Aims of the course:
- To introduce students to critical study of two of Shakespeare's most important history plays, Richard II and Henry V, in both of which the interpretation of historical events is a central concern.
- To show students how these dramas have played a role in the interpretation of English history, both in Shakespeare's day and in our own.
- To enable students to assess the merits of some established critical views of the plays, and to engage critically with modern productions (including readily available film versions)
Course content overview:
Students will learn how these plays, rather than merely recounting a particular version of history, themselves explore how important historical events come to be differently and often tendentiously interpreted, both at the time when they occur and in retrospect
Attention will be given to the ways in which a play's interpretation of history could prove disquieting to the authorities of the day, and hence dangerous to those who staged it.
In weeks 1-3 the text is Richard II, with special emphasis on its significance and reception in Shakespeare's own time. in weeks 4-5 the course will turn to Henry V, revisiting questions from weeks 1-3 but also moving on to consider the interpretation of a Shakespearean history play (and of history itself as received through Shakespeare) in modern times, especially on film, from World War II on.
This course will refer to the following editions:
Shakespeare, William. Richard II. Cambridge University Press, 2003. (paperback or Kindle edition)
Shakespeare, william. Henry V. Cambridge University Press, 2005. (paperback or Kindle edition)
Schedule (this course is completed entirely online):
Orientation Week: 6-12 April 2026
Teaching Weeks: 13 April-17 May 2026
Feedback Week: 18-24 May 2026
Detailed Course Schedule
Week 0 - Preparing to study this course
Purpose/Learning outcomes
By studying this week the students should have:
• Become familiar with navigating around the VLE and from VLE to links and back.
•Tested their ability to access files and the web conferencing software and sorted out any problems with the help of the eLearning team.
•Learnt how to look for, assess and reference internet resources.
•Used Quickmail to introduce themselves to other students.
•Contributed to a discussion forum to introduce themselves to other students and discuss why they are interested in the course, what they hope to get out their studies and also to respond to News item sent out on behalf of tutor.
Week 1 - Richard II and the politics of English history (Richard II, Act One)
Purpose:
Students will be introduced to the official version of English history promoted by the Tudor dynasty, and will begin to consider why and in what version Shakespeare’s Richard II and its sequels set out to retell that familiar history to their original Elizabethan audiences.
Learning outcomes
By studying this week the students should have:
•Understood why the period of English history from the reign of Richard II onwards was so important to the Tudor dynasty and so interesting to Elizabethan audiences.
•Grasped how the opening act of Shakespeare’s Richard II alludes to key events in this history.
•Discussed what interpretation the play puts on those events, and how the principal characters in the play interpret their own roles as historical actors.
Week 2 - Richard II and the Renaissance monarch (Richard II, Acts Two and Three)
Purpose:
Students will be introduced to the diversity of political thinking in Elizabethan England, and will see how a range of distinct political views are appealed to by characters in Shakespeare’s Richard II. They will consider how the play engages with a specific political issue which was important to its original audience and yet perilous to discuss, namely the nature and limits of a monarch’s authority.
Learning outcomes
By studying this week the students should have:
•Encountered the range of contrasting ideas current in Shakespeare’s time concerning the basis of a monarch’s authority and the possible grounds for resisting it.
•Considered why a history play might have been an apt vehicle for exploring such ideas.
•Discussed with what dramatic function and what political aims some of these ideas are expressed by characters in Shakespeare’s Richard II.
Week 3 - Richard II as political dynamite — royal anger and state censorship (Richard II, Acts Four and Five)
Purpose:
Students will learn how Shakespeare’s Richard II proved politically controversial and even dangerous in its own time, both on stage and in print. They will be introduced to the nature of Elizabethan censorship and propaganda, and to the delicate relationship between the professional acting companies and the monarchy.
Learning outcomes
By studying this week the students should have:
•Learned about the involvement of Shakespeare’s play and acting company in a significant Elizabethan political crisis, the Essex rebellion, and seen how political censorship affected the text of the play as printed in the earliest editions.
•Considered the relation of Shakespeare’s acting company with state power and propaganda.
•Explored and debated the politics of the play itself, especially its closing acts, in light of these events and considerations.
Week 4 - Henry V — nationalist propaganda, subversive critique, or something in between?
Purpose
Students will apply what they have learned in weeks 1 – 3 to another important Shakespearean history play, Henry V, focusing on some scenes which illustrate the complexity of its interpretation of history and the attendant difficulties it presents to criticism. They will encounter, and debate the merits of, some seminal critical views of the play.
Learning outcomes
By studying this week the students should have:
•Applied the learning content of weeks 1 – 3 to a second English history play, Henry V.
•Understood and assessed some important critical views of the play.
•Discussed the play’s exploration of the theme of the interpretation of history.
Week 5 - Henry V on film — Shakespearean history still open to interpretation
Purpose
Students will be introduced to the modern production history of Shakespeare’s Henry V, with especial attention to film versions (which they will be encouraged to watch). Discussion will focus on (1) how different productions adapt the play to convey a particular interpretation of history, and (2) how modern productions cope with the difficulty that modern audiences are unlikely to have the relevant historical background knowledge assumed by the playwright.
Learning outcomes
By studying this week the students should have:
•Learned about, and encountered at first hand, some significant modern productions of Shakespeare’s play.
•Considered how particular productions interpret the historical events represented by the play, and how they adapt Shakespeare’s text to that end.
•Discussed the difficulties of staging Shakespeare’s history plays for modern audiences.
Week 6 - What Next?
Purpose
•Assessment of student learning
•Assessment of student satisfaction
•Encouragement of further study
Each week of an online course is roughly equivalent to 2-3 hours of classroom time. On top of this, participants should expect to spend roughly 2-3 hours reading material, etc., although this will vary from person to person.
While they have a specific start and end date and will follow a weekly schedule (for example, week 1 will cover topic A, week 2 will cover topic B), our tutor-led online courses are designed to be flexible and as such would normally not require participants to be online for a specific day of the week or time of the day (although some tutors may try to schedule times where participants can be online together for web seminars, which will be recorded so that those who are unable to be online at certain times are able to access material).
Unless otherwise stated, all course material will be posted on the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) so that they can be accessed at any time throughout the duration of the course and interaction with your tutor and fellow participants will take place through a variety of different ways which will allow for both synchronous and asynchronous learning (discussion boards,etc).
Certificate of Participation
A Certificate of Participation will be awarded to participants who contribute constructively to weekly discussions and exercises/assignments for the duration of the course.
What our students say:
"The short video followed by the short audio presentations were very helpful and easy to take in. The resources were good supplementary reading."
"Excellent. The course delivery felt personal and accessible as well as serious and challenging."
"The tutor, Paul, gave very nuanced and interesting perspectives on the plays. He challenged all of us to think more deeply about many meaningful aspects of Shakespeare's interpretation of history. I learned a great deal."
"I love the personal notes, that every comment and query or uncertainty is picked up and addressed. The challenging of thoughts presented but always in a positive way and never speaking down to the participants. BA very engaged and engaging tutor - I look forward to logging on every day and learning more."
“There was good course feedback, with all of us participants being involved and our responses acknowledged. I learned that there was much more to Richard 2nd and to Henry 5th than I had realised.”
