During the sixteenth century many factors--notably the religious reformation with its resulting civil wars in Europe and the shifts in power relations between kings and nobility--raised questions of what the limits of governmental authority were, and indeed of how any government was legitimated. In England the final stages of this questioning come with the civil wars of the seventeenth century, but throughout the previous century writers raise questions about the nature of the authority possessed by kings and magistrates.

The course will consider how a number of such writers, most importantly William Shakespeare and Sir Thomas More, develop this inquiry. Shakespeare was a playwright, More a lawyer and for a time Lord Chancellor of England. Yet both of them were intensely aware of how fragile royal claims to special authority were, and how easily they might be undermined.

The course will start by considering two radically opposed Renaissance texts about princely authority, James I's The True Law of Free Monarchies and Machiavelli's The Prince. It will then focus on five of Shakespeare's history plays, Richard II, 1 and 2 Henry IV, Henry V, and Richard III in the order of the historical development they chronicle. The first four plays treat the usurpation of Richard II's throne and the subsequent attempts of Henry IV and his son Henry V to legitimize their rule--a rule originally based on that usurpation. We'll study Richard III along with More's History of Richard III to consider how both More and Shakespeare present the complex history of Richard's reign as a compelling if simplified vision of Richard as tyrant and indeed a kind of secular antichrist.

In the last part of the course we'll focus on the dangerous court of Henry VIII and especially the career of Sir Thomas More, which raises special problems of authority. More's Utopia puts the usual assumptions about authority in doubt, constructing a commonwealth without an hereditary monarch or a nobility. The last two weeks of the course may read other works of More, or they may focus on Shakespeare’s King Lear, in which all the themes of the course come together.

As part of the course we'll watch seven movies, six for the Shakespeare plays including two versions of Henry V (Olivier and Branaugh), and A Man for All Seasons. There will be two class debates, two papers and a final exam.

Enrollment is limited to 25. To be considered for the class you need to see Bill Oram (Seelye 404) and Howard Nenner (10 Prospect St.) to fill out and return to the English office the form available there and in Bill's and Howard's offices.