English Drama 1660 to Present (Summer 2000)
ENGL 4344-2015, 5344-2017
Daily 9:40-11:10
Irby 304
Dr. Frontain
Office: Irby 421
Office Hours: 9-9:40 daily
Office Phone: 450-5122 (no voice mail)
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TEXTBOOKS
Scott McMillin, ed., Restoration and Eighteenth-Century Comedy, 2nd
ed. (Norton, 1997)
John Gay, The Beggar's Opera, ed. Loughrey and Treadwell (Penguin,
1986)
Oscar Wilde, "The Importance of Being Earnest" and Other Plays
(Penguin, 1986)
Warren Smith, ed., Bernard Shaw's Plays (Norton, 1970)
Samuel Beckett, Waiting for Godot (Grove, 1982)
Harold Pinter, The Homecoming (Grove, 1965)
Tom Stoppard, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (Grove, 1967)
Joe Orton, The Complete Plays (Grove, 1976)
Peter Shaffer, Equus (Penguin, 1977)
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SCHEDULE OF MEETINGS AND ASSIGNMENTS
M 12 June Gay, Beggar's Opera (pp. 7-67)
T 13 June
"
(pp. 68-122)
W 14 June Sherican, School for Scandal (Acts 1-2)
R 15 June
"
(Acts 4-5)
F 16 June MIDTERM EXAMINATION
M 19 June Wilde, Importance of Being Earnest (Acts 1-2)
T 20
June
"
(Act 3)
W 21 June Shaw, Major Barbara (Acts 1-2)
R 22 June
"
(Act 3)
F 23 June Beckett, Waiting for Godot (Act 1)
M 26 June
"
(Act 2)
T 27 June Pinter, Homecoming (Act 1)
W 28 June
"
Act 2)
R 29 June Stoppard, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern (Acts 1-2)
F 30 June
"
(Act 3)
M 3 July Orton, Entertaining Mr. Sloane (Acts 1-2)
T 4 July INDEPENDENCE DAY HOLIDAY
W 5 July Orton, Entertaining Mr. Sloane (Act 3)
GRADUATE STUDENTS' PAPERS DUE IN CLASS
R 6 July Shaffer, Equus
F 7 July FINAL EXAMINATION
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COURSE POLICIES AND REQUIREMENTS
1. A summer term moves very quickly, which allows students to study concentratedly and enjoy intensely a topic like modern English drama, but makes it deadly for one to fall behind in the reading. Daily reading quizzes will be administered at the start of each day's class, both to encourage students to stay on top of the reading assignments, and to stimulate that day's discussion. One out of every 10 quizzes may be dropped in computing one's average at the end of term, so it is clearly to a student's disadvantage to miss more than two classes. There are no make-up quizzes or exams.
2. Arrive on time, be prepared to contribute to discussion, and plan to stay the entire period. Do not schedule doctor's appointments or work commitments during class time; do not distract your colleagues by entering late or leaving early. To be counted present, one must be in class, engaged, and alert the entire 90 minutes. After a third absence, one may be dropped for non-attendance.
3. Graduate students will have the additional requirement of a 10-page typewritten paper examining any aspect of any play in any of the textbooks not assigned for class. The paper, employing MLA documentation format, is due in class on July 5. Students should plan to stop by the instructor's office and discuss possible paper topics as early in the term as possible.
4. The final grade will be computed as follows: for undergraduates, midterm exam (25%), final exam (35%), and quiz average (40%); and for graduate students, midterm exam (20%), final exam (30%),paper (25%), and quiz average (25%). A penalty for excessive absence may be levied on the final average.
5. The purpose of theater, says Peter Shaffer's Lettice, is to enlargen, enliven, and enlighten. The instructor intends thoroughly to enjoy himself this summer. Thus, if at term's end you do not feel enlargened, enlivened, and enlightened, it will not be for want of his trying, but because you have perversely resisted enlightenment and blockaded yourself in a pinched and shrunken soul. Drama can redeem you for the human community, if you let it. Let it.