Describe Shakespeare's childhood, education, and family life, determining how the facts of his life might have informed his playwriting.
Evaluate different viewpoints on the "author problem," which relates to how relevant the author and his/her intentions are to interpreting a text.
Generate an original interpretation of The Comedy of Errors that relates to Shakespeare's life and/or intentions.
Describe Shakespeare's unlikely entry to the theater world, as well as the facts of London, the Bankside, and the increasingly professionalized theater industry.
Assess the viewpoint that Shakespeare's plays are embedded in their time and so require historical analysis to unlock what they "mean".
Analyze a Shakespeare play or passage through knowledge of historical context.
Describe original performance practices, Shakespeare's death, and his legacy.
Analyze a Shakespearean scene in performance, contrasting different approaches.
Evaluate the viewpoint that Shakespeare's plays belong to the present, and that we should interpret/perform them as they are most "relevant" now.