English 153 - Spring, 2014

Topics in Drama

Topic: Comedy: Theory & Practice

Class Information

Instructor: Shershow, Scott
CRN: 42908
Time: MWF 11:00-11:50
Location: 25 Wellman

Description

In this course we will be trying to think about comedy in at least three ways: as one of the fundamental genres of classical drama, as a vital instance of contemporary performance, and as a crucial category of literary theory and philosophy. We’ll read a very wide assortment of texts from both the theory and practice of theatrical comedy, beginning with a few outstanding examples from early-modern comic plays (Ben Jonson, Moliere, and others), continuing to more recent examples of modern or “postmodern” theater (Wilde, Shaw, Joe Orton, Caryl Churchill), and concluding by trying to study seriously the contemporary phenomenon of “stand-up” comedy.

Along the way we’ll also study a wide assortment of theoretical texts, including George Meredith’s “On the Comic Spirit” and Henri Bergson’s Laughter.

(Students who took my ENL 43, “Introduction to Drama,” in Fall 2013 are welcome to enroll in this course, which will read more widely in one or two of the same writers, but will not otherwise overlap.)

Grading

• Extensive reading
• Active participation in class discussion
• One short paper
• One longer research paper
• Final examination

Texts

Other course readings on electronic reserve.
Volpone, Ben Jonson (New Mermaid)
The Misanthrope and Tartuffe, Moliere, translated Richard Wilber
The Country Wife, William Wycherley (New Mermaid)
Cloud Nine, Caryl Churchill
Comedy, Wylie Sypher, editor