english 303
ENGLISH 303
FORMS OF DRAMA: MODERN J. C. BULMAN Odd Fellows 234
332-4325
[email protected]
Office hours: MW 10-11, TTH 3-5, and by appointment Texts: Brecht, Life of Galileo, trans. John Willett (Bloomsbury) Chekhov, Five Plays, trans. Ronald Hingley (Oxford World Classics) Hansberry, A Raisin in the Sun (Vintage Books) Ibsen, Four Major Plays, trans. Rolf Fjelde, Vol. 1 (Signet Classics) Miller, Death of a Salesman (Penguin Classics) O’Neill, Long Day’s Journey into Night (Yale) Shaffer, Equus (Scribner) Shaw, Pygmalion and Major Barbara (Bantam Classics) Strindberg, Miss Julie, trans. Edward Björkman (Dover) Vogel, The Mammary Plays (Theatre Communications Group) Williams, A Streetcar Named Desire (Signet) The plays in this course span more than a century, from 1888, the date of Strindberg’s controversial exploration of sex, power, and social class in Miss Julie, to 1997, the year in which Paula Vogel dramatized the extent to which issues such as pedophilia and sexual orientation had infiltrated popular theatre. During that long century, the theatre underwent a revolution such as it had not known since the Renaissance. Nineteenthcentury well-made plays and melodrama were replaced first by a theatre of realism, then naturalism; plays were no longer complacently bourgeois but dealt with pressing social issues and were informed by new philosophic and psychological theories. These plays led to more radical experiments: expressionist and dream plays; a so-called Epic Theatre which provoked audiences to think in Marxist terms about the play’s social agenda; and finally, the so-called Theatre of the Absurd. The profound upheavals in twentiethcentury society – two world wars, a global economic depression, political and cultural revolutions – made a break with tradition inevitable. Playwrights simply could not continue to write the same kinds of plays that had satisfied nineteenth-century audiences. But with a questioning of social, moral and political values came a corresponding challenge to the artistic forms through which those values had for so long been inculcated. This course will focus on how new forms arose in response to the breakdown of traditional values. We shall read a total of eleven plays for class discussion. As the course will be conducted largely as a seminar, everyone’s contribution will count, and I expect you to have read
plays before we begin discussing them. Class participation will constitute 20% of your grade. The rest will be determined by five major assignments – a midterm exam, a final exam, two take-home essay exams, and a longer analytic essay – and one short response paper. Because dramatic scripts are best realized in performance, I have selected seven plays from which important films have been made, listed at the end of the syllabus. I urge you to view these films before our final class discussion of each play. In addition, I have scheduled a field trip to the Pittsburgh Public Theater on Sunday, October 29, to see a performance of Peter Shaffer’s award-winning play Equus. Details will be forthcoming.
Date
Assignment
8/29
Nineteenth-century melodrama and the well-made play REALISM, NATURALISM, AND THE PROBLEM PLAY
8/31-9/5
Ibsen, Hedda Gabler: social realism, gender, and power
9/7-12
Strindberg, Miss Julie and the Author’s Preface: naturalism vs. realism
9/14-21
Chekhov, Uncle Vanya: Stanislavski, psychological acting, and the emergence of subtext. Also handout: Stanislavski on Direction and Acting. Watch Vanya on 42nd Street: rehearsal as a realist device.
9/26-10/3
Shaw, Pygmalion and Preface: the influence of Ibsen on comedies of political and social ideology. Watch My Fair Lady, a popular adaptation of Pygmalion.
10/5
In-class exam on Ibsen, Strindberg, Chekhov and Shaw.
10/10
Fall break – no class.
10/13
Take-home essay due on realistic and naturalistic theatre. EPIC THEATRE AND SOCIAL CHANGE
10/12-19
Brecht, Life of Galileo: epic theater, social change, and the influence of Marxism. Handout on Brecht’s theory of Verfremdungseffekt.
10/24
Gator Day – no class.
10/26,31
Shaffer, Equus: the alienation effect adapted for a post-Freudian age.
10/29
Trip to Pittsburgh Public Theater to see a matinee of Equus.
10/31
Short response paper to the performance of Equus due.
11/2,7
Vogel, How I Learned to Drive: the force of feminist voices in America. Brecht adapted for sexual politics. Also handout on Vogel.
11/10 5pm
Essay due on the power of epic theatre.
TWENTIETH CENTURY AMERICAN THEATER 11/9,14
Miller, Death of a Salesman: an American standard of tragedy. Also handout on Miller and modern tragedy. Dustin Hoffman as Willy Loman on film: re-thinking a classic.
