In this course we will study only two of Shakespeare’s tragedies — Macbeth and King Lear — but we will study them well. Our focus will be tragedy and the nature of tragic experience in Shakespearean drama. We will also examine film adaptations of these plays (Kurosawa, Kozintsev, Bhardwaj, Brook) to see how modern directors take up the tragic in Shakespeare. Requirements: careful reading, regular attendance, active participation, a final research paper, and a final exam.