Introductory description

This module will explore the drama of Shakespeare's contemporaries, paying particular attention to the playing conditions of the time which were affected both by the physical resources of the stage and the political context into which these works intervened. We will also take note of early modern literary criticism to discover how playwrights interacted with these ideas in their work. As we read some of the most famous plays of the period, we will develop an understanding of its major dramatic trends, the plays' significance in relation to Shakespeare and to their classical precursors and the ways in which they reflect the political, religious and social concerns of their time.
This module can be paired with EN352 Restoration Drama to make a coherent 30 CATS two-term option which will deal with English drama and its contexts 1574 to 1709

Module web page

Module aims

Outline syllabus

This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.

Week 1, Medieval England: Robert Green, Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay (c.1589)

Week 2, Central Asia: Christopher Marlowe, Tamburlaine the Great Part 1 (pr. 1590)

Week 3, The Mediterranean: Christopher Marlowe, The Jew of Malta (1592)

Week 4, England: Anon., Arden of Feversham (1592)

Week 5, London: Thomas Dekker, The Shoemaker's Holiday (1599)

Week 6, Reading Week

Week 7, Ancient Judea: Elizabeth Cary, The Tragedy of Mariam (c. 1603-8)

Week 8, Italy: Thomas Middleton, The Revenger's Tragedy (1606)

Week 9, London: Francis Beaumont, The Knight of the Burning Pestle (1607)

Week 10, London: Ben Jonson, The Alchemist (1610)

The coursebook will be English Renaissance Drama: A Norton Anthology, eds Bevington, Engle, Maus and Rasmussen (New York and London, 2002)

Learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students should be able to:

• Demonstrate a systematic knowledge and coherent understanding of the set plays in their political, religious and social contexts
• Demonstrate a systematic knowledge and coherent understanding of the major dramatic trends of the period 1574-1642
• Demonstrate a systematic knowledge and coherent understanding of early modern literary and dramatic criticism in theory and practice
• Demonstrate engagement with early modern primary sources (via e.g. EEBO) which are not set texts on the module

Subject specific skills

A systematic knowledge and coherent understanding of the set plays in their political, religious and social contexts
A systematic knowledge and coherent understanding of the major dramatic trends of the period 1574-1642
A systematic knowledge and coherent understanding of early modern literary and dramatic criticism in theory and practice
Engagement with early modern primary sources (via e.g. EEBO) which are not set texts on the module

Transferable skills

Apply the methods and techniques that they have learned to review, consolidate, extend and apply their knowledge and understanding, and to initiate and carry out projects
Critically evaluate arguments, assumptions, abstract concepts and data (that may be incomplete), to make judgements, and to frame appropriate questions to achieve a solution - or identify a range of solutions - to a problem
Communicate information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialist and non-specialist audiences.