ENGL 339: Introduction to Shakespeare
Dr. Debora B. Schwartz

Shakespeare on Film:  Performance Analysis

Any production of a play is the result of numerous interpretive decisions by the director, actors and production team.  The text may be altered -- lines, speeches or whole scenes modified or cut completely -- to correspond to the director's understanding of the play, to shorten a text, to provide greater clarity, or for some other reason.  The choice of setting (ancient Athens? Shakespeare's England? San Francisco during the Summer of Love? the bedroom of a little boy who has fallen asleep reading the play?) immediately telegraphs the director's vision, as do the sort of actors who are cast (physical types, age, etc.), the ways in which they are are costumed, and their blocking (how, when and why they move about the stage).  As you consider the films which are discussed in lecture or screened  in class, note specific details from the performances and production values (e.g. set and lighting design, costumes, make-up) and consider how these details communicate a specific interpretation of Shakespeare's text.

All video assignments require two separate postings to the appropriate PolyLearn Discussion Forum.

The three video questions for each play consist of a two-part general question which applies to any Shakespeare performance and two questions which are specific to the required video / play under consideration.  The two-part general question asks you to identify what you feel is the central issue in / message of the play (including what speeches and scenes best embody that central issue) and then to describe some non-textual means you would use to communicate this idea to an audience:   these might include casting decisions; blocking and/or choreography; visual elements (set and lighting design; cinematography; costumes and make-up); sound design / music, etc. -- NOT the textual elements which are common to ANY production of the play (such as plot lines or speeches that are in the script regardless of the director's interpretation).  When you analyze the assigned vido, you will consider the same two-part question, but probably approach it in reverse order:  begin by noting concrete, non-textual details from the video that are clues to the way the film's director might answer the question and then consider what message those details help communicate to the audience -- what central message they help convey.

There will also be two questions specific to the play in question; these are found on the Video Question pages for each play listed below:

Recommended filmed versions (some of these videos/DVDs are on RESERVE FOR ENGL 339 at the Kennedy Library circulation desk).  Films are listed chronologically; required screenings are listed in red.

1) A Midsummer Night's Dream:

Students are responsible for specific scenes from the above films which are screened during class, as well as for the complete Joseph Papp / Public Theater version.  Students are also encouraged to see one or more of the other five filmed versions of the play in its entirety and to post a reaction to it in the appropriate Discussion Forum.

While only the Joseph Papp-Public Theater version is REQUIRED viewing for all students, selected scenes from the other videos will be screened in class, and you are encouraged to watch one or more of the others in its entirety.  (A comparison of two filmed versions of the play could be an excellent final paper topic!)

2) As You Like It:

3) Henry V: 4) Macbeth: 5) Hamlet: 5) The Tempest:
 

Contents of this and all linked pages Copyright Debora B. Schwartz, 1999-2012