English 114B

Book List

Congreve, William: The Way of the World; Dryden, John: All for Love; Dryden, John: Essay on Dramatic Poesy; Fletcher, John: The Island Princess; Jonson, Ben: Bartholomew Fair; Jonson, Ben: Masques of Difference; Marston, John: The Dutch Courtesan; Middleton and Dekker: The Roaring Girl; Middleton and Rowley: The Changeling; Milton, John: Samson Agonistes; Shakespeare, William: Antony and Cleopatra; Webster, John: The White Devil; Wycherley, William: The Country Wife

Other Readings and Media

Performance video of Antony and Cleopatra, The Changeling, and The Country Wife.

Description

Reaching across the upheavals of the seventeenth century, this class studies the triumphant age of drama after Shakespeare, the Jacobean period; the reactions against the drama that led to the closing of London's theaters during the English Civil War and the Commonwealth; and the renewal of drama in the Restoration of the monarchy. We'll consider the relations between staged action and the chaotic urban environment of London; the growth of consumer culture, international trade, and global consciousness; the defiant frivolity of wit; the transgression of gender; and the darker delights of... revenge.

This course satisfies the pre-1800 requirement for the English major. It does not fulfill the Shakespeare requirement. Experience with Shakespeare at the college level (either before this class or alongside it) will be very useful to students, but it's not a prerequisite.