11/16,21
Hansberry, A Raisin in the Sun: the rise of black theatre; issues of race and women playwrights in America. Recreating a Broadway hit on screen.
11/23
Thanksgiving break – no class.
11/28-12/5
O’Neill, Long Day’s Journey into Night: American expressionism and the influence of Ibsen and Strindberg. Also handout: Commentaries on O’Neill. Kathrine Hepburn and Ralph Richardson as the Tyrones: performances about acting?
12/7,12
Williams, A Streetcar Named Desire: the poetry of sexuality, repression, and power. Marlon Brando, Vivien Leigh, and animal magnetism on film: an iconic Streetcar.
12/19 2pm
Final exam and take-home essays due.
Course Policies Attendance Policy: I allow three unexcused absences without penalty. Each additional unexcused absence will incur a third of a letter reduction (e.g., from an A- to a B+) in your final grade. Absences will be excused only with documented proof of cause – medical (a note from a doctor or the Health Center), institutional (a form detailing an Allegheny obligation), or religious. Sending an email of explanation or apology does not constitute an excuse. Attendance counts. Late work: It is important to pass work in on time. Assignments will be penalized by a third of a letter grade for each day they are late (e.g., a B- will become a C+). All work must be completed for you to receive a grade in the course.
Plagiarism: It is unethical to use others’ work without attribution. All outside sources you use must be properly cited according to MLA guidelines. If you have any questions about the proper use and acknowledgement of sources, please ask. Like you, I am bound by the Honor Code and must refer any plagiarism to the Honor Committee. Accommodations for disabilities: Students with disabilities who believe they may need accommodations in this class are encouraged to contact Disability Services at (814) 3322898. Disability Services is part of the Learning Commons and is located in Pelletier Library.
FILMS ON SAKAI AND 3-HOUR LIBRARY RESERVE
STRINDBERG, MISS JULIE CHEKHOV, VANYA ON 42ND STREET SHAW, MY FAIR LADY (PYGMALION) MILLER, DEATH OF A SALESMAN HANSBERRY, A RAISIN IN THE SUN O’NEILL, LONG DAY’S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT WILLIAMS, A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE
FORMS OF DRAMA: MODERN J. C. BULMAN Odd Fellows 234
332-4325
[email protected]
Office hours: MW 10-11, TTH 3-5, and by appointment Texts: Brecht, Life of Galileo, trans. John Willett (Bloomsbury) Chekhov, Five Plays, trans. Ronald Hingley (Oxford World Classics) Hansberry, A Raisin in the Sun (Vintage Books) Ibsen, Four Major Plays, trans. Rolf Fjelde, Vol. 1 (Signet Classics) Miller, Death of a Salesman (Penguin Classics) O’Neill, Long Day’s Journey into Night (Yale) Shaffer, Equus (Scribner) Shaw, Pygmalion and Major Barbara (Bantam Classics) Strindberg, Miss Julie, trans. Edward Björkman (Dover) Vogel, The Mammary Plays (Theatre Communications Group) Williams, A Streetcar Named Desire (Signet) The plays in this course span more than a century, from 1888, the date of Strindberg’s controversial exploration of sex, power, and social class in Miss Julie, to 1997, the year in which Paula Vogel dramatized the extent to which issues such as pedophilia and sexual orientation had infiltrated popular theatre. During that long century, the theatre underwent a revolution such as it had not known since the Renaissance. Nineteenthcentury well-made plays and melodrama were replaced first by a theatre of realism, then naturalism; plays were no longer complacently bourgeois but dealt with pressing social issues and were informed by new philosophic and psychological theories. These plays led to more radical experiments: expressionist and dream plays; a so-called Epic Theatre which provoked audiences to think in Marxist terms about the play’s social agenda; and finally, the so-called Theatre of the Absurd. The profound upheavals in twentiethcentury society – two world wars, a global economic depression, political and cultural revolutions – made a break with tradition inevitable. Playwrights simply could not continue to write the same kinds of plays that had satisfied nineteenth-century audiences. But with a questioning of social, moral and political values came a corresponding challenge to the artistic forms through which those values had for so long been inculcated. This course will focus on how new forms arose in response to the breakdown of traditional values. We shall read a total of eleven plays for class discussion. As the course will be conducted largely as a seminar, everyone’s contribution will count, and I expect you to have read
plays before we begin discussing them. Class participation will constitute 20% of your grade. The rest will be determined by five major assignments – a midterm exam, a final exam, two take-home essay exams, and a longer analytic essay – and one short response paper. Because dramatic scripts are best realized in performance, I have selected seven plays from which important films have been made, listed at the end of the syllabus. I urge you to view these films before our final class discussion of each play. In addition, I have scheduled a field trip to the Pittsburgh Public Theater on Sunday, October 29, to see a performance of Peter Shaffer’s award-winning play Equus. Details will be forthcoming.
