pm-5pm Introducing Elizabethan Tragedy + Titus Andronicus
- Sat 2 November 2pm-5pm Introducing Elizabethan Tragedy + Titus Andronicus (repeat)
- Sat 16 November 2pm-5pm Shakespeare’s Early Language + Romeo and Juliet
- Sat 23 November 2pm-5pm Shakespeare’s Early Language + Romeo and Juliet (repeat)
- Sat 11 January 2pm-5pm Exploring Othello
- Ist or 2nd of February(tbc)2pm-5pm Exploring Othello (repeat)
- Sat 8 February 2pm-5pm Exploring Macbeth
- Sun 16 February 2pm-5pm Exploring Macbeth (repeat)
- Sat 8 March 10am-5pm Exploring King Lear
- 29th or 30th March(tbc)10am-5pm Exploring King Lear (repeat)
Any questions, please contact Clare Smout via shakespeare.courses@smout.org
The publicity image is a detail from Romeo and Juliet (1884) by Frank Dicksee.
