Class Description
Of the thousands of plays written during the Elizabethan era, some 600 still exist in some form today, but only 37 (depending on who's counting) were written by Shakespeare. That works out to just six percent of the total; yet for most people, Shakespeare is perhaps the only playwright from that period they have ever encountered. The result is that the glory of the Elizabethan/Jacobean stage is both unknown and underappreciated. All of its playwrights worked within confines of fixed performance conditions, a rigid dramatic structure and commonly shared themes yet managed to create a host of masterpieces.
In this class, we will read Shakespeare's contemporaries to deepen our appreciation of Shakespeare's works and to read some truly exciting works of dramatic genius. For each class meeting, participants will read one play, which we will dissect for its thematic content, its dramatic structure, its characterizations, and how it obeys or violates the conventions of the Elizabethan/Jacobean stage. These will likely include: Christopher Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus; John Webster’s The White Devil; Cyril Tourneur’s The Revenger's Tragedy; Thomas Middleton’s The Changeling; Thomas Heywood’s A Woman Killed With Kindness; John Ford’s ‘Tis Pity She's a Whore; and William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. The latter is on the list for a simple reason—having traversed the work of Shakespeare's contemporaries, participants will now see with greater clarity how Shakespeare borrowed, copied—dare we say stole?—from his fellow writers to create his own unique dramas.
Bruce Hatton Boyer combines years of experience as a professional actor and stage director, a PhD in English dramatic literature, and his twenty-plus years as a college professor to bring the Elizabethan/Jacobean stage vividly to life.
What to Expect
Format: In Person
Class Capacity: 18
Class Style: Mostly discussion; participation-based
Materials List
Required
- Gamini Salgado, ed., Three Jacobean Tragedies: The White Devil; The Revenger's Tragedy; The Changeling. Penguin Classics, 1965. ISBN: 978-0140430066 (Please Note: We are unable to stock this book, but it is available to borrow online through the Internet Archive. You can also find used copies for sale at online stores like ThriftBooks.)
- Thomas Heywood, A Woman Killed With Kindness. New Mermaids, 2008. ISBN: 978-0713666908
- Christopher Marlowe, Doctor Faustus. Any edition.
- John Ford, ‘Tis Pity She's a Whore. Any edition.
- William Shakespeare, Hamlet. Any edition.
Recommended
- A. R. Braunmuller and Michael Hattaway, eds., The Cambridge Companion to English Renaissance Drama. Cambridge University Press, 2009. ISBN: 978-0521527996
First Reading
- Read Christopher Marlowe's Doctor Faustus (any edition)
Cost and Registration
6 Sessions, $270 ($243 for Newberry members, seniors, and students). Learn about becoming a member.
We offer our classes at three different price options: Regular ($270), Community Supported ($250), and Sponsor ($290). Following the models of other institutions, we want to ensure that our classes are accessible to a wider audience while continuing to support our instructors. You may choose the price that best fits your situation when registering through Learning Stream.
To register multiple people for this class, please go through the course calendar in Learning Stream, our registration platform. When you select the course and register, you’ll be prompted to add another registrant.
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