ENGLISH 537/Section 41

Restoration and Eighteenth-Century Drama

Fall, 2001

R.H. Passon

Course Description (from graduate catalog)

                An examination of the major developments in comedy, tragedy, and experimental dramatic forms on the English public stage between 1660 and approximately 1775.  The reading list will include works by Wycherly, Etherege, Behn, Dryden, Otway, Congreve, Rowe, Addison, Steele, Gay, Lillo, Fielding, Sheridan, Goldsmith, and others.

Objectives

1.        The student should have read, with care and understanding, representative works of the major dramatists of the Restoration and Eighteenth Century in England.

2.        The student should be able to give an account of the history of English drama in the Restoration and Eighteenth Century, and to place the following playwrights in that account: Wycherly, Etherege, Behn, Dryden, Otway, Congreve, Rowe, Addison, Steele, Gay, Lillo, Fielding, Sheridan,  and Goldsmith .

3.        The student should be able to identify and explain major events of English history and major literary and social issues relevant to the development of drama in the Restoration and Eighteenth Century.

4.        The student should be able to demonstrate her/his familiarity with the bibliographic tools and resources appropriate to the study of drama in Restoration and Eighteenth Century England and of the dramatists cited above, and to apply these tools and resources to literary research.

5.        The student should be able to demonstrate her/his capacity to develop critical analyses of drama from Restoration and Eighteenth Century England in the context of established critical approaches.

6.        The student should be able to recognize, identify, and use accurately literary terms and concepts applicable to English drama of the Restoration and Eighteenth Century, and to understand and apply appropriate literary conventions.

7.        The student should be able to express (orally and in writing) insights which relate  her/his readings of plays of the Augustan period to fundamental questions of human behavior and value, and to contemporary thought.

WORK OF THE COURSE

1.0                Summary

1.0                Read and discuss plays and criticism – 20%

1.1                Develop bibliography on dramatist –10%

1.2                Give oral report on dramatist—15%

1.3                Write research paper—30%

1.4                Complete two hour final—25%

Total -----100%

2.0                Reading

The minimum required reading for the course includes all of the material listed on the schedule of class meetings, and other material which will be identified as the course progresses.  I will conduct classes with the expectation that the plays we are to consider have been read prior to the dates listed on the schedule.  I will expect students to take an active part in class discussions of these plays.  This work constitutes 20% of the grade for the course.

3.0                Bibliography

Each student is to develop a complete bibliography on one of the dramatists of the Restoration and Eighteenth-Century, from the list outlined below.  I will discuss the details of this assignment, which is due to be completed on [date] in class. These dramatists will also be the subject for the oral report and research  paper, noted below.

Dramatists for Assignments

• Aphra Behn
• John Gay
• William Congreve
• Henry Fielding
• Richard Steele
• Richard Cumberland
• Nicholas Rowe

4.0                Oral Report

Each student will prepare and deliver in class a brief oral report (20-25 minutes) on the life and works of one of the playwrights of the period (the same dramatist chosen for the bibliography assignment.  The dates for the reports will be assigned after the choices of poets for assignments have been made.

5.0                Research Paper

Each student is expected to write a research paper (about 10 to 15 double-spaced typed pages) which develops an original critical or historical thesis concerning one of the plays of the dramatist chosen for the other assignments.  Thesis statements are to be submitted for my review on or before [date].  Research papers are due on [date] .

6.0                Final

There will be a two hour, comprehensive final examination on December .  The final exam will count 25% toward the final grade for the course.

7.0                Some Ground Rules

7.0                All students will be expected to attend all classes, since classes meet only once a week.

7.1                All assignments are to completed and turned in by the date assigned.

7.2                I expect everyone to be an active participant in class discussions.

7.3                I will be available in the classroom for 15 minutes before and after each class.   You can also arrange to see me at other times by stopping at my office during the hours posted.  My office is room 402, Brennan Hall.   If those hours are for some reason not convenient, please call for an appointment.  My office extension is 4327. You can also reach me via e-mail.  My e-mail address is passonr1@scranton.edu.

Schedule of Class Meetings

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Text: Nettleton, George H. and Case, Arthur E. (Rev. George Winchester Stone).
British Dramatists from Dryden to Sheridan.  Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1969.