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ENGL 379: Ceremony in Shakespeare

Course Convenor: Prof Alison Findlay

Seminar Time and Venue: Wednesday 9am – 11am, Bowland North SR13 (Term 2)

Course Aims and Objectives:
Ceremonies are means by which human beings structure their lives: from everyday encounters, greetings and partings right the way through to life-changing moments such as birth, betrothal, marriage and death and as community and nation-building activities. Starting with a consideration of ceremonies performed in Britain over the past year, from handshakes to Diamond Jubilee celebrations, Olympic parades etc. we will look at how ceremony and performance are intimately connected in the drama of Shakespeare and his contemporaries. The module studies a selection of plays and shows from 1598-1633 as performance texts using discussions and workshops. How do ceremonies in Renaissance drama help to shape human experiences of desire and violence? How are they used to manage human emotions, the operations of power, the maintenance or subversion of order? We will address these questions via discussion and short practical drama exercises. No previous experience of (or expertise in) acting is necessary but you will be required to think in terms of performance.

Assessment:
Presentation* with written record (1,000 words, 45%) and essay (2,500 words, 55%).

*Presentation: In small groups (normally two or three), students will stage an extract from one of the plays studied on the course as a mini ‘performance’. It is important to remember that you are being assessed primarily as interpreters/investigators of the text rather than for your acting ability. The presentation will normally last no longer than 10 minutes, and it will be followed by an additional 5-10 minutes of discussion, including questions from the tutor and seminar group. The presentation will be accompanied by an individually-written record from each student. This will take the form of an extended prompt-book, giving details of the interpretation of the extract and its links to other parts of the play.

Submission Deadlines:
Presentation: by agreement with tutor.
Essay: 12pm (noon), Monday Week 1, Term 3

Contact:
1 x 2 hour seminar per week for 10 weeks (excluding independent study week).

Set Texts:
Thomas Campion, Coelum Brittanicum (text available on Early English Books Online (via Metalib) and on Moodle)  
Thomas Dekker, The Shoemakers Holiday, any good single edition, e.g. ed. R. Smallwood and S. Wells, Revels Plays (1999) or ed.  Jonathan Gil Harris, New Mermaids (London: A &C Black, 2008)
John Ford, Tis Pity She's A Whore, ed. Brian Morris, New Mermaids (London: A &C Black, 1979) or ed. Martin Wiggins, New Mermaids (2003)
Christopher Marlowe, Doctor Faustus – there are 2 versions. Any good edition of the A text e.g.  ed. Roma Gill and Ros King, New Mermaids (London: A &C Black, 2008)
Anthony Munday, The Triumphs of Re-United Britannia (1605) (text available on Early English Books Online and on Moodle)
Thomas Middleton, A Chaste Maid in Cheapside, ed. Alan Brissenden, New Mermaids (London, A & C Black, 2002)
William Shakespeare, Macbeth, ed. John Wilders, Shakespeare in Production (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004)
Lady Mary Wroth, Love’s Victory (1614-17), text on Moodle.

Seminar Topics:

Week 1: Introduction ‘O Ceremony, show me but thy worth!’ (Henry V 4.1.244)
Ritual, Ceremony, and Performance 1599 and 2012 (Theories of ritual, ceremony and performance on Moodle including extract from Act 1 Scene 2 of William Shakespeare, Henry V.
Supplementary reading: William Shakespeare, Henry V, ed. Emma Smith, Shakespeare in Production (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002)

Week 2: Tragedy and subversive ritual Christopher Marlowe, Doctor Faustus -A Text testing the theories of van Gennep, Turner, Schechner, and Rene Girard, Georges Bataille in practice

Week 3: Ceremony and National Community The Lord Mayors' Show, Anthony Munday, The Triumphs of Re-United Britannia (1605), and court masque Thomas Campion, Coelum Brittanicum (texts available on MOODLE) 

Week 4: Carnival, Festivity and Civic Ceremony Thomas Dekker, The Shoemaker’s Holiday, Bakhtinand pancakes

Week 5: Comedy and Rituals of City Life Thomas Middleton, A Chaste Maid in Cheapside with reference to work by Victor Turner, Richard Schechner, Robin Scheff (on MOODLE)

Week 6: Group Presentation and Essay consultations

Week 7: Witchcraft, royalty and ceremony William Shakespeare, Macbeth, ed. John Wilders, Shakespeare in Production (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004). The subversion of royal ceremony, authority and hospitality in William Shakespeare’s Macbeth (1606), with reference to performance history and filmed versions by Zefferelli, Kurosawa, BBC Shakespeare Retold (2004)

Week 8: Pastoral courtship, ceremony and tragicomedy Lady Mary Wroth, Love’s Victory (1614-17), text on Moodle. In contrast to Middleton’s play, how do the micro-ceremonies of courtship and the more formal rituals of wedding and mourning work differently in a country house performance or when authored by a female playwright?

Week 9: Dark ceremonies precursors of the gothic in John Ford, ‘Tis Pity She's A Whore
How the ceremonies of courtship, marriage and festive community are turned into macabre moments of pollution and sacrifice.

Week 10: Performance and the Ceremony of Assessment
Group Presentations, conclusions and course review

Back to: ENGL 378

Forward to: ENGL 380

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