English
418
Renaissance
Drama:
The Theatre of Evil
and Revenge:
Witches and Warlocks
meet Christians and
Jews, with Some
Incest Thrown In For
Good Measure
Dr.
Michael Bryson
Sierra Tower
832
818-677-5695
michael.bryson@csun.edu
COURSE
DESCRIPTION:
With prayers
offered to the
Devil in search of
power, power used
to take revenge on
the wicked (or
simply eliminate
the inconvenient),
pious hypocrites
who speak of mercy
while offering
none, and lovers
who, though they
can't keep it in
their pants, do
keep it in the
family, the drama
of the Elizabethan
and Jacobean
stages told
stories that
Hollywood can only
dream of getting
away with telling
today. Don't read
these plays if you
are easily
offended—the
characters you
will meet don't
care about your
modern
sensibilities...but
if you are not
easily offended,
we will read a
total of fourteen
plays by
Shakespeare and
his contemporaries
Marlowe, Johnson,
Ford, Marston,
Middleton, and
Cary which explore
the darker sides
of human nature
through characters
who do what--and
often whom--they
want, no matter
the costs.
EVALUATION
METHOD:
Midterm and Final
essays responses
based on questions
I will provide. No
research
necessary, but
close engagement
with the texts
will be required.
READING
LIST: Selected
plays from
English
Renaissance Drama,
Three Jacobean
Witchcraft Plays,
and any collected
volume of
Shakespeare (I
favor the Pelican,
but any will do).
Statement
on Academic
Dishonesty:
Plagiarism is
a serious
offense that
will be
treated
seriously.
Please read
the CSUN
policy
here.
Weekly
Preview
Week 1 (8/27):
Introductions: The
Apostles of the
Will--Faustus, Iago,
Edmund, Salome, Lady
Macbeth
Plays of
Revenge
Week 2 (9/3): Thomas
Kyd,
The Spanish Tragedy
Week 3 (9/10):
William Shakespeare,
Hamlet
Week 4 (9/17):
Thomas Middleton,
The Revenger's
Tragedy
Week 5 (9/24): John
Marston,
The Malcontent
Plays of
Jealousy
Week 6 (10/1):
William Shakespeare,
Othello
Week 7 (10/8):
Elizabeth Cary,
The Tragedy of
Mariam
Midterm
assigned 10/8, due
in class on 10/22
Plays of
Witchcraft and the
Devil
Week 8 (10/15):
Christopher Marlowe,
Doctor Faustus
Week 9 (10/22): John
Marston,
The Wonder of Women,
or The Tragedy of
Sophonisba
Week 10 (10/29):
William Shakespeare,
Macbeth
Plays of
Anti-Semitism,
Greed, and Incest
Week 11 (11/5):
Christopher Marlowe,
The Jew of Malta
Week 12 (11/12):
William Shakespeare,
The Merchant of
Venice
Week 13 (11/19): Ben
Johnson,
Volpone
Week 14 (11/26):
Thomas Middleton,
Women Beware Women
Week 15 (12/3): John
Ford,
'Tis Pity She's a
Whore
Final
due by 11:59:59 PM
on 12/17 by email—
no physical
submissions of
finals.
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