ENGLISH 95
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SYLLABUS
THE DRAMA
This is a syllabus-in-progress. Eventually, this
syllabus will be expanded to produce a textbook in Drama and Dramatic Literature. Classic sample works and other drama masterpieces may or may not be
copyrighted. Related essays will be regularly added and updated after discussions of works in class, the viewing of plays, and the interchange of ideas in
forums. This site also develops links to other related sites. We hope this effort serves as a forum to enhance our study and interests in World Drama. |
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course description
This course introduces the drama. It traces the development of
Western drama in ancient Greece and Rome from drama’s origins in religious rituals, to those produced in Medieval times, to drama’s flourishing in the
Renaissance, its later developments in realistic/representational theater, and to its eclectic forms in the modern and post-modern periods. A
diachronic-synchronic study provides the student with the tools for analyzing drama both formally and within an historical and socio-cultural milieu. The
class will discuss representative plays from each period and country. The course will also present an overview of Philippine and Asian drama to allow the
student a comparative basis to distinguish among Asian, Western, and Philippine drama.
credits: 3 units
semester offered: 1st
prerequisites: English 1, 2, 3, 4
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objectives
course outline |
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At the end of the course, the students are expected to:
GENERAL OBJECTIVES
1. Understand the drama and its elements and qualities;
2. Distinguish between the dramaturgy of the West and
that of Asia and the Philippines;
3. Analyze and appreciate samples of significant works of drama from each period and country;
4. Develop cultural
sensitivity by getting acquainted with the historical and socio-cultural milieu of the east and the west;
5. Identify significant human values and
experiences relevant to national life and life in general; and,
6. Trace the process of creative production from origins in dramatic literature
transformed to a live performance.
SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES
1. Define drama and discuss it according to its formal qualities as plot, character, conflict, theme, language, mood,
etc.;
2. Familiarize themselves with the original and popular dramatic forms of the west and of the east including the Philippines;
3. Differentiate staging or production of dramatic plays of the west from that of the east and the Philippines;
4. Evaluate dramatic plays using the
diachronic-synchronic approach;
5. Appreciate not only foreign dramatic works, but also and more importantly, those by Filipino playwrights;
6.
Sustain the preservation and promotion of Filipino culture, traditions, attitudes and beliefs, despite the influx of foreign influences;
7.
Empathize with the characters/actors in the dramatic plays being studied;
8. Dramatize, illustrate, and draw important scenes, insights and
impressions;
9. Relate dramatic literature with the human condition in the age and country from where it originate;
10. Associate their experiences
with the experiences imprinted by the dramatic works of different countries including their own country;
11. Widen their understanding of life as
exhibited in the various creative expressions of each period and country;
12. Identify significant dramatic periods in their attempt to trace the
development of drama in the west, the east, and the Philippines; and,
13. View films, stage plays, or any of the performing arts or a musicale.
TOPICS
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TIME ALLOTTED
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I. Introduction
A. The Drama:
Elements and Qualities
The creative process: from literature to performance
B.
Survey: origins in rituals
C.
Notes on staging: presentational vs. representational
D.
Approaches to the analyses of plays |
Week 1 |
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II. Periods of Western Drama
A. Classical Tragedy and Comedy
Background: Dionysian festivity
The Athenian milieu
Tragedy: conventions and staging
Aeschylus, Sophocles, and
Euripides
Comedy: conventions and staging
Aristophanes
Readings and references:
Greek Tragedy
Review of “Oedipus Tyrranus” by Sophocles
Aristotle’s “Poetics”
“Medea” by Euripedes
“Lysistrata” by Aristophanes
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Weeks 2-3 |
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B.
Medieval Drama
Brief historical and social background
Morality, Miracles, and Mystery Plays
Significant French dramatists: Mercade, Greban, Michel
Dramaturgy: characteristics and production
Development: church liturgy to
dramatizations
The Commedia dell Arte
Readings:
“EveryMan”
[optional] “The Second Shepherd’s Play”
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Week 4 |
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C.
European Renaissance
The period and its influences
Factors that developed this period
1.
Elizabethan theater:
period and historical background
Dramaturgy and production
Shakespeare, Marlowe, and Johnson
Readings:
“King Lear” by William Shakespeare
Suggested movies:
“Shakespeare in Love”
Al Pacino’s “Looking for Richard”
Franco Zefferelli’s “Romeo and Juliet”
‘Hamlet” (with Mel Gibson)
2.
Spain’s Siglo de Oro
The Period: historical background, social conventions
Dramaturgy and production
Notable dramatists:
Lope de Vega, Lope Rueda, Pedro Calderon, Tirso de
Molina
Readings:
One auto sacramentales
“Life is a Dream” by Pedro Calderon de la Barca
3.
Italian Drama [optional]
The Period: historical developments
Dramaturgy [notable contributions: Opera and
Commedia dell Arte)
Golgonni and Gozzi
Reading:
“Mandragola” by Niccolo Machiavelli
4.
French Neo-Classicism
The period: historical background
Dramaturgy and production: conventions of
Neo-Classicism
Corneille, Moliere and Racine
Reading:
“The Miser” by Moliere
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Week 5-7
Week 8-9
Week 10
Week 11-12
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D.
Romanticism
The Period: background and historical development
The French influence
German Storm and Stress
Period
Goethe and Schiller
Reading:
“Faust” by Goethe
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Week 13 |
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E.
Modern Drama
Milieu:
The Industrial Revolution
Dialectics, Science and other isms
1. Realism and Naturalism: qualities and philosophy
dramaturgy: Craig and Belasco
Notable Dramatists and Thinkers: Henrik Ibsen, August Strinberg, Bernard Shaw, Emile Zola, Anton Chekov, Konstantin Stanislavsky
2. Revolts Against Realism
Period of Eclecticism: study of the modern period
Forms; expressionism, epic theater, theater of the absurd, theater of cruelty, constructivism, minimalism, worker’s
theater, etc.
Dramatist-philosophers: Bertolt Brecht, Erwin Piscator, Meyerhold, Antonin Artaud, Samuel Beckett, Eugene Ionesco, etc. Readings:
“Ghosts” by Henrik Ibsen
“Miss Julie” by August Strinberg
“The Caucasian Chalk Circle” by B. Brecht
“The Blood Wedding” by Federico Garcia Lorca
“The Glass Menagerie” by Tennessee Williams
others as may be required
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Week 14-16
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III. Philippine Theater
Qualifying Philippine Theater
History:
1.
rituals and pre-Western dramatizations
2.
Spanish Colonial Theater: senakulo, comedia, moro-moro,
and zarzuela
3.
Drama during the American Colonial Period: the “seditious” plays, “drama,” vaudeville, and zarzuela
4.
Contemporary Drama: university-based theater and the Filipino play in English: W. Ma. Guerrero and Severino
Montano
Towards a National theater: social and psychological realism, nationalist theater,
translations of classics, other experiments: folk theater, expressionism, dance theater, and other forms.
Contemporary Dramaturgy
Readings:
“What is Philippine Theater” by Nicanor Tiongson
a Philippine theater history article by Doreen Fernandez
“Paglilitis Kay Mang Serapio” by Paul Dumol
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Week 17-18 |
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INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS
video tapes
internet
sample critical reports of plays
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
First Prelim and Midterm exam
Final paper (about a Filipino playwright, dramatist, or a body of related dramatic works)
Reports
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Grading System
1st Prelims and Midterms: 50%
(2 major
exams)
Class participation: 20%
Final Paper: 30%
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References
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Most of the reference materials and plays are
standard readings easily found in any 'library. However, for accessibility to the works, the professor will
produce these as hard copies and will be published in the College Web pages. The professor too has a modest collection of books and reference materials.
contact him: ipag@msuiit.edu.ph
the IPAG WEB:
www.msuiit.edu.ph/ipag
SUPPLEMENTARY READINGS:
(as of November 7, updating continuous)
Allen, John. Masters of European Drama. New York: The Citadel Press
Bain, Carl E. The Norton Introduction to Literature. Drama. USA: W.W. Norton and Company Inc.
Barnet, Sylvan, Berman Morton, and William Burto. Eight Great Tragedies. New York: The New American Library, Inc.
Bentley, Eric. Parables of the theater: Two Plays by Bertolt Brecht. London: Oxford University Press.
___ed. The Theory of the Modern Stage. New York: Penguin Books, Ltd.
Berkowitz, Luci and Theodore F. Bunner, eds., and trans. Oedipus Tyrranus. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, Inc.
Brooks, Cleanth and Robert B. Heidman. Understanding Drama. New York: Hart, Rhinehart, and Winston.
Cultural Center of the Philippines, Encyclopedia of Philippine Art. (10 vols.) 1994.
Ibsen, Henrik. Three Plays by Ibsen. New York: Dell Publishing Co., Inc.
Kernodle, George R. Invitation to the Theater. New York: Penguin Books, Ltd.
Kittredge, George L. The Complete Works of Shakespeare. New York: Grolier, Inc.
Rolf, Robert T. and John K. Gillespie. Alternative Japanese Drama. University of Hawaii Press, 1992.
Shaw, Bernard. Four Plays by Bernard Shaw. New York: Washington Square Press.
The World Book Encyclopedia, vol. 6, 6th ed., "The Golden Age of Spanish Drama." USA: World Book, Inc., 1988.
Tomeldan, Y.V., T.E. Arambulo, et. al. Prism: An Introduction to Literature. Manila: National Book Store, Inc., 1986.
INTERNET RESOURCES: (updating continuing)
www.ncca.gov.ph
National Commission for Culture and the Arts. This site has essays on general information on Philippine Arts written by specialists. |
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copyright statement
Essays and portions of this site are owned by the
author/s. They are to be used for instruction only. Anyone wishing to use this for other purposes should notify the author/s
in writing. Email the author. Opinions expressed in these works are those of the author/s and do not reflect that of the Institute or the College.
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