Date
Assignment
8/29
Nineteenth-century melodrama and the well-made play REALISM, NATURALISM, AND THE PROBLEM PLAY
8/31-9/5
Ibsen, Hedda Gabler: social realism, gender, and power
9/7-12
Strindberg, Miss Julie and the Author’s Preface: naturalism vs. realism
9/14-21
Chekhov, Uncle Vanya: Stanislavski, psychological acting, and the emergence of subtext. Also handout: Stanislavski on Direction and Acting. Watch Vanya on 42nd Street: rehearsal as a realist device.
9/26-10/3
Shaw, Pygmalion and Preface: the influence of Ibsen on comedies of political and social ideology. Watch My Fair Lady, a popular adaptation of Pygmalion.
10/5
In-class exam on Ibsen, Strindberg, Chekhov and Shaw.
10/10
Fall break – no class.
10/13
Take-home essay due on realistic and naturalistic theatre. EPIC THEATRE AND SOCIAL CHANGE
10/12-19
Brecht, Life of Galileo: epic theater, social change, and the influence of Marxism. Handout on Brecht’s theory of Verfremdungseffekt.
10/24
Gator Day – no class.
10/26,31
Shaffer, Equus: the alienation effect adapted for a post-Freudian age.
10/29
Trip to Pittsburgh Public Theater to see a matinee of Equus.
10/31
Short response paper to the performance of Equus due.
11/2,7
Vogel, How I Learned to Drive: the force of feminist voices in America. Brecht adapted for sexual politics. Also handout on Vogel.
11/10 5pm
Essay due on the power of epic theatre.
TWENTIETH CENTURY AMERICAN THEATER 11/9,14
Miller, Death of a Salesman: an American standard of tragedy. Also handout on Miller and modern tragedy. Dustin Hoffman as Willy Loman on film: re-thinking a classic.
11/16,21
Hansberry, A Raisin in the Sun: the rise of black theatre; issues of race and women playwrights in America. Recreating a Broadway hit on screen.
11/23
Thanksgiving break – no class.
11/28-12/5
O’Neill, Long Day’s Journey into Night: American expressionism and the influence of Ibsen and Strindberg. Also handout: Commentaries on O’Neill. Kathrine Hepburn and Ralph Richardson as the Tyrones: performances about acting?
12/7,12
Williams, A Streetcar Named Desire: the poetry of sexuality, repression, and power. Marlon Brando, Vivien Leigh, and animal magnetism on film: an iconic Streetcar.
12/19 2pm
Final exam and take-home essays due.
Course Policies Attendance Policy: I allow three unexcused absences without penalty. Each additional unexcused absence will incur a third of a letter reduction (e.g., from an A- to a B+) in your final grade. Absences will be excused only with documented proof of cause – medical (a note from a doctor or the Health Center), institutional (a form detailing an Allegheny obligation), or religious. Sending an email of explanation or apology does not constitute an excuse. Attendance counts. Late work: It is important to pass work in on time. Assignments will be penalized by a third of a letter grade for each day they are late (e.g., a B- will become a C+). All work must be completed for you to receive a grade in the course.
Plagiarism: It is unethical to use others’ work without attribution. All outside sources you use must be properly cited according to MLA guidelines. If you have any questions about the proper use and acknowledgement of sources, please ask. Like you, I am bound by the Honor Code and must refer any plagiarism to the Honor Committee. Accommodations for disabilities: Students with disabilities who believe they may need accommodations in this class are encouraged to contact Disability Services at (814) 3322898. Disability Services is part of the Learning Commons and is located in Pelletier Library.
FILMS ON SAKAI AND 3-HOUR LIBRARY RESERVE
STRINDBERG, MISS JULIE CHEKHOV, VANYA ON 42ND STREET SHAW, MY FAIR LADY (PYGMALION) MILLER, DEATH OF A SALESMAN HANSBERRY, A RAISIN IN THE SUN O’NEILL, LONG DAY’S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT WILLIAMS, A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE
