ESA056 Shakespeare: Interpretation of Love, Virtue, and Marriage

Faculty of Arts
Spring 2026
Extent and Intensity
2/0/0. 5 credit(s). Type of Completion: k (colloquium).
Teacher(s)
prof. PhDr. Petr Osolsobě, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
prof. PhDr. Petr Osolsobě, Ph.D.
Department of Aesthetics – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: doc. Mgr. Rostislav Niederle, Ph.D.
Supplier department: Department of Aesthetics – Faculty of Arts
Timetable
Tue 10:00–11:40 B2.13, except Mon 20. 4. to Fri 24. 4.
Prerequisites
The course is a very good way to develop advanced academic reading abilities in classical literature. Students must be able to present and defend their own opinions and to accept constructive criticism and advice. Tackling topics in depth and defending the arguments in their written work sharpens their thinking.
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
The capacity limit for the course is 160 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/160, only registered: 60/160, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 0/160
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
there are 16 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display
Course objectives
The aim of the course is a) to get a better knowledge of Shakespeare; b) to learn the method of analyzes and interpretation according to the philosophical and religious views of the Elizabethan epoch.
Learning outcomes
Student will increase his ability to analyze and interpret Shakespeare's works combining several humanistic approaches, the historical, ethico-philosophical, linguistic and artistic. That is why and especially recommandable to all university students.
Syllabus
This is a very unusual approach to Shakespeare's plays and poems, nevertheless utterly substantiated with a hoard of evidences. Our bard is an overt and staunch defender of the sacrality of marrige, and, nota bene, in the age of its crisis and defamation - think only about the divorce of Henry VIII and its consequences and the exclusion of the marriage from the seven sacraments done various reformers in the 16th century. Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Henry V and Henry VIII, All's Well, Winter's Tale, Cymbelin and even Othello supply many examples, topics and declarations that will be analyzed in the course of the semester. A contract of eternal bond of love, Confirm'd by mutual joinder of your hands, Attested by the holy close of lips, Strengthen'd by interchangement of your rings; And all the ceremony of this compact Seal'd in my function, by my testimony. Twelfth Night 5.1
Teaching methods
Analysis of plays, aesthetic and historical interpretation. Presentations, video samples, text analysis, and discussions.
Assessment methods
on-line test in the form of multiple choice from the three selected plays and lectures; time: 10 min.; success rate 70%
Language of instruction
Czech
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
The course can also be completed outside the examination period.
The course is taught only once.
General note: Předmět je vhodný pro všechny posluchače MU.
Information on course enrolment limitations: Při překročení kapacity kursu je možné zapsat si totožný ARTS019 v témže čase.
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2019, Spring 2021, Spring 2022, Spring 2024, Autumn 2025.
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