ENGLISH 353

Age of Shakespeare: Tragedy

Description

An introduction to the golden age of English theatre, involving detailed study of a selection of tragedies by Shakespeare and his contemporaries. The theatrical emphasis of the course is intended to help students respond to the plays as theatrical artefacts and not merely as literary texts.

For full course information see the Digital Course Outline.

Digital Course Outlines for 2025 will be refreshed around November/December.

Availability 2025

Semester 1

Lecturer(s)

Lecturer(s) Dr Sophie Tomlinson

Reading/Texts

Christopher Marlowe:

Doctor Faustus, ed. Roma Gill rev. Ros King (New Mermaids, 2009)

William Shakespeare: 

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

            Othello, ed. Michael Neill (Oxford)

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

            Anthony and Cleopatra, ed. Michael Neill (Oxford)

Thomas Middleton:

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

Middleton & Rowley:

            The Changeling, ed. Michael Neill (New Mermaids)

John Webster:

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

Recommended Reading

Andrew McRae, Renaissance Drama (Arnold)

Andrew Gurr, The Shakespearean Stage, 4th ed. (Cambridge)

Russ McDonald, ed., The Bedford Companion to Shakespeare: An Introduction With Documents (Bedford/St Martins)

Adrian Poole, Tragedy: A very short Introduction (Oxford)

Peter Holbrook, English Renaissance Tragedy: Ideas of Freedon (Bloomsbury)

Assessment

Coursework + exam

Points

ENGLISH 353: 15 points

Prerequisites

30 points at Stage II in English or Drama

Restrictions

ENGLISH 213