Boy meets girl; boy and girl fight; boy gets girl—such is the popular formula of rom-coms. Today’s audiences owe a debt of gratitude to William Shakespeare for perfecting that formula in his comedies, several of which feature a battle of the sexes between a witty man and a strong-willed woman.

In this course, we will analyze how Shakespeare represents the battle of the sexes in two plays, The Taming of the Shrew and Much Ado About Nothing. Besides examining the influence of earlier plays on those comedies, we will focus on how Shakespeare shapes the conflicts between the central male and female characters through his deployment of dramatic conventions and his representation of the tensions over gender roles during the Renaissance.

By the end of the course, learners will have developed fresh insights into gender dynamics and gained the confidence and skills necessary to interpret other plays and poems by Shakespeare and his contemporaries. Although it will include a few brief lectures, the course will be primarily discussion-based. Readings will include an annotated edition of each play and several relevant articles and book excerpts.