Module ENGL2511: FORMS OF ENGLISH DRAMA, 1625 - 1737

Department: English Studies

ENGL2511: FORMS OF ENGLISH DRAMA, 1625 - 1737

Prerequisites

• Any Single or Joint Honours finalist student wishing to take this Special Topic module must have satisfactorily completed the required number of core modules. Combined Honours and Outside Honours students must have satisfactorily completed either two Level 1 core introductory modules, or at least one Level 1 core module and one further lecture based module in English at Level 2.

Corequisites

• None.

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None.

Aims

• To introduce students to the cultural, religious, social, and historical forces that have shaped multiple forms of early modern English written between the accession of Charles I in 1625 and the imposition of the Licensing Act in 1737.
• To introduce students to dramatic works by authors such as Aphra Behn, Richard Brome, Susannah Centlivre, William Congreve, John Dryden, Henry Fielding, John Ford, John Gay, Delarivier Manley, Thomas Otway, Mary Pix, Elkanah Settle, James Shirley, John Vanbrugh, and others.
• To introduce students to a wide range of forms of English drama of the period, such as musical theatre, masque, closet drama, burlesque, tragicomedy, etc.
• To introduce students to early modern theatre technology (stage machinery, ilusionistic lighting, spaces etc.), and relevant contemporaneous texts (actors' biographies, early modern drama criticism, reviews etc.)

Content

• This module will explore English drama between 1625 (the accession of Charles I) and 1737 (Robert Walpole's Licensing Act, which had far reaching consequences for English Literary history).
• The aim of the course is to study a rich variety of dramatic forms such as masque, tragicomedy, musical theatre, burlesque and closet drama, in the context of pseudo-dramatic genres and early modern theatre criticism.
• The module will introduce works by Behn, Congreve, Dryden, Fielding, Gay, Otway, Pix, Purcell, Settle, Shirley, Vanbrugh and others. It will Combines close readings of texts and literary criticism with practical approaches (performance conditions, costume, illusionistic lighting, etc.), as well as an appreciation of historical, cultural and political contexts (women playwrights, censorship etc.).

Learning Outcomes

• From this course students will demonstrate an understanding of the (sometimes contesting) forces that shaped theatrical activities in the period, such as Puritanism, the emergence of female actresses, women playwrights, constitutional reforms, censorship, changing technologies in playhouses, influence od Continental drama etc.
• Students will also show an appreciation of how the rich theatrical culture between 1625 and 1737 contributed to the wider development of forms and traditions in English literature.
• By the end of this module, students will show evidence of a wide-ranging knowledge of a number of dramatic texts as well as relevant contemporaneous literature. They will demonstrate a fuller understanding of issues of interpretation and reception as they affect English theatre between 1625 and 1737.

• Students studying this module will develop:
• critical skills in the close reading and analysis of texts
• an ability to demonstrate knowledge of a range of texts and critical approaches
• informed awareness of formal and aesthetic dimensions of literature and ability to offer cogent analysis of their workings in specific texts
• sensitivity to generic conventions and to the shaping effects on communication of historical circumstances, and to the affective power of language
• an ability to articulate and substantiate an imaginative response to literature
• an ability to articulate knowledge and understanding of concepts and theories relating to literary studies
• skills of effective communication and argument
• awareness of conventions of scholarly presentation, and bibliographic skills including accurate citation of sources and consistent use of scholarly conventions of presentation
• command of a broad range of vocabulary and an appropriate critical terminology
• awareness of literature as a medium through which values are affirmed and debated

• Students studying this module will develop:
• a capacity to analyse critically
• an ability to acquire complex information of diverse kinds in a structured and systematic way involving the use of distinctive interpretative skills derived from the subject
• competence in the planning and execution of essays
• a capacity for independent thought and judgement, and ability to assess the critical ideas of others
• skills in critical reasoning
• an ability to handle information and argument in a critical manner
• information-technology skills such as word-processing and electronic data access information
• organisation and time-management skills

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• The module is taught through seminars, which encourage collective responsiveness through interactive discussion as well as the development of independent, individual thought. The consultation session with the seminar leader before the first essay allows for further, guided exploration of individual ideas and arguments.
• Typically, directed learning may include assigning student(s) an issue, theme or topic that can be independently or collectively explored within a framework and/or with additional materials provided by the tutor. This may function as preparatory work for presenting their ideas or findings (sometimes electronically) to their peers and tutor in the context of a seminar.
• Assessed essays give the students opportunity for focused independent study, permitting them to explore their own ideas and insights as well as demonstrating a requisite knowledge of a subject.
• The written feedback that is provided after the first assessed essay allows students to reflect on examiners' comments, giving students the opportunity to improve their work for the second essay.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

Before the first essay, students will have an individual consultation session in which they are entitled to show their seminar leader a list of points relevant to the essay and receive oral comment on these points. Students may also, if they wish, discuss, their ideas ideas for the second essay at this meeting.

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University