Teaching code

4S01196

Teacher

Lisanna Calvi

Coordinatore

Lisanna Calvi

Credits

6

Language

Italian

Scientific Disciplinary Sector (SSD)

L-LIN/10 - ENGLISH LITERATURE

Period

First half of Semester 2  dal Feb 26, 2018 al Apr 21, 2018.

Lessons timetable Moodle Seminars

Learning outcomes

The module aims at offering an overview of late-nineteenth- to twentieth-century English drama, as well as at presenting the students with the basics of textual analysis.
On successful completion of the module, students will achieve a good knowledge of the cultural context in which the texts included in the programme were composed. They will be able to develop a coherent and detailed interpretation of the texts, apply key methods and concepts relevant to textual analysis, and provide a plausible critical interpretation in a register and style that serve the context and intention.

Program

The English stage from the well-made play to the Absurd, and beyond.

The module will deal with a selection of nineteenth and twentieth-century dramatic texts in order to offer an overview of the English stage from the late nineteenth century to the second half of the twentieth century. Starting from the tradition of the well-made play of Arthur Wing Pinero the module will then explore George Bernard’s Shaw comedy of ideas. The next step of the investigation will lead to William Butler Yeats’ symbolist theatrical experiment and will be carried on by looking at later twentieth-century theatre practices such as Arnold Wesker’s social drama as well as Samuel Beckett’s and Harold Pinter’s dramaturgy that deliberately abandons rational constructs and refuses the logical and consequential function of language.

Please be advised
Students are required to do all the readings indicated in the two sections below: 1. Primary Texts, 2. References
Further details on required readings and general information on bibliographical material will be provided during classes.
Language: lectures will be held in Italian; primary texts will be read in English.
Futher material will be available for download from the MOODLE e-repository.


BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Primary texts (any English or parallel edition)
- A.W. Pinero, The Second Mrs Tanqueray
- G.B. Shaw, Mrs Warren’s Profession
- W.B. Yeats, The Dreaming of the Bones (free download available at: https://archive.org/details/fourplaysfordanc00yeatuoft)
- S. Beckett, Krapp’s Last Tape
- A. Wesker, Chicken Soup with Barley
- H. Pinter, Old Times

2. References
- H. A. Wozniak, “The Play with a Past: Arthur Wing Pinero’s New Drama”, Victorian Literature and Culture, Vol. 37, No. 2 (2009), pp. 391-409 (available on Jstor – see MOODLE for instructions).
- K. Powell, “New Women, new plays, and Shaw in the 1890s”, in The Cambridge Companion to George Bernard Shaw, ed. by C. Innes, CUP, pp. 76-100.
- B. O’Donoghue, “Yeats and the drama”, in The Cambridge Companion to William Butler Yeats, CUP, 2006, pp. 101-114.
- P. Lawley, “Stages of identity: from Krapp’s Last Tape to Play”, in The Cambridge Companion to Samuel Beckett, ed. by J. Pilling, CUP, 1994, pp. 88-105.
- G. Leeming and S. Trussler, The Plays of Arnold Wesker. An Assessment, Victor Gollancz, 1971, pp. 43-87.
- A. Rayner, “Harold Pinter: Narrative and Presence”, Theatre Journal, Vol. 40, No. 4 (December 1988), pp. 482-497 (available on Jstor – see MOODLE for instructions).
- K. Elam, The Semiotics of Theatre and Drama, Routlegde, 2005, pp. 1-113.

Examination Methods

The exam will consist in an oral discussion (in Italian) that will test the knowledge of the module’s topics (texts and authors) as well as the use of an approriate vocabulary. Students may be required to read and comment on passages taken from primary texts (Bibliography: 1. Primary Texts).
There will be no mid-term tests.