THA 11 A Professor Holmberg
Brandeis University Fall, 2015
The Evolution of Dramatic Literature and Theory from Ritual
Origins to the French Revolution
Objectives of Course
THA 11 is an integrated course that combines dramatic literature, theater history, and theories of the theater. The goal is to understand a play not only as literature but also as perfromance and as the product of a specific historical period. In addition to changes in theater architecture and production values, we shall also look at theoreis behind the theater: Why do we need theater? What is the social function of tragedy? Of comedy?
The Masks of Dionysus
Slide Lecture
Greek Tragedy
Aeschylus, Oresteia.
Bernard Dukore, Dramatic Theory and Criticism: Greeks to Grotowski (Dukore is the xanadu packet, hereafter referred to as D.). Jung, pp. 836-846; Freud, pp. 827-831; Hegel, pp. 532-545.
Brockett: “The Origins of Theatre” and “Theatre and Drama in Ancient Greece”
Plato, in D. pp. 12-31.
Aristotle, Poetics, D., pp. 12-31.
Euripides, The Bacchae (H).
Roman Comedy
Plautus, Menaechmi. D: Freud, pp. 831-836; Frye, pp. 897-905; Aelius Donatus, pp. 99-100.
Brockett: all sections on Roman theatre
Medieval Liturgical Drama
The Play of Daniel in Bevington, Medieval Drama (H).
Bakhtine on the spirit of carnival (H).
Brockett: “European Theatre in the Middle Ages”
The Italian Renaissance
Machiavelli, Mandragola. D: pp. 119-120.
Street Theater (Commedia dell'Arte) and Aristocratic Extravaganzas: The Birth of Opera (slide lecture).
Brockett: “Italian Theatre to 1700”
The Spanish Golden Age
Lope de Vega, Fuenteovejuna. D: Lope, pp. 198-204.
From Renaissance to Baroque (slide lecture).
Calderón de la Barca, Life Is a Dream
Brockett: “Spanish Theatre to 1700”
The Triumph of French Neo-Classicism
The Rise to Power of Louis XIV: Corneille, The Cid; In D: "The Opinions of the French Academy," pp. 220-226.
The Court: Style, Substance, Symbol
Versailles and the Spectacles of Power (slide lecture)
Molière, The Misanthrope. D: all selections by Molière; Bergson, pp. 737-745.
Racine, Phèdre. D: all selections by Racine
Brockett: “French Theatre to 1700”
The Herald of the Revolution
The Erotics of the Rococo (slide lecture)
Beaumarchais, The Marriage of Figaro. D: Beaumarchais, pp. 304-308.
Brockett: “Italy and France to 1800” (only the sections on France)
I am always eager to hear your questions and comments. Before intervening in class, however, be sure that the comment is relevant to the topic under discussion and is of interest to all the students in the class. Questions or comments of an individual nature should be saved for after class or during my office hours.
Requirements
History Quiz 33 1/3%
Class Attendance and Participation 33 1/3%
Final Exam or Class Project 33 1/3%
Attendance is required. You must attend class regularly. You should readallassigned materials before the due date, and be prepared to discuss them in class.
Always bring your text of the work we are discussing to class with you.
The three-hour final exam will consist of literary passages to be identified by title, author, and date. You must identify the speaker, situate the passage in the dramatic structure of the play, and explicate its literary and dramatic significance. In addition, there will be essay questions on theoretical and literary aspects of the course.
From time to time there may be written exercises in class that will count toward the evaluation of your class attendance and participation.
If you are a student with a documented disability on record at Brandeis University and wish to have a reasonable accommodation made for you in this class, please see me immediately.
Papers are due at the beginning of the class. Late papers will be down graded one letter grade for each week or each fraction of a week. Electronic submissions are not accepted. Papers must be double spaced and printed on only one side of each sheet. Written documentation of an emergency from a doctor will exonerate the student from the late penalty.
In lieu of the final exam, we may be able to put on a class project. Anyone who is given permission to participate in the project must be present at the strike. It is not possible to assume major positions on two simultaneous projects, one for the class and one outside the class. Do not over commit yourself. Do not take on more than you can handle responsibly. Not everyone can be guaranteed a position on the class project. Scheduling and commitments to other productions will be taken into consideration. Anyone who chooses to do the project, must also write a short project paper on your experience working on the project.
The project is a wonderful opportunity for you to try your hand at some new aspect of theater. If you have always acted, you might want to try directing or designing. It is always useful to explore new areas of theater.
If we do have a class project, not everyone need participate. A student may choose to write an academic research paper in lieu of particpating in the project. But if there is a project, everyone must write a response paper to it.
Time constraints may necessitate some alterations in this schedule. Handouts will be passed out only once. If you are absent, please call a classmate to pick up a copy for you. Otherwise, borrow a copy from a classmate and xerox it. Handouts will be passed out only once. Do not ask for a handout from a previous class.
Students are responsible for all information disseminated during class, whether written or oral. If you miss a class, be sure to borrow notes from a classmate.