Dramatic Literature II CFA DR101 A1, Spring 2008 Tuesday & Thursday, 9:30-11:00 Theatre Lab Syllabus Instructor Emma Dassori ([email protected]) Teaching Assistants Rey Lopez ([email protected]) Tara Matkosky ([email protected]) Andrea Southwick ([email protected]) Course objective: Throughout history the theatre has taken on many roles in society. Some cultures have revered it; others have reviled it. In every case theatre has served as a measure of its time, reflecting the values of the age in which it appears. This course seeks to provide you with a foundation of knowledge of dramatic literature from the late seventeenth through the end of the nineteenth century. We will observe the ways in which nationalism, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, race, religion, politics, and class have shaped the history of playwriting and performance. You will develop and refine the skills of close reading, analysis, and interpretation. My hope is that you will leave the class armed with a deep knowledge and understanding of the periods we cover, as well as the ability, confidence, and real desire to incorporate this new-found insight into your own work as theatre artists. Attendance: Attendance is critical to your progress in this course. Classes begin promptly at 9:30. Please arrive on time. Attendance will be taken at the beginning of each class. You will be counted late if you arrive after attendance has been taken. Tardiness will count as half an absence. If you accumulate more than three unexcused absences your grade will be affected. Unexcused absences include classes missed due to minor illnesses (colds, etc.) and outside appointments. Religious holidays are excused absences; please let us know ahead of time. Participation: Your involvement in class activities and discussions is essential; you will be graded on your participation. Engage the material by asking questions, sharing your thoughts and opinions, and volunteering when invited to read passages aloud. Preparation: I expect you to be prepared to discuss the assigned plays. Please bring a notebook, a writing utensil, and your copy of the current script to class. Conferences & Help: Please contact me if you have questions or concerns, or would like to meet for any reason. My office hours are by appointment on Tuesdays after class. Also, please let me know as soon as possible if you have a learning disability, if English is not your first language, or if there is anything else of which I should be aware. Assignments: You will be required to read fifteen plays for this course; we will read selections from additional plays in class. Please consult the Course Schedule for the dates these readings are due. You will also be responsible for two papers, a take-home midterm exam, and a final exam. All written assignments should be double-spaced and typed. Please spell check and proof read your work. When necessary be sure to correctly cite any sources. Any changes to the schedule will be announced in class. LATE PAPERS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED EXCEPT BY PRIOR ARRANGEMENT OR IF ACCOMPANIED BY A DOCTOR’S NOTE. Textbooks: The following textbooks contain most of the plays for the course and are available for purchase at the BU Bookstore. For each of the translated texts, it is required that you read the specified translation. • British Dramatists from Dryden to Sheridan by George Stone & Arthur Case (ISBN-13: 9780809307432) Contents: Venice Preserved, Beggar’s Opera, School for Scandal • Tartuffe by Moliere, trans. by Richard Wilbur (ISBN-13: 9780822211112) • The Servant of Two Masters and Other Italian Classics trans. by Eric Bentley (ISBN-13: 9780936839202) Contents: Servant of Two Masters & King Stag • The Marriage of Figaro by Beaumarchais, trans. by Bernard Sahlins (ISBN-13: 9781566630658) • Camille by Alexandre Dumas fils, trans. by Stephen Stanton (ISBN-13: 978-0809007066) • Mary Stuart by Friedrich Schiller, trans. by F.J. Lamport (ISBN-13: 978-0140447118) • The Diary of a Madman, The Government Inspector, and Selected Stories by Nikolai Gogol, trans. by Ronald Wilks (ISBN-13: 9780140449075) • A Month in the Country by Ivan Turgenev, trans. Brian Friel (ISBN-13: 9780822213420) • Major Voices: Drama of Slavery by Eric Gardner (ISBN-13: 9781592641185) Contents: The Octoroon, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, & Minstrelsy Other Plays: The following plays are out of print; they will therefore be scanned and emailed to you. Please print out a copy of the text to read and bring with you to class. • The Madness of Isabella by Flaminio Scala • The Rover by Aphra Behn • A Bold Stroke for a Wife by Susanna Centlivre • DeMonfort by Joanna Baillie Paper #1: Playwriting in the Restoration For