English 485-01: John Fletcher CRN 21212 Professor J

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English 485-01: John Fletcher CRN 21212 Professor J English 485-01: John Fletcher CRN 21212 Professor J. Brady Spring 2011 Palmer 305 (office) 9:30-10:45 TR in 843-3906 (office phone) Palmer 203 Reading List: Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher, Philaster, ed. Gurr (Manchester UP) Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher, The Maid’s Tragedy, ed. Wiggins, in Four Jacobean Sex Tragedies (Oxford UP), or any other edition John Fletcher, The Tragedy of Valentinian, ed. Wiggins, in Four Jacobean Sex Tragedies (Oxford UP) John Fletcher and Philip Massinger, The Custom of the Country (any edition) William Shakespeare, The Taming of the Shrew (Pocket, or any edition) John Fletcher, The Tamer Tamed or The Woman’s Prize (Manchester UP) William Shakespeare, The Tempest (Pocket, or any edition) John Fletcher, The Island Princess (Theatre Communications Group) John Fletcher, The Sea Voyage (any edition) Each student in the class will be expected to read at least one other play by Fletcher beyond those assigned to the class, and to incorporate discussion of it into his or her research paper. Office Hours: Tuesday and Thursday: 11:00-12:00, or by appointment Monday through Thursday. Course Description: Building on interpretive skills honed in the Junior Seminar (English 385), the Senior Research Seminar (English 485) offers a focused exploration of special topics or critical problems in literary study. This seminar culminates in a major independent research essay. The first half of the course concentrates on an intensive introduction to the literary period, author, or interpretive concept that organizes the seminar. The second half or the course proceeds as a research seminar, with students pursuing independent reading, presenting material in class, and submitting preliminary writing assignments and drafts. The final seminar 2 paper, at least 20 substantial pages, draws upon both primary and secondary texts. In this project, students develop an independent interpretive argument through sustained engagement with close reading, and situate their argument within pertinent critical history. Finally, every senior delivers a formal oral presentation of their argument derived from this research paper. This spring’s senior research seminar explores the exceptionally popular and prolific Renaissance dramatist, John Fletcher (1579-1625), who succeeded Shakespeare as the principal writer for the King’s Company. Fletcher’s plays constitute the largest extant canon of drama produced in the English Renaissance. He wrote by preference in collaboration with other playwrights, a practice that was the norm in the early modern theater, but which he adopted to an unusual degree. His collaborators included Shakespeare, Massinger, and Beaumont, among others, and Fletcher collaborated with his contemporaries in yet another way, writing adaptations of and even sequels to other playwrights’ work. Fletcher was held in high regard during the Renaissance and the Restoration, despite his comparative obscurity today. This course will introduce majors to an important body of work that still remains unfamiliar to most undergraduates. His significance and place in the literary canon are currently being reassessed by scholars of the seventeenth century and his plays are starting to be be staged more frequently. His plays lend themselves especially well to feminist and colonialist readings. Attendance Policy: This class is a seminar, which depends on student involvement in class discussions. Late arrivals to class will be counted as an absence. Any student who misses or comes late to class more than four times in the semester will receive a zero in the 20% of the grade reflecting class participation and attendance and may be asked to withdraw from the course. Schedule: January 18 The Tempest January 20 The Island Princess (Acts 1 and 2) January 25, 27 The Island Princess February 1, 3 The Sea-Voyage Friday, Feb. 4 First essay due, by noon 3 February 8, 10 The Maid’s Tragedy February 15, 17 Valentinian February 22, 24 The Custom of the Country Tuesday, March 1 Second essay due, by noon March 3 Taming of the Shrew March 8, 10 The Tamer Tamed, or The Woman’s Prize March 15, 17 Spring Break March 22 Commendatory Poems to the 1647 Folio March 24 No class, away at conference March 29, 31 Philaster April 5, 7 Peer review of research proposals (5-6 per class) April 12 Revised Proposal and Annotated Bibliography Due April 14, 19 Draft of opening 4 pages; peer review April 21 Easter Recess April 26, 28 Final Presentations of Research Projects April 30 Final essay due to my office, by noon 4 Method of Evaluation: Research essay of 20 pages 50% Paper 1 (4-5 pages) 10% Paper 2 (4-5 pages) 10% Seminar participation, including active participation in class discussion 10% In-class presentations 10% Annotated Bibliography for research paper 10% 20% Critical Readings on Reserve at Barret Library: Gerald Eades Bentley, The Profession of Dramatist in Shakespeare’s Time, 1590- 1642 (Princeton University Press, 1971). Fredson Bowers, ed., The Dramatic Works in the Beaumont and Fletcher Canon, 10 vols. (Cambridge University Press, 1970 - ). Paul D. Cannan, The Emergence of Dramatic Criticism in England: From Jonson to Pope (Palgrave, 2006). Philip J. Finkelpearl, Court and Country Politics in the Plays of Beaumont and Fletcher (Princeton University Press, 1990). Heather Anne Hirschfeld, Joint Enterprises: Collaborative Drama and the Institutionalization of the English Renaissance Theater (University of Massachusetts Press, 2004). Huebert, Ronald, The Performance of Pleasure in English Renaissance Drama (Palgrave, 2003). Clifford Leech, The John Fletcher Plays (Chatto & Windus, 1962). Leggatt, Alexander, Citizen Comedy in the Age of Shakespeare (University of Toronto Press, 1973). Jeff Masten, “Beaumont and/or Fletcher: Collaboration and the Interpretation of Renaissance Drama,” ELH 59 (Summer, 1992): 337-356. Jeff Masten, Textual Intercourse: Collaboration, Authorship, and Sexualities in Renaissance Drama (Cambridge University Press, 1997) Gordon McMullan, The Politics of Unease in the Plays of John Fletcher (University of Massachusetts Press, 1994). Brian Vickers, Shakespeare, Co-Author (Oxford University Press, 2004). Stanley Wells, Shakespeare & Co. (Vintage, 2006). To locate Fletcher texts, go to http://www.gutenberg.org/browse/authors/f#a4606. .
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