This is a literature-intensive course aimed at, but not limited to, the college-bound senior. The course offers a comprehensive view of the origins and history of the Elizabethan age, and of the modern English language through a focus on the major literary types of this period, including the ballad, the sonnet, and drama. Extensive study is made of the plots, themes, and other literary devices of selected tragedies and comedies of William Shakespeare, which are read during the semester. Student writing is emphasized through literary analysis of plays.