BASC70227 - Shakespeare’s First Tetralogy: Henry VI, Parts 1-3, Richard III

Course Description

In this course we’ll discuss the first tetralogy of English histories that Shakespeare wrote for the stage – Henry VI, Parts 1-3 and Richard III. This is called the “first” tetralogy because it was written and produced earlier, but Shakespeare’s second tetralogy – the so-called “Henriad” – is a prequel. The first tetralogy depicts events from the death of Henry V in 1422 through the end of the War of the Roses in 1485, when Henry Tudor became King Henry VII. Among Shakespeare’s plays the first tetralogy holds special interest as a sprawling and continuous historical narrative, and as an origin story of the Tudor dynasty, whose final sovereign, Queen Elizabeth I, reigned from before Shakespeare’s birth until after his tetralogies were first produced. Following the order of events in the plays, this course is a sequel to a 2023 course on the Henriad. But the first tetralogy stands on its own – its popularity was largely responsible for the boom in history plays in 1590s England – and all interested students are welcome.We’ll discuss two acts per class meeting. The instructor will provide written questions to serve as starting points for class discussions, but there is no fixed agenda or methodology for the course apart from the aim to discover whatever we can about these plays through close reading and probing conversation. https://grahamcourses.uchicago.edu/srs/upload/BASC70227.24S1.Chafets.ShakespeareFirstTetrCORRECTED.pdf 

Notes

Online registration deadline: March 15, 5 PM CT

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