This subject introduces you to the exciting, edgy, and dangerous world of English Renaissance theatre. Beginning with the curious emergence of commercial theatres in 16th century London and ending with the disruptive English Civil Wars in the 1640s that brought this thriving age of English dramatic art to a close, this course will explore the material conditions and performance traditions of theatre in early modern England. Looking at a variety of dramatic genres such as Tragedy and the Court Masque, we will pay particularly close attention to the theatre’s representations of power, sexuality, race, and cultural difference.

3 Contact Hours per week comprising Lectures and Group Discussions 

Students can expect to write up to 3000 words of researched textual analysis and scene studies.

There is also a hurdle attendance requirement. 

Time management plays a key role in successful university study. Students need to keep in mind that as well as scheduled contact hours for lectures, tutorials and seminars, considerable additional time is needed to complete the academic requirements of each subject. 

This course requires a minimum of 8 hours total time commitment a week (3 contact hours; and 5 hours spent for class preparation, reading, and assessment-related tasks. 

All required reading will be available on Moodle for download. Playwrights studied might include William Shakespeare; Cyril Torneur; Christopher Marlowe; John Dekker; John Webster; Aphra Behn; John Dryden; and Thomas Otway.