Shakespeare's lifetime coincided with the consolidation of modern capitalism, and his plays reveal his interest in economics--defined as a rational system for calculating and comparing the value of commodities--and especially the economics of time. Shakespeare's plays offer a critique of the new capitalism by showing the extent to which it can and…

Shakespeare's genius as a creative playwright can be judged both subjectively and objectively. Cognitive psychology uses specific behavioral measures to assess performance. A product is marked by latency, quantity, and quality. When college students engage in tests of originality, these measures support many theories of creativity. A similar…

An informal survey revealed that graduate students presented with Shakespeare's works felt academically unfit and powerless. These student-teacher-text power relationships parallel the power relationships between the dominant patriarchy and the female characters in "Othello"--Desdemona, Emilia, and Bianca. However, "Antony and…

Labeling literary or artistic periods is always tricky, and labeling an emerging period (such as this post-postmodern one) is, of course, impossible. Harold Bloom has labeled this period the "chaotic age" because of the canon wars that have raged among factions. One writer with a place in any canon and who is an anodyne to the chaos of…

Shakespeare's plays are the apex of western achievement in the humanities and as such afford a highly fertile mechanism for teaching gifted elementary and secondary students. Studying Shakespeare facilitates the understanding of an earlier form of the English language and illustrates the evolutionary nature of language. Aside from a sense of…

The London Stage Information Bank (LSIB) is a machine-readable text of "The London Stage, 1660-1800," an 11-volume publication that contains information on plays, entertainments and afterpieces, casts, box-receipts, and contemporary comment compiled from playbills, newspapers, and theatrical diaries of the period. The LSIB can be…

Shakespeare has brought alive Western society's shared history and culture in a way no other playwright has ever done, and it is his relevance that makes reading his works worthwhile. Community college educators can prepare the citizens of the future to assimilate population trends and technological advancements by giving their students the widest…

A course in Renaissance theatre offered within the general studies curriculum at Rhode Island College introduced students to the field of Jacobean and Elizabethan drama and to the dramatic arts, provided opportunities for students to help produce and act in scenes from several plays, and revealed to them the importance of vivid and detailed…

Reader-response journals were successfully employed in a "Reading Shakespeare" course for non-majors, making literary tradition accessible to students untrained in classical rhetoric. Students were encouraged to employ any combination of four approaches. First, students were invited to ask questions about the language, sequence of…

The unparalleled residue of unsifted primary materials relating to the nineteenth century London theater present tremendous opportunities and challenges for theater historians. The histories of individual London theaters may be studied for insights into changes that distinguished nineteenth century theater from that of the eighteenth century; and…

Multimedia hypertext materials have instructional advantages when used as adjuncts in traditional classes and as the primary means of instruction, as illustrated in this case study of college-level Shakespeare classes. Plays become more accessible through use of audio and video resources, including video clips from play productions. Student work…

The structure of an 8-week intensive course in literature for advanced learners of English as a Second Language is described. Focus is on engaging student interest with texts rich in theme and/or language that can elicit thoughtful discussion. In the first 2 weeks, the language and length of the texts (short stories) selected make them relatively…