your first paper you will research a playwright from the period of the Restoration and read a play written by this author. She/he must be someone whom we have not read for class; a list to choose from is provided below. In your paper you will combine biographical information and an analysis of the play with cultural and historical observations about the period in which she/he wrote. Your paper should be 6-8 pages long and is due at the beginning of class on Thursday, Feb. 21. List of playwrights: William Wycherley, George Etherage, William Congreve, Mary Pix, John Dryden, John Vanbrugh, Duke of Buckingham, & George Farquhar Paper #2: Translating the World of the Play For your second paper you will write a proposal for a production of one of the plays we have read this semester, in which you make a case for setting it in an historical period and/or place other than the one in which it was written. You should choose a play that you might like to direct, and that you believe has relevance today. You will need to draw connections between the period the play was written in and the way in which you wish to stage your production. Your paper should be 6-8 pages long and is due at the beginning of class on Tuesday, April 29. Midterm Exam: Your midterm will be a take-home exam, covering material discussed in class up to the date you receive the exam (the Commedia dell’Arte through Eighteenth-century England, Part I & Susanna Centlivre). You will pick up your exam in class on Tuesday, February 26; it is due one week later, at the beginning of class on Tuesday, March 4. Final Exam: Your final exam will take place at the time and date scheduled by the university: Thursday, May 8 from 9:00- 11:00 am. Please arrange your travel plans for the end of the semester with this in mind. The exam will cover material discussed in class during the ENTIRE length of the course. We will review for the exam during our final class on Thursday, May 1. Plagiarism: The B.U. Code of Student Conduct prescribes severe penalties – up to and including expulsion from the University – for presenting someone else’s ideas as yours. Cite your sources. The written assignments in this course, unlike most of your other work in this school, are NOT collaborative ventures. Do your own work and insist that others do theirs. Grading: Your final grade will be based on attendance, class preparation and participation, your two papers, take-home midterm, and final exam. 15% Attendance, preparation, & participation 20% Paper #1 20% Paper #2 20% Midterm Exam 25% Final Exam The criteria for grading your work are as follows: A = Achievement beyond expectation; outstanding, superior work B = Some level of excellence; consistent completion of high- quality work C = Satisfactory completion of work; acceptable (yet mediocre) work D = Spotty completion of assignments; unsatisfactory quality of work Course Schedule Week 1 Th 1.17 Introduction Review of Greek & Roman Theatre Week 2 Tu 1.22 Review of Medieval & Renaissance Theatre Th 1.23 The Commedia dell’Arte Reading due: Flaminio Scala scenario The Madness of Isabella Week 3 Tu 1.29 Comedy in France: Censorship & Service to the Sun King In-class video: selection from Ariane Mnouchkine’s film Molière Th 1.31 Reading due: Molière’s Tartuffe In-class video: selection from Au Soleil même la nuit (Mnouchkine’s 1995-6 Tartuffe) Week 4 Tu 2.5 Restoration Comedy: Women Take the Stage Th 2.7 Reading due: Aphra Behn’s The Rover Review Paper #1 guidelines Week 5 Tu 2.12 Restoration Tragedy: Revising Shakespeare In-class reading of Nahum Tate’s Lear Th 2.14 Reading due: Thomas Otway’s Venice Preserved Week 6 Tu 2.19 No class (Monday schedule) Th 2.21 Paper #1 due Eighteenth-Century England, Part I: The Female Wits Week 7 Tu 2.26 Reading due: Susanna Centlivre’s Bold Stroke for a Wife Pick Up Midterm Exam (due 3.4) Th 2.28 In-class reading of John Gay’s Beggar’s Opera & Brecht’s Threepenny Opera Week 8 Tu 3.4 Midterm Exam due Eighteenth-Century Italy: Arch-Rivals Redefine Italian Comedy Th 3.6 Readings due: Carlo Goldoni’s Servant of Two Masters & Carlo Gozzi’s King Stag SPRING BREAK Week 9 Tu 3.18 Eighteenth-Century England, Part II: Laughing Comedy Revisited Th 3.20 Reading due: Richard Brinsley Sheridan’s The School for Scandal Week 10 Tu 3.25 Eighteenth-Century France: Revolutionary Rumblings Reading due: Pierre Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais’ The Marriage of Figaro Th 3.27 Eighteenth-century England, Part III: Gothic Drama Reading due: Joanna Baillie’s De Monfort Week 11 Tu 4.1 German Romanticism Th 4.3 Reading due: Friedrich Schiller’s Mary Stuart Week 12 Tu 4.8 Theatre in Russia Th 4.10 Readings due: Nikolai Gogol’s Government Inspector & Ivan Turgenev’s A Month in the Country (trans.