Universität Wien

120113 SE Literary Seminar / BA-Arbeit / MA British/Irish/New English (2011S)

Comedy

11.00 ECTS (2.00 SWS), SPL 12 - Anglistik
Continuous assessment of course work

Registration/Deregistration

Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).

Details

max. 18 participants
Language: English

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

  • Thursday 10.03. 10:00 - 12:00 Raum 5 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-17
  • Thursday 17.03. 10:00 - 12:00 Raum 5 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-17
  • Thursday 24.03. 10:00 - 12:00 Raum 5 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-17
  • Thursday 31.03. 10:00 - 12:00 Raum 5 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-17
  • Thursday 07.04. 10:00 - 12:00 Raum 5 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-17
  • Thursday 14.04. 10:00 - 12:00 Raum 5 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-17
  • Thursday 05.05. 10:00 - 12:00 Raum 5 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-17
  • Thursday 12.05. 10:00 - 12:00 Raum 5 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-17
  • Thursday 19.05. 10:00 - 12:00 Raum 5 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-17
  • Thursday 26.05. 10:00 - 12:00 Raum 5 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-17
  • Thursday 09.06. 10:00 - 12:00 Raum 5 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-17
  • Thursday 16.06. 10:00 - 12:00 Raum 5 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-17
  • Thursday 30.06. 10:00 - 12:00 Raum 5 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-17

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

Comedy and tragedy are the twin sisters in Aristotle’s famous treatise on poetics, from which all subsequent technical definitions of these two basic genres of theatre and drama derive. In this course we will explore different varieties of comedy and the comic (romantic comedy, comedy of humours, comedy of manners, tragic-comedy, burlesque, farce, the absurd) as they have manifested themselves in what is generally known as English Literature.

The following plays are proposed for close scrutiny:

- William Shakespeare, "Twelfth Night" (1601)

- Richard Brinsley Sheridan, "The Critic" (1779)

- Oscar Wilde, "The Importance of Being Earnest" (1895)

- Samuel Beckett, "Waiting for Godot" (1952)

Assessment and permitted materials

Requirements for credit: regular attendance, active participation in class, PowerPoint presentation, research paper (20-25 pp.), written final test.

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

It is the aim of this course to make students familiar with the basic structural and thematic principles of comedy as a theatrical genre and introduce them to some of the classic examples in the English language.

Examination topics

Class discussion of plays and theoretical concepts, student presentations on selected topics.

NB: Students wishing to register early and ready to take on one of the topics for oral presentations indicated below are kindly asked to contact Prof. Huber via e-mail wern.huber@univie.ac.at ASAP.

Preliminary Course Outline (Early Registration):

March 10 General Introduction

(1) Comedy: Etymology, Definitions, Historical Survey

March 17 (2) Aristotle on Comedy

March 24 (3) Shakespearean Comedy

April 7 (4) Burlesque, Satire, Mock-Heroic, Parody

Reading list

Required reading (recommended editions): Shakespeare, "Twelfth Night" (Reclam UB 9838); Wilde, "Importance" (Reclam UB 9267); Beckett, "Godot" (Reclam UB 9214).

A customised anthology (including Sheridan’s "The Critic") will be available at StudienServiceStelle from 15 February onwards. Additional material will be provided on an e-learning platform. Therefore, students are asked to familiarise themselves in advance with the FRONTER platform. For introduction and self-guided tour, please see https://www.univie.ac.at/ZID/elearning-infos-studierende/

Association in the course directory

Studium: Diplom 343, UF 344, BA 612, MA 844;
Code/Modul: 322, 326/328, 336/338, 721-723, 821, BA12, MA4, MA7;
Lehrinhalt: 12-0216

Last modified: Mo 07.09.2020 15:33