Since the advent of the moving image over a century ago, countless screen versions of Shakespeare's plays have emerged across the globe in different forms of media: from film, television and recorded theatre, to internet videos and live streaming. 'Shakespeare on Screen' will consider these filmed productions of Shakespeare as an area connected to, but distinct from, Shakespeare's work as theatrical performance or literary text, drawing on literary criticism, film theory and adaptation studies to consider the connection between imagery and moving image; the imagined world of a bare stage the fully realised world on screen; the liveness of the stage and the repeatability of filmed media. We will approach motion picture versions of Shakespeare historically and internationally, but also through hands-on practical filming to think about the way technology, industry values, and cultural backgrounds influence the production of silent film, feature films, television, live streams, and screen versions of Shakespeare's plays from all around the world.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the module students should be able to:
Demonstrate an in-depth knowledge of screen versions of Shakespeare both historically and culturally.
Confidently use technical vocabulary to analyse the artistic decisions made in a film to present features of Shakespeare's texts.
Evaluate the role of technology, social forces such as marketing, and cultural backgrounds in the creation of a screen version of Shakespeare.
Synthesise their understanding of screen versions with their knowledge of Shakespeare's plays, to analyse Shakespeare on screen with a clear awareness of how such versions interact with the literary and theatrical nature of Shakespeare's work.
Assessment
Assessment Methods & Exceptions
Assessment:
One 1,000-word close analysis of a scene from a screen version of Shakespeare. (20%)
One 3,000-word academic essay (80%) OR One creative project of up to 2,000 words with a 1000-word critical commentary (80%) OR One group assessed creative project: a group creative project of 1,500 words multiplied by the number of people in the group (40%), accompanied by a 1,500-word critical commentary from each member of the group (40%).
Reassessment:
Failed component only One 1,000-word close analysis of a scene from a screen version of Shakespeare. (20%)
One 3,000-word academic essay (80%) OR One creative project of up to 2,000 words with a 1000-word critical commentary (80%)
Students who undertook the group project for the original assignment will need to choose an alternative reassessment method
