HL8021 FICTIONS OF L OVE: FILM AND L ITERATURE.
January-June 2014
Course Description
"Fictions of Love" studies the role of love as an overarching theme in plays, novels and short
stories of different genres and their corresponding film adaptations. We will explore the
centrality of love in tragedies, gothic tales, and crime and science-fiction novels and consider
how love as a theme is evolved and adapted for the screen. How important is love as an
element of fiction and film? In what ways can love drive a plot forward? What part does fate
play in the success or failure of a romantic narrative? How can social conventions and rules
keep lovers apart? Why do film directors invent or expand upon romantic plots in narratives
which have a stronger focus on other themes? What elements are crucial to the
development of a romance?
We begin answering these questions through a close reading of one of Shakespeare’s most
widely adapted tragedies, Romeo and Juliet. We will follow this discussion of star-crossed
lovers with a look at another famous literary couple in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. As
we read gothic tales, mysteries and science fiction we will continue to explore archetypal
lovers and love as a unifying theme in visual and literary narratives.
Core texts you will need to buy:
All three texts will be available at Yunnan Bookstore. For publication details, refer to the Course Schedule below.



William Shakespeare. Romeo and Juliet.
Jane Austen. Pride and Prejudice.
Suzanne Collins. The Hunger Games.
Core readings on EdveNTUre:
 Jean-Marie LePrince de Beaumont, Beauty and the Beast.
 Arthur Conan Doyle, A Scandal in Bohemia.
 Noël Coward, Brief Encounters.
 Cornell Woolrich, It had to be Murder.
Core films in the library: Refer to the Course Schedule below for more details.
 Franco Zeffirelli, Romeo and Juliet (1968).
 Joe Wright, Pride and Prejudice (2005).
 Jean Cocteau, Le Belle et la Bete (1946)
 Tim Burton, Edward Scissorhands (1990)
 Paul McGuigan, Sherlock: A Scandal in Belgravia (2011).
 David Lean, Brief Encounter (1945).
 Gary Ross, The Hunger Games (2012).
Course Assessment



Quiz 1-3 [MCQ and short answer questions] 20%
Coursework Essay (700 words): 30%
Final Exam [essay questions]: 50%
Course Instructor
Dr Jinat Rehana Begum ( jinatrb@ntu.edu.sg)
1
HL8021 Course Schedule:
Details of the core readings for each week are listed below.
You are advised to read/view the core readings and films for the week before each
lecture. We will discuss the supplementary films briefly in lectures. To further your
knowledge of the topic for each week, you may view the supplementary films but this is not
obligatory.
Week 1
14 Jan.
Introduction
Week 2
21 Jan.
Love and tragedy: Romeo and Juliet
play
Recommended text [Will be available at Yunnan bookstore] :
William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet: Third Series Arden Shakespeare. London:
Bloomsbury Arden Shakespeare, 2012. ISBN: 9781903436912
*E-text: Folger Digital text: http://www.folgerdigitaltexts.org/?chapter=5&play=Rom&loc=p7
Note that most e-texts do not include notes which will explain unfamiliar terms. This one is
reliable and provides a synopsis of each scene but the Arden publication is the most helpful.
*If you opt for an e-text you must make sure you can access it during lectures.
Week 3
28 Jan.
Love and tragedy: Romeo and Juliet
film
ADM & Business Library: PR2831.R763A
NLB (some branches): 791.4372 ROM -[ART]
Supplementary
viewing
Luhrmann, Baz, dir. Romeo + Juliet. Writ. Craig Pearce, Baz Luhrmann. Twentieth Century Fox,
1996.
Zeffirelli, Franco, dir. Romeo and Juliet. Writ. Paramount Pictures, 1968.
ADM & Business Library:PR2831.W719
NLB (library@esplanade): 791.4372 WIL -[ART]
Week 4
4 Feb.
Marriage and class: Pride and Prejudice
novel
Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. New York: OUP, 2004. ISBN : 9780199535569
Recommended text [Will be available at Yunnan bookstore] :
*If you opt for an e-text you must make sure you can access it during lectures.
Week 5
11 Feb.
Marriage and class: Pride and Prejudice
Wright, Joe, dir. Pride and Prejudice. Writ. Deborah Moggach. Universal Pictures,
2005.
film
ADM Library: PR4034.P72P947PR
NLB (library@esplanade):791.4372 PRI -[ART]
Supplementary
viewing
Langton, Simon, dir. Pride and Prejudice. Writ. Andrew Davies. BBC, 1996.
