LIT 84 — Shakespeare’s Henriad: Power, Rebellion, and the Rise of a King
Quarter: Winter
Instructor(s): Abigail Heald
Date(s): Jan 28—Mar 18
Class Recording Available: Yes
Class Meeting Day: Wednesdays
Class Meeting Time: 6:00—7:50 pm (PT)
Tuition: $475
Refund Deadline: Jan 30
Unit(s): 1
Status: Open
Quarter: Winter
Day: Wednesdays
Duration: 8 weeks
Time: 6:00—7:50 pm (PT)
Date(s): Jan 28—Mar 18
Unit(s): 1
Tuition: $475
Refund Deadline: Jan 30
Instructor(s): Abigail Heald
Recording Available: Yes
Status: Open
Shakespeare’s Henriad is a sweeping drama of ambition, loyalty, and transformation, chronicling a monarchy in crisis and a nation on the brink of change. In this course, we’ll read four plays—Richard II, Henry IV Parts 1 and 2, and Henry V—following the fall of a king obsessed with divine right, the rise of Bolingbroke as a reluctant usurper, and Prince Hal’s journey from mischievous youth to the commanding Henry V.
Though grounded in English history, these plays confront enduring questions: When is rebellion justified? Can morality coexist with power? Alongside political intrigue, these plays explore the strained bonds between fathers and sons, the crafting of public image, and how history and memory are shaped on stage. Through lectures, discussions, close readings, and stage and film adaptations, students will engage deeply with these remarkable characters and the tensions that arise from power, legacy, and human ambition.
Though grounded in English history, these plays confront enduring questions: When is rebellion justified? Can morality coexist with power? Alongside political intrigue, these plays explore the strained bonds between fathers and sons, the crafting of public image, and how history and memory are shaped on stage. Through lectures, discussions, close readings, and stage and film adaptations, students will engage deeply with these remarkable characters and the tensions that arise from power, legacy, and human ambition.
ABIGAIL HEALD
Lecturer in Literature, UC Santa Cruz
Abigail Heald teaches courses on Shakespeare, early English literature, and film. She taught for three years in Stanford’s Introduction to the Humanities Program. Heald received a PhD in English from Princeton and is writing a book on the relationship between art and emotion in Shakespeare’s work.
Textbooks for this course:
(Required) William Shakespeare, Richard II (ISBN 978-0143130215)
(Required) Wiliam Shakespeare, Henry IV Part 1 (ISBN 78-0143130208)
(Required) William Shakespeare, Henry IV, Part 2 (ISBN 978-0143131762)
(Required) William Shakespeare, Henry V (ISBN 978-0143130246)
(Required) Wiliam Shakespeare, Henry IV Part 1 (ISBN 78-0143130208)
(Required) William Shakespeare, Henry IV, Part 2 (ISBN 978-0143131762)
(Required) William Shakespeare, Henry V (ISBN 978-0143130246)