English 303: A History of Drama Part I: Early Stages is a senior-level, three-credit university course that traces the history of Western theatre from its Greek origins to the beginning of the eighteenth century in England, with specific reference to plays in a core anthology, The Harcourt Brace Anthology of Drama. Before beginning your study, please read this Student Manual carefully. It provides important information on course content, procedures, and evaluation.
English 303 provides an analysis of individual plays as theatre and as literature, and includes brief background notes on the authors and on the significance of the plays in the context of Western theatre. It traces the common elements of drama from ritualistic and ceremonial dance and song, through the liturgical drama of the Middle Ages, the chronicles of the English Renaissance, French neoclassical comedy and tragedy, and the social comedy of the Restoration. It is also shows the development of the theatre as a physical structure, from the early Greek open-air amphitheatres to the modified tennis courts in London, investigating the relationship of the physical theatre and the structure and style of the drama.
English 303 comprises three units or “Acts”:
Act I—The Golden Age: Tragedy and Comedy in Athens
Act II—Medieval Roots and Renaissance Flowerings: Mysteries and Moralities, Tragedy and Tragicomedy
Act III—Sentiment and Wit: Seventeenth and Eighteenth Century Comedy and Tragedy
Each unit begins with a historical and social background and a discussion of pertinent dramatic forms and styles, followed by an analysis of four or five plays. These analyses or commentaries provide only an introduction to the possibilities in the plays, and are not intended as a definitive study. Comparisons are made between plays and between “Acts,” and it is assumed that you have read the material in the order in which it is presented.
Each unit contains Objectives, Reading Assignments, Study Questions, Commentaries, Self-test Review, References and a Supplementary Materials List. For details, see the “Study Guide” section of this manual.
