Shakespeare: Merchant of Venice

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Spring Dates:

April 16 - May 11

Instructor:

Susanne Barrett

Tuition:

$199.00 per student

Class Size:

25 students

Ages:

High school students

Study Shakespeare’s Classic Tragedy: “Merchant of Venice”

Join Brave Writer’s tradition: We study a different Shakespeare play each year. In the past, we have studied Shakespeare’s sonnets and soliloquies as well as the plays Much Ado About Nothing, Twelfth Night, and Hamlet. This spring we will be again exploring Shakespearean classic with an up-close-and-personal study of Merchant of Venice. Merchant of Venice explores many controversial themes and this class provides students with a chance to investigate these themes with the support, insight, and supervision of our resident Shakespeare expert, Susanne Barrett.

In this course (intended for high school students), Susanne Barrett, MA in English and former university instructor, will lead the class by reviewing:

  • The pertinent facts about Shakespeare and his times
  • The Elizabethan theater scene
  • The background and sources of Merchant of Venice

Then we will read and discuss Merchant of Venice act by act and scene by scene. We’ll explore:

  • The elements of plot
  • Characters
  • Motifs and themes
  • Use of language
  • Symbolism

We’ll close the class with a formal essay on one of several possible topics to be shared with the class and e-mailed to the instructor. All in all, Shakespeare: Merchant of Venice will be a joy and a challenge for high school students who enjoy to studying literature via online discussion and writing accountability and instruction.