ADM & Business Library: PR4034.P72P947A [300 min.]
NLB (some branches): 791.4372 PRI -[ART]
Week 6
Love and the gothic fairy tale: Beauty and the Beast
2
18 Feb.
Term Paper Due (to be handed in on day of lecture)
1. Beauty and the Beast (short story—will be made available on EdveNTUre)
short
story
&
film
de Beaumont, Jeanne-Marie LePrince. "Beauty and the Beast." Trans. Jack Zipes. Little
Red Riding Hood and Other Classic French Fairy Tales. New York: Penguin, 2011. 137150. ISBN: 0143120239
Zipes' book is available at most branches of the NLB: 398.210944 BEA
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2. La Belle et la Bête –Beauty and the beast (film)
Cocteau, Jean, dir. La Belle et la Bête –Beauty and the beast. Lopert Pictures, 1946.
The Criterion Collection, 2003.
ADM & Business Library: PN1995.9.F34B433
NLB (library@esplanade): 791.4372 BEL -[ART]
Week 6
Supplementary
viewing
Trousdale, Gary and Kirk Wise, dir. Beauty and the beast. Walt Disney Pictures, 1991
Week 7
25 Feb.
film
Love and the gothic fairy tale: Edward Scissorhands
ADM Library: PN1995.9.F34B384
NLB (library@esplanade): 791.4372 BEA -[ART]
Burton, Tim, dir. Edward Scissorhands. Writ. Caroline Thompson. Twentieth Century
Fox Films, 1990.
ADM Library: PN1995.9.M27E25
NLB (library@esplanade): 791.4372 EDW -[ART]
Recess Week [3-9 March]
Week 8
11 Mar.
Love and crime: Sherlock Holmes
1. A Scandal in Bohemia (short story—will be made available on EdveNTUre)
Conan Doyle, Arthur. "Scandal in Bohemia (1888)." Sherlock Holmes: The Complete
novels and stories, Vol. 1. New York: Bantam classics, 1986. 239-263.
short
story
&
film
*E-text available on Project Gutenberg:
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/1661/1661-h/1661-h.htm#1
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2. A Scandal in Belgravia. (from Series 2 of the BBC crime drama series, Sherlock)
McGuigan, Paul, dir. "A Scandal in Belgravia." Writ. Steven Moffat. Sherlock, Series
2.1. BBC: 2011.
Business Library: PN1992.77.S475S552s
Supplementary
viewing
Week 9
Ritchie, Guy, dir. Sherlock Holmes. Warner Brother Pictures, 2009.
Business Library: PN1995.9.S5S552SH 2010
NLB (library@esplanade): 791.4372 SHE -[ART]
Mann, Seith and John Polson, dir. "The Woman/Heroine." Writ. Robert Doherty and Craig
Sweeny. Elementary, Series 1.23-4. CBS: 2013.
Love and crime: Sherlock
3
18 Mar.
TV series
1. A Scandal in Belgravia. (from Series 2 of the BBC crime drama series, Sherlock)
McGuigan, Paul, dir. "A Scandal in Belgravia." Writ. Steven Moffat. Sherlock, Series
2.1. BBC: 2011.
Business Library: PN1992.77.S475S552s
Week 10
25 Mar.
play
&
film
Love and betrayal: Brief encounter
1. Noël Coward, Brief Encounter. [Screenplay—will be made available on EdveNTUre]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2. Lean, David, dir. Brief Encounter. Prod. Noël Coward. Pinewood Productions, 1945.
ADM library: PN1995.9.M3B853
NLB (library@esplanade): 791.4372 BRI -[ART]
Love in dystopian fiction: The Hunger Games
Week 11
novel
1 April.
Week 12
8 April.
film
Week 13
15 April.
Collins, Suzanne. The Hunger Games. New York, NY: Scholastic Press, 2008.
ISBN: 9780439023481
Love in dystopian fiction: The Hunger Games
Ross, Gary, dir. The Hunger Games. Writ. Suzanne Collins and Billy Ray. Lionsgate, 2012.
Business library: PS3603.O4558H936 2012 DISCS 1-2
NLB (most branches): 791.4372 HUN -[ART]
Conclusion & Revision
4