Modern Irish Literature II: Drama

 

doc. Ondřej Pilný, PhD

 

Wed 10:50-12:20, Room 1

 

M.A. Special Programme: Irish Studies (basic), English Literature (elective).

 

NB: Attendance at the Modern Irish Literature I course (offered in the winter semester) is NOT a prerequisite for this course.

 

OBJECTIVES

The course charts the vibrant territory of Irish drama from its beginnings at the time of the Literary Revival up to the present day. It examines the nature of the Irish dramatic canon and the features of what typically passes for an “Irish play”, and proceeds to discuss recent tendencies as manifest in the highlights of the theatre in Ireland. Principal issues to discuss within the context include the gradual shift from re-negotiations of collective identity towards a focus on the individual, the influence of British and American theatre, and the relationship between theatre and politics at various points in the era under discussion.

 

SCHEDULE

1. (18 Feb) Introduction

2. (25 Feb) J. M. Synge, The Shadow of the Glen; The Playboy of the Western World

4 Mar no class

3. (11 Mar) W. B. Yeats, At the Hawk’s Well

4. (18 Mar) Sean O’Casey, The Plough and the Stars

5. (25 Mar) Denis Johnston, The Old Lady Says ‘No!’

1 Apr no class

6. (8 Apr) Brian Friel, Translations

7. (15 Apr) Tom Murphy, Bailegangaire

8. (22 Apr) Frank McGuinness, Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching towards the Somme

29 Apr no class

9. (6 May) Martin McDonagh, The Cripple of Inishmaan; Conor McPherson, The Weir

10. (13 May) Marina Carr, The Mai; Enda Walsh, Ballyturk

 

NB: The plays by J.M. Synge are readily available online and in multiple copies in the library. The Weir and The Mai are available in multiple copies in the library. All other plays are provided in electronic form on the moodle site for the course, and are also available in printed form in the library.

 

SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY

Lonergan, Patrick. Theatre and Globalization. Irish Drama in the Celtic Tiger Era. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2008.

Murray, Christopher. Twentieth-century Irish Drama: Mirror up to Nation. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1997.

Roche, Anthony. Contemporary Irish Drama. 2^nd ed. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009.

Jordan, Eamonn. Dissident Dramaturgies: Contemporary Irish Theatre. Dublin: Irish Academic Press, 2010.

Grene, Nicholas. The Politics of Irish Drama. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999.

Jordan, Eamonn, ed. Theatre Stuff: Critical Essays on Contemporary Irish Theatre. Dublin: Carysfort Press, 2000.

Bolger, Dermot, ed.  Druids, Dudes and Beauty Queens: The Changing Face of Irish Theatre. Dublin: New Island, 2001.

Maguire, Tom. Making Theatre in Northern Ireland: Through and Beyond the Troubles. Exeter: University of Exeter Press, 2006.

Pilný, Ondřej. Irony and Identity in Modern Irish Drama. Prague: Litteraria Pragensia, 2006.

 

Credit requirements consist of

1. Regular attendance and active participation in debates (based on