EN3PTM: The Political Body Staged: Thomas Middleton's Theatre (eve)

Module Provider:

English

Number of credits:

20 [10 ECTS credits]

Level:

H (Honours)

Terms in which taught:

Autumn

Module Convenor:

Dr MPV Hutchings

Pre-requisites:

English Part 1

Co-requisites:

Modules excluded:

Module version for:

2007/8

Aims:
This module offers students an opportunity to study in detail a variety of plays by a dramatist increasingly recognised as one of the most important of the early modern period. This module is designed to provide students with knowledge and understanding of the Middleton’s dramatic output and of the varied kinds of drama staged during the reign of James I. It aims to develop critical awareness of issues surrounding the way drama operated in the period and the ways in which directors, critics, and scholars have treated Middleton’s plays since the seventeenth century.

Assessable learning outcomes:
By the end of the module students will be expected to:
• show skills in close textual analysis
• demonstrate an ability to think of drama as performance
• show an awareness of broader theoretical issues generated by the texts
• engage critically with ideas discussed in seminars
• construct and express coherent arguments, both orally and in writing.

Additional outcomes:
Students will be encouraged to develop skills of oral communication and effective participation in group work. They will also enhance their IT competence through the use of relevant web resources and databases and the word-processing of assessed work.

Outline content:
The module examines a number of plays written by (or in collaboration with) Thomas Middleton, and focuses on three, overlapping genres: city comedy, tragedy, and political drama. His witty city comedies and cutting court satire reveal a political dramatist who sailed close to the wind on several occasions, and whose A Game at Chess ran for an unprecedented nine consecutive days before being banned by the authorities. Several city comedies from the first decade of James’ reign, A Trick to Catch the Old One, Michaelmas Term, A Mad World, My Masters, and The Roaring Girl (with Thomas Dekker) offer illuminating portraits of contemporary London. Middleton’s skill in court satire is evident in The Witch, and also in his three masterpieces, The Revenger’s Tragedy, Women Beware Women, and The Changeling (with William Rowley). The plays will be read alongside recent criticism and theory, and augmented by dvd/video resources, such as Alex Cox’s 2003 film Revengers Tragedy.

Brief description of teaching and learning methods:
Students will receive preliminary information about the modules they will be taking in the preceding term. There will be 9 meetings of two hours per week. The exact method of teaching will vary from seminar to seminar, but most modules are taught largely through two-hour seminars involving group discussion. Some modules may include occasional lectures. You may be asked to give brief seminar papers or oral reports. You are entitled to half an hour of tutorial feedback on your non-assessed essay.

Contact hours:

Assessment:
Coursework
You will be asked to write one non-assessed piece of coursework of 1,500 words and to submit one or two assessed pieces of coursework up to a maximum of 2,500 words.

Examinations
There will be a two-hour examination paper.

Each component will account for 50% of the mark of the module.

Penalties for late submissions
Ten marks (out of 100 on the normal University scale) will be deducted from a piece of work submitted up to one calendar week after the original deadline or any formally agreed extension of that deadline. Once this period has elapsed, a mark of zero will be recorded.

Requirement for a pass
An average of 40%.

Reassessment arrangements
Re-examination in September. Coursework will be carried forward if it bears a confirmed mark of 40% or more. Otherwise it must be resubmitted by 1 September.