ENGLISH 213

Age of Shakespeare: Tragedy

Please note: this is archived course information from 2018 for ENGLISH 213.

Description

Hamlet with the skull; Cleopatra with the asp; King Lear with his Fool; Doctor Faustus with the Devil. These are some of the most famous and enduring dramatic images in the repertory of world drama, at the heart of plays that have fascinated, compelled and terrified audiences for centuries.

In this course we will read a selection of the most exciting of these plays written between 1590 and 1625, both by Shakespeare and by some of his contemporaries, in a period where tragedy was a powerful and intensely-watched form of drama (we will want to ask why this was). The course will consider both how these plays are complex pieces of writing and also how their theatricality is managed as experience on the stage. Of particular interest will be the relations among different kinds of tragedy we can trace between plays and playwrights, including revenge tragedy, religious tragedy, domestic tragedy and political tragedies. Black comedy, camp and other ironic and satiric aspects of tragedy will also be examined, and parallels drawn with modern theatrical and film cutlure.

By the end of this course students should

Have an enhanced ability to read and understand early modern English verse and prose
Be aware of traditions of stage performance in early modern England
Be able to recognise and discuss some important features and changes in English society and culture across this period
Have familiarity with typical features and structures of early modern tragedies
Have an advanced ability to discuss and compare literature from this period using critical and scholarly resources, including electronic databases and research tools
Understand the principles of scholarly citation

View the course syllabus

Availability 2018

Semester 1

Lecturer(s)

Lecturer(s) Professor Tom Bishop
Dr Sophie Tomlinson

Reading/Texts

Marlowe, Doctor Faustus, ed. Roma Gill (New Mermaids)

Shakespeare, Hamlet, ed. G.R. Hibbard (Oxford)

Brian Gibbons (ed.), The Revenger's Tragedy (New Mermaids)

Shakespeare, Othello, ed. Michael Neill (Oxford)

Shakespeare, King Lear, ed. R.A. Foakes (Arden)

Shakespeare, Anthony and Cleopatra, ed. Michael Neill (Oxford)

Webster, The Duchess of Malfi, ed. Brian Gibbons (New Mermaids)

Middleton and Rowley, The Changeling, ed. Michael Neill (New Mermaids)

Assessment

Coursework + exam

Points

ENGLISH 213: 15 points

Prerequisites

30 points at Stage I in English or Drama, or approval of Academic Head or nominee

Restrictions

ENGLISH 353