Kommentiertes Vorlesungsverzeichnis Anglistik Heidelberg SS 2008

4.5 Proseminar I Literaturwissenschaft
Introduction to Shakespeare’s Comedies: A Midsummer Night’s Dream and As
You Like It
Dr. Hertel Donnerstag 16:15 – 17:45 113 2st.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1595/96) and As You Like It (1599) are counted among the ‘early’ or
‘romantic’ comedies focussing on different aspects of the ideal of romantic love against a
background of moral and social codes and constraints. After a general introduction to the historical
and theatrical context of Shakespearean drama, the course will deal with a close reading of the two
plays by taking into account the aspects of themes, form, plot structure, character conception
and constellations as well as the use of language and style. We shall also analyse one or two modern
stage-productions on video and will – in the case of A Midsummer Night’s Dream - compare the
original text with one of the latest (German) adaptations done by Beat Fäh: Rose, Regen, Schwert
und Wunde (1989).
Registration: Please register personally or by email Kirsten.Hertel@as.uni-heidelberg.de.
Texts: Participants are expected to have read the two plays by the beginning of the summer term in
the Oxford-World-Classics-edition. For those who would like to get to know more in advance about
Shakespeare and his time, the Shakespeare-Handbuch by Ina Schabert can be recommended.
Course Requirements: Regular attendance and active participation in class (1 CP); oral
presentation (1 CP); individual preparation (1,5 CP) and written term paper (2 CP).
Late Victorian Fiction: Robert Louis Stevenson’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and
Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray
Ellen Redling Mittwoch 09:15 – 10:45 112 2st.
The Victorian Age, with its strict morals and its emphasis on decorum and reputation, was often
criticised for having double standards. The rich and the beautiful of that time could be immoral as
long as they were not talked about.
This concept of an evil, sordid side lurking beneath a beautiful surface and – connected to this – the
idea of keeping up appearances at all costs can be seen as playing a crucial role in two famous late-
Victorian works of fiction: Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
(1886) and Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray (1891). In both works the protagonists enter
into a Faust-like pact with the “devil” and discover their evil sides, albeit in different ways. Dr.
Jekyll, a gifted doctor, discovers a drug which changes him into Mr. Hyde, a ruthless criminal who
delights in his wrong-doing. Dorian Gray sells his soul in exchange for eternal beauty; while his
portrait ages and displays signs of his sins, Dorian remains young and beautiful despite the fact that,
at the same time, he is committing dark deeds. Both works make strong use of the supernatural and
the uncanny, thereby revealing their Gothic tradition.
We will discuss the similarities between these works as well as the differences, which might
account for the success of one and the notoriety of the other.
Registration: To register please contact: Ellen.Redling@as.uni-heidelberg.de.
Texts: Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Penguin Classics).
Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray (Penguin Classics).
Course Requirements:Students must have read both texts before the beginning of term. Further
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