Caveat Academy course · Grades 9 to 12

Shakespeare and Elizabethan Literature

Read Shakespeare the way actors do: line by line, out loud, with the stage in mind. You scan iambic pentameter, catch the puns, map a sonnet to its turn, untangle the comedies, argue about fate in Romeo and Juliet and choice in Macbeth, and plan an essay about Hamlet, at your own pace, with a certificate at the end.

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$19one-time · every device you sign in on
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Included with the Caveat Academy pass and Whole-school licenses. Or get it in the High school electives library, $119 for 66 items.

6 modules · 18 lessonsabout 12 hours$19

Six modules, eighteen lessons

Each module ends with a practice set that tracks mastery, an explain-it-back prompt, a short written response and a module exam. The final opens when every module is proficient; passing it earns a certificate with a verification code.

  1. Module 1: Shakespeare's England

    Explain how Elizabethan beliefs, politics and the open-air playhouse shaped what Shakespeare wrote and how it was staged.

    • The Elizabethan world
    • Shakespeare's life
    • The playhouse and the audience
    about 1.9 h

  2. Module 2: The language of the plays

    Scan iambic pentameter, identify blank verse, prose and couplets, and analyze what a change of form or a rhetorical device does in a scene.

    • Iambic pentameter and blank verse
    • Verse, prose and rhyme
    • Wordplay and rhetoric
    about 2.1 h

  3. Module 3: The sonnets and Elizabethan poetry

    Map the structure and turn of a Shakespearean sonnet and write analysis, not summary, supported by short quotations.

    • The Shakespearean sonnet
    • Reading a sonnet closely
    • Elizabethan poets around Shakespeare
    about 2.1 h

  4. Module 4: The comedies

    Analyze the conventions of Shakespearean comedy, including the green world, disguise and the characters left out of the happy ending.

    • How a Shakespearean comedy works
    • A Midsummer Night's Dream and Twelfth Night
    • Fools, wit and the play within the play
    about 2.1 h

  5. Module 5: The tragedies

    Evaluate the roles of fate, choice and character in Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth and Hamlet using the vocabulary of tragedy.

    • The tragic hero and Romeo and Juliet
    • Macbeth
    • Hamlet
    about 2.1 h

  6. Module 6: Histories, romances and the legacy

    Compare the history plays and the romances as arguments about power and mercy, and plan an analytical essay with an arguable thesis and cited evidence.

    • The history plays
    • The late romances and The Tempest
    • The First Folio, performance and writing about Shakespeare
    about 2.1 h

Try it before you start

This is how every lesson works: step through a worked example at your own pace, then answer a check and get the reason right away. Nothing here is saved; the course keeps your progress.

Module 3 · Reading a sonnet closely

Worked example: close reading Sonnet 130

  1. Notice the pattern: each line takes a standard compliment and says it is not true of her.

A lesson check from each module

The checks need JavaScript turned on. The course itself works the same way.

What you get

Academics · High School$19 · included with the Academy pass and Whole-school licenses

What you finish with
A finished course in Shakespeare and his age: you can explain how Elizabethan beliefs and the open-air playhouse shaped the plays, scan a line of iambic pentameter and say why the verse breaks, tell verse from prose and read puns, antithesis and soliloquies, map a sonnet to its turn and write analysis instead of summary, trace the green world of the comedies, argue about fate and choice in the tragedies, read the history plays as arguments about power and plan an essay with an arguable thesis and cited lines. Passing the final earns a Caveat certificate of completion.
Who it is for
Students in grades 9 to 12 taking or preparing for a Shakespeare unit or elective, students heading toward AP English Literature, and readers who want to enjoy the plays instead of just getting through them. Excerpts are short and public domain; no edition needs to be bought, though a free annotated text helps.
Format
An online self-paced course: 6 modules and 18 lessons with worked examples you reveal step by step, 141 practice and exam items (multiple choice, numeric, fill-in and ordering), an explain-it-back prompt and a rubric-checked short response in every module, module exams with one retake, a 24-question final and a certificate with a verification code. About 12 hours in all; works on a phone or a computer.
Access
$19 one-time, yours on every device you sign in on; the course opens once you are signed in with it. Included with the Caveat Academy pass and Whole-school licenses. Also in the High school electives library ($119) and the Academics Suite pass ($149), and 1 more bundle. Progress is saved in this browser on this device, and the certificate page lets you download your record.
Where it lives
The High School space in Caveat Academics.
Support
Access, a receipt, a refund or a correction to the course: team@caveatacademic.com.

How it works

  1. Open the course and start Module 1. Each lesson takes about 25 to 35 minutes; two or three a week finishes the course in about a semester.
  2. Answer the checks as you read. Every answer shows the reason, and a miss links you back to the lesson that covers it.
  3. Finish each module with its practice set and exam. Proficient on every module opens the final; 70 percent passes it.
  4. Print or download your certificate and record from the certificate page.

Start the course

Sources and accuracy

The lessons are original writing by Caveat Academic Services. Facts were checked against these free, open references, which are also good places to read further.

  1. Folger Shakespeare Library, free texts of every play and poem with act, scene and line numbers, and essays on Shakespeare's life and theater: folger.edu
  2. Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, documents of Shakespeare's life in Stratford: shakespeare.org.uk
  3. Shakespeare's Globe, the history of the Globe and its reconstruction: shakespearesglobe.com
  4. The British Library, Discovering Literature: Shakespeare and Renaissance, including the First Folio: bl.uk
  5. Project Gutenberg, public-domain texts of Marlowe, Spenser, Sidney and Jonson: gutenberg.org

Shakespeare and Elizabethan Literature is a self-paced course from Caveat Academic Services. Quotations are from public-domain texts, lightly modernized in spelling; line numbers differ slightly between editions, and dates of the plays are scholars' estimates. It does not replace a school course and awards no credit. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.