The Letchworth Settlement:  User Groups

The course will assess Shakespeare's later career, looking at such disparate plays as Measure for Measure, The Winter's Tale and The Tempest.   Each of these plays is fascinating in its own right.  Each play is continually revived, and has proved a constant challenge for actors, directors, scholars, readers and audiences alike. We will explore how Shakespeare adapted his drama to suit the new Jacobean era, but how his output retained continuity with his earlier Elizabethan period.  We will also examine some key themes, including his treatment of women, the uses and abuses of power, and the concept of 'romance' as it applies to this later drama.