THTR 188A WORLD THEATRE HISTORY I
Dr. Michael Schwartz
msschwartz@mail.widener.edu
610-499-4332 (messages only)
Tu,Th 11:00 AM 12:15 PM / KIRK 332
Office Hours: Writing Center, Tu 1:00-3:00 p.m. and by appointment
World Theatre History, Part I (The Greeks to the Restoration)
Required Text: The Wadsworth Anthology of Drama, 5th ed. Edited by W.B. Worthen.
Boston: Thomson Wadsworth, 2007.
An introduction to world theatre, with representative plays from ancient Greece, classical
Japan, medieval and Renaissance England, the Golden Age of Spain, as well as Early
Modern Europe and Mexico. Along with a large selection of plays, students will read
modern commentary as well as contemporaneous accounts of the productions and the life
and times of the people who encountered the plays for the first time. The course will
encompass a history of theatrical performance as well as histories of audience manners
and mores, attitudes toward women, the shifting authority and structure of world
governments, and the ever-expanding dialogue regarding man’s place in the universe.
Well-known dramas by Sophocles and Shakespeare will share the class stage with lesserknown but fascinating plays by such writers as Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz to give the
student a well-rounded overview.
Assignments:
RESPONSE PAPERS: There will be three (3) response papers throughout the term.
These will be 2-3 pages in length, and you will be responding to a question related to the
plays you have read in each of the first three units.
REVIEWS: Part of your work in this course will include seeing the Theatre Widener
productions and writing reviews, because part of appreciating and understanding theatre
history includes dealing with current productions. There will be two (2) reviews, each 2
pages in length.
FINAL PAPER: This paper will be 7-10 pages in length, and will encompass a detailed
examination of at least three (3) of the plays we’ve read this semester.
QUIZZES: (NOT ALWAYS ANNOUNCED!) There will be ten (10) quizzes throughout
the semester. These will be held on the Tuesday we begin discussion of the play, at the
beginning of class. IF YOU MISS A QUIZ, YOU CANNOT MAKE IT UP.
FINAL EXAM: Your final exam will consist of two (2) essay questions that will deal
with the plays we’ve studied as a whole.
Attendance:
It sounds obvious, but you need to attend class, and you need to be on time. You may
miss two (2) classes, no questions asked. If you wish an absence to be excused, you must
provide me with documentation (a doctor’s note, for example). Any unexcused absences
beyond the second one will reduce your grade by 2 points. Three incidents of late arrival
or leaving early will count as one absence.
Grades:
The grades break down like this:
Response papers:
Reviews:
Quizzes:
Final Paper:
Final Exam:
Possible Total:
A
B+
B
C+
C
D
F
30 (10 points each)
10 (5 points each)
20 (2 points each)
20
20
100
90-100
89
80-88
79
70-78
60-69
Below 60
Class Dates
UNIT ONE-THE GREEKS
Tues., Jan. 15
Thurs. Jan. 17
Tues. Jan. 22
Thurs. Jan. 24
Tues. Jan. 29
Thurs. Jan. 31
In-Class
Introduction; syllabus and
the beginnings of theatre
Assignments
pp. 1-22
Freaks and Greeks
Aeschylus, Agamemnon p.
25
TBA
1st quiz; Agamemnon
discussion
Finish discussing
Agamemnon
2nd quiz; discuss Oedipus
Tues. Feb. 5
Discuss Sophocles and
Aristotle
3rd quiz, discuss Medea
Thurs. Feb. 7
Discuss Case and Euripides
Tues. Feb. 12
4th quiz, discuss Lysistrata
Sophocles, Oedipus the
King, p. 69
Aristotle, The Poetics, p.
123
Euripides, Medea, p. 89
Case, “Classic Drag,” p.
132
Aristophanes, Lysistrata, p.
105
TBA
Thurs. Feb. 14
Finish Lysistrata
Tues. Feb. 19
UNIT 2: Classical Japan; 1st
response paper due
Thurs. Feb. 21
Tues. March 18
Thurs. March 20
Continue discussing
Japanese theatre
5th quiz, discuss
Chushingura
Discuss Ley essay and
Chushingura
SPRING BREAK
SPRING BREAK
UNIT 3: Medieval and
Renaissance England; 2nd
response paper due
Continue Medieval and
Renaissance discussion
6th quiz; discuss Everyman
Continue Everyman
Tues. March 25
7th quiz; discuss Faustus
Thurs. March 27
Discuss Faustus and Sidney
Tues. April 1
Discuss Shakespeare
Thurs. April 3
Discuss Shakespeare and
Rackin
Tues. April 8
UNIT 4: Early Modern
Europe; 3rd response paper
due
Continue discussion on
Early Modern Europe
8th quiz; discuss Life Is a
Dream
Discuss Calderon and
Dryden
9th quiz; discuss Tartuffe
Tues. Feb. 26
Thurs. Feb. 28
Tues. March 4
Thurs. March 6
Tues. March 11
Thurs. March 13
Thurs. April 10
Tues. April 15
Thurs. April 17
Tues. April 22
1st Response Paper due
Tuesday, the 19th; Read pp.
139-154 on classical Japan
Zeami, “A Mirror Held to
the Flower,” p. 182
Chushingura: The FortySeven Samurai, p. 162
Ley, “Aristotle’s Poetics…”
p. 192
2nd response paper due
Tuesday, March 11
pp. 207-228 on Medieval
and Renaissance England
Everyman, p. 244
TBA
Marlowe, Doctor Faustus,
p. 255
Sidney, “Apology for
Poetry,” p. 359
Shakespeare, The Tempest,
p. 330
Rackin, “Misogyny is
Everywhere,” p. 361
3rd response paper due,
Tuesday, April 8, read pp.
373-386 on Early Modern
Europe
TBA
Calderon, Life Is a Dream,
p. 387
Dryden, “Preface to
Troilus…” p. 508
Moliere, Tartuffe, p. 414
Maus, “Playhouse Flesh and
Blood,” p. 518
Thurs. April 24
Discuss Moliere and Maus
Tues. April 29
10th quiz; final paper due;
discuss Sor Juana and final
exam
Final Exam: TBA
Sor Juana, Loa to the Divine
Narcissus, p. 499; Final
Paper due next class
LAST CLASS