Read three essays of literary and dramatic criticism on Shakespeare’s works. These might include the works of famous Shakespearean critics and scholars (Samuel Johnson, William Hazlitt, A. C. Bradley, Harold Bloom, Frank Kermode, Stephen Greenblatt) or it might include works of criticism from a variety of critical schools of interpretation (Marxist, Feminist, Post-Colonialism, Medievalist, Psychoanalytical). You can read criticism that pertains to any of the plays in the class for example (As you like it, Measure for measure and Hamlet), or something that looks at Shakespeare in a more general sense. Your approach is to choose one main critical essay and two essays in response and correction to that viewpoint. Summarize the essay in question, isolate the strong claims of the respective argument. You must synthesize your readings with your own perspective and opinion, presenting what you agree/disagree with each viewpoint and perspective. You may write the essay in “list” form (with each essay bulleted and marked in MLA citations, with an accompanying paragraph) or you write it in the standard essay form.
