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Introduction to Drama

Home/ Introduction To Drama
Course Type Course Code No. Of Credits
Discipline Core NSUS1EN306 4

Course Coordinator and Team:                   SES Faculty

Email of course coordinator:                       pcbabed@aud.ac.in 

Pre-requisites: No

Course Description:

Drama is one of the oldest and most dynamic of literary genres.Drama finds its place not just in literary studies but performance studies as well. The oldest dramatic traditions are found in Sanskrit, Greek and Roman literatures and have origins in religious beliefs, rituals and festivals. The present course introduces students to drama written in various linguistic and theatrical traditions cutting across space and time. It will familiarize students with some significant Indian, Greek, British and Norwegian traditions of dramatic writing.

Course Objectives:

The course aims to engage students of English literature with the literary genre called drama written in various languages and traditions from ancient to modern times. By the end of the course students would have familiarised themselves with various traditions of drama literature through various modes and styles of dramatic expression. They would also be able to analyse drama more critically and creatively.

Course Outcomes:

  • Develop critical thinking and writing skills
  • Identify drama and dramatic techniques
  • Identify elements, nature and function of drama
  • Read drama closely with attention to nuances of language, form and content
  • Synthesising ideas discussed in class with their reading of dramatic texts
  • Gain confidence in public speaking by participating in class discussions.

Brief description of the modules:

Module 1: Introduction

The module shall commence with the origins of drama moving on to the basic aspects of drama. Students shall be familiarised with dramatic concepts like imitation/mimesis, character, plot, action, dialogue, and setting. The module shall then introduce students to dramatic forms like tragedy, comedy, tragic-comedy, farce, pantomime, etc., and acquaint them with select modern movements in drama that changed the conventions of theatre.

Module 2: Classical Indian Drama

This module is intended to introduce students to one of the oldest forms of dramatic expression in the world: Classical Indian Drama. Students will learn about the historical, cultural, dramatic and performative aspects of Sanskrit drama and theatre.

Play: Kalidasa's “Abhijnansakuntalam”

Module 3: The Greek Tragedy

The third module shall introduce students to the Greek understanding of drama. While students shall be familiarised with various forms of Greek drama, the module's primary focus shall be on the Greek tragedy. They shall be acquainted with the theory of Greek tragedy through Aristotle's Poetics.

Play: Sophocles. "Oedipus the King". The Theban Plays, tr. Ruth Fainlight and Robert J. Littman. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2009.

Module 4: Shakespeare

Play: Shakespeare, William. A Midsummer Night's Dream. Ed. Barbara A Mowat and Paul

Werstine. NY: Simon and Schuster, 2016.

Module 5: Modern Drama

Late 19 century Europe and the realist movement and critiques of modern society.

Play: Ibsen, Henrik. "A Doll's House". A Doll's House and Other Plays, tr. Deborah Dawkin and

Erik Skuggevik. Penguin, 2016.

Assessment Plan

S. No

Assessment

Weightage

1

Mid-Semester Exam

50%

2

End-Semester Exam

50%

Readings:

  • Hemmer, Bjorn. "Ibsen and the Realistic Problem Drama". The Cambridge Companion to Ibsen. Ed. James McFarlane. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1994
  • Wattis, Nigel (prod. & dir.) Henrik Ibsen: The Master Playwright (Documentary, 1988)
  • Abrams, M.H. and Geoffrey Galt Harpham. A Glossary of Literary Termsx. 10th edn.
  • Boulton, Marjorie. "Literature that Walks". The Anatomy of Drama. Oxon: Routledge, 1980 (1960).
  • Brecht, Bertolt. "Theatre for Pleasure or Theatre for Instruction", in Brecht on Theatre: The Development of an Aesthetic, ed. and tr. John Willet (London: Methuen, 1992
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