3.0

credits

Average Course Rating

The plays of William Shakespeare contain many musical cues. In Hamlet, Ophelia expresses herself through song when she is unable to through speech. In The Tempest, the spirit Ariel lures the shipwrecked Ferdinand to the shore by singing a song. In this course, we will think through the role of music in Shakespeare’s plays, reading The Tempest, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Romeo and Juliet, and Othello, with attention to the sonic worlds they create. In addition, we will explore the various musical pieces that these plays have inspired, from film to stage, opera to musical theater, delving into the methods by which they have been adapted to meet the needs of diverse audiences. In addition to the recorded audio-visual materials we will view together, we will seek out opportunities to view a Shakespearean adaptation with a musical component performed live.