106-109 Shakespeare's Theatre

This subject introduces students to Shakespeare in his context as an early modern English dramatist, alongside the work of contemporary playwrights like Marlowe, Jonson and Middleton. It is primarily concerned with the material conditions, performance traditions and social context of theatre in Elizabethan and Jacobean England. The focus will be on the developing genre of tragedy, from the early forms of revenge and love tragedy through to later modes of historical and political tragedy and the mixed form of tragicomedy; equally significant will be changing relations of plot and characterisation and the balance between conventionalised and more realistic forms of representation. We will also examine the use of exoticism as a major component in the plays' treatments of power, sexuality and cultural difference. Students who successfully complete this subject will have a detailed understanding of the themes and forms of selected plays by Shakespeare and his contemporaries and will also acquire a background of relevant knowledge and methodologies on which to base further studies in English and cultural studies.

• research: through competent use of library, and other (including online) information sources; through the successful definition of areas of inquiry and methods of research;

• critical thinking and analysis: through use of recommended reading, essay writing and tutorial discussion; through the questioning of accepted wisdom and the ability to shape and strengthen persuasive judgments and arguments; through attention to detail in reading material; and through openness to new ideas and the development of critical self-awareness;

• social, ethical and cultural understanding: through use of recommended reading, essay writing and tutorial discussion; through the social contextualisation of arguments and judgments; through adaptations of knowledge to new situations and openness to new ideas; through the development of critical self-awareness in relation to an understanding of other cultures and practices;

• intelligent and effective communication of knowledge and ideas: through essay preparation, planning and writing as well as tutorial discussion; through effective dissemination of ideas from recommended reading and other relevant information sources; through clear definition of areas of inquiry and methods of research; through confidence to express ideas in public forums.

A text-based exercise of 800 words worth 20% (due early in semester), an essay of 1200 words worth 30% (due mid-semester) and an essay of 2000 words worth 50% (due in the examination period).

A subject reader will be available from the University Bookshop.

• B Jonson, Sejanus. Revels Plays.
• C Marlowe, Tamburlaine the Great. Revels Student Editions.
• W Shakespeare, Titus Andronicus. Oxford Worlds Classics.
• W Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet. Oxford Worlds Classics.
• W Shakespeare, Julius Caesar. Oxford Worlds Classics.
• W Shakespeare, Measure for Measure. Oxford Worlds Classics.
• W Shakespeare, Othello. Oxford Worlds Classics.
• W Shakespeare, Macbeth. Oxford Worlds Classics.
• W Shakespeare, Antony and Cleopatra. Oxford World Classics.
• T Middleton and W Rowley, The Changeling. New Mermaids.