Reading, discussion, and written analysis of several major plays and some of the sonnets. The course explores Shakespeare's challenging language and the memorably rendered characters that populate his works, including kings, queens, lovers, shrews and fools. Themes such as power, revenge, love, jealousy, ambition and betrayal will be discussed. Critical approaches including psychological, feminist, and historical theories may be presented and applied to the texts. Three class hours. Prerequisite(s): English 101 with a C or better, or placement into English 200, or instructor permission.