123020 VO Literature Survey 1 (2023W)

This course starts with a brief survey of the historical and cultural contexts of Renaissance English literature, followed by the discussion of the four major genres of prose fiction, epic, poetry, and drama. The latter's development will be traced from its medieval origins to the closing of the theatres in 1642, with a focus on plays by Marlowe and Shakespeare. Playhouses, performing conditions, acting companies and audiences in Elizabethan and Jacobean London will also be looked at in this context.
Aims: being familiar with Renaissance literary genres, in particular Shakespearean drama, and with the early modern stage; being able to analyse early modern literary texts
Methods: lecture, eLearning, audio-presentation of poems, film clips, interactive analysis of individual texts