Young Love: Shakespeare Style *In-Person* *NEW*

Join us in reading and studying "Romeo and Juliet" and "A Midsummer Night's Dream," both written by Shakespeare around the same time, which share themes of young love, defying parental authority, and forbidden romance. The play-within-a-play in "A Midsummer Night's Dream" is a parody of Romeo and Juliet, mocking a similar tragic story of forbidden love. Both stories are similar in their exploration of forbidden, intense young love, the conflict between youthful passion and parental authority, and the chaos caused by "Midsummer," which serves as a comedic mirror to the tragedy of "Romeo and Juliet." We will focus not only on each play individually, but also discuss how "Midsummer" compares and contrasts with "Romeo." For the first class, please read Act I of "Romeo and Juliet" in the Updated Edition Folger Shakespeare Library Romeo and Juliet (ISBN 978-0-7434-7711-6). Also acquire the Updated Edition Folger Shakespeare Library Midsummer Night's Dream (ISBN 978-1-5011-4621-3).

Instructor: Susan Glassman