Shakespeare’s ProseMaster ClassIn-Person

Whether studied in the classroom or experienced in the theater, William Shakespeare is most often thought of as the poet of all poets. We (rightly) celebrate the bard for his unique approach to revealing our shared human experience through the stunning verse in his plays, sonnets, and epic poems. Yet when it comes to prose—a form that appears in all of his plays, and accounts for an average of about 30% of their text—not much gets said, and much of what does is oversimplified or just plain inaccurate. This class will explore the dazzling structure and surprising revelations of Shakespeare’s prose. Through games and exercises used when rehearsing with actors, we will experience new ways of engaging argument, creating character, forging relationships, and discovering wit. Together we will ask what we can learn from Shakespeare’s prose about how to communicate across differences, listen in order to learn, and debate complex issues with a sense of humor.

CLASSICS, LITERATURE, THEATER, POETRY, SHAKESPEARE