ENG 340: English Drama to 1642

Instructor: Jennifer Holl Office: Klapper 532 Phone: x4696 Email: [email protected] Office hours: Monday, 12:30 - 1:30

Course description: English drama, exclusive of Shakespeare, from its medieval origins to the closing of the theatres in 1642. Examples of such early forms as the miracle play and the morality play will be examined, and particular attention will be paid to tragedy, tragicomedy, and satire. Playwrights studied will include figures like Marlowe, Jonson, Webster, Middleton, and Beaumont and Fletcher. Conventions of the medieval, Tudor, and Stuart stage will be discussed.

Course Goals and Objectives: • An understanding of the various forms and prominent dramatists in early English drama • An understanding of the culture and conventions of medieval and early modern theater, including the impact of issues of performance, staging and audience on the dramatic text • Familiarity with various and evolving pro- and anti-theatrical debates • The ability to incorporate appropriate research, critical methodology and close reading into original essays

This course can be used to satisfy the College Option Literature Requirement.

Required Texts: • Bevington et al. The Norton Anthology of English Renaissance Drama • Medieval plays available online (URL's listed in calendar). Print and bring these plays to class.

Grading Information: Participation 20% Paper 1 20% Paper 2 20% Midterm Exam 20% Final Exam 20%

Participation: In this class, participation is crucial. I expect you to come to class on time, prepared and ready to discuss. Attendance in our class will provide you with information that will only exist in the conversations between ourselves and our various texts, and you will be held responsible for this information. Adherence to the basic rules of classroom etiquette will also factor into your participation grade: come to class on time, turn your cell phones off, do not text, do not sleep and treat your classmates with respect.

Note: Because you are an adult, I expect that if you must miss class, you have a good reason; however, I am not interested in that reason, unless you are absent for a paper deadline or exam date (which is not a good idea). If an absence is unavoidable for one of these key dates, I require either advance notice or written documentation for you to make up your work. Also, if you are sick and require an extended absence, please contact me as soon as you can so I don’t think you’ve dropped of the face of the Earth.

Papers: You will write two papers this semester, both of which will require original research in support of original theses. Specific instructions will be provided in class. Papers are due on their due date, printed on paper, in class. A paper handed in to me any other way will be considered late, subject to a one letter-grade penalty for every day it is late. I do not accept papers by email, in my mailbox or under my office door. Any papers delivered by such means will be considered not received.

Exams: Both exams will feature a mix of short answer and essay questions. The final will be cumulative.

Plagiarism: Plagiarism will not be tolerated. A student who has plagiarized will automatically fail the paper and possibly the class. The student will also be listed on a departmental record that will be maintained for the duration of the student’s enrollment at the College and reported to the Dean of Students, who may decide to take further action. See attached “English Department Statement on Plagiarism” for further explanation.

Calendar: This calendar is subject to change. You are responsible for keeping up with the changes. Reading assignments are listed for the day they are due.

1/31 Introductions. English theater history and excerpts from The Treatise of Miraclis Pleying. 2/2 The York Ordo Paginarium York, The Fall of the Angels Chester, The Fall of Lucifer http://www.reed.utoronto.ca/chester/chester1.pdf

2/7 York, The Crucifixion http://www.wwnorton.com/college/english/nael/noa/pdf/YORKPLAY.pdf The Harrowing of Hell http://www.reed.utoronto.ca/yorkplays/York37.html 2/9 The Wakefield Second Shepherds' Play http://web.ukonline.co.uk/adrianguthrie/second.pdf

2/14 Croxton, The Play of the Sacrament http://www.medievallit.org/course_materials/ltwl172_sp2010/croxtontranslation.htm 2/16 Everyman http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/everyman.html

2/21 Presidents Day. No class. 2/23 [Classes follow a Monday schedule.] From the Norton General Introduction: "Real Estate," "Playwrights and the Conditions of Production," and "Performance and Print" Greene, Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay (scenes 1-7)

2/28 Greene, Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay (scenes 8-16) Excerpts from Greene's Groatsworth of Wit 3/2 Marlowe, Doctor Faustus (Acts 1-2) Handout: The Baines note Paper 1 due.

3/7 Marlowe, Doctor Faustus (Act 3) Marlowe, Prologue to Tamburlaine (p. 190) 3/9 Marlowe, Doctor Faustus (Acts 4-5) Handout: from Gosson, School of Abuse

3/14 Marlowe, The Jew of Malta (Acts 1-2) Handout: Early modern Jew as spectacle 3/16 Marlowe, The Jew of Malta (Acts 3-4)

3/21 Marlowe, The Jew of Malta (Act 5) 3/23 Midterm Exam

3/28 Jonson, The Alchemist 3/30 Jonson, The Alchemist Handout: from Sofer, The Stage Life of Props

4/4 Jonson, The Alchemist 4/6 Beaumont, Knight of the Burning Pestle Handout: from Dekker, The Gull's Horn Book

4/11 Beaumont, Knight of the Burning Pestle 4/13 Beaumont, Knight of the Burning Pestle

4/18 Spring Recess. No class. 4/20 Spring Recess. No class.

4/25 Spring Recess. No class. 4/27 Webster, The Duchess of Malfi (Acts 1-2) Paper 2 due.

5/2 Webster, The Duchess of Malfi (Acts 3-4) Handout: from Beard, The Theatre of God's Judgments 5/4 Webster, The Duchess of Malfi (Act 5)

5/9 Ford, 'Tis Pity She's a Whore (Acts 1-2) 5/11 Ford, 'Tis Pity She's a Whore (Act 3)

5/16 Ford, 'Tis Pity She's a Whore (Acts 4-5) 5/18 Final exam. Last class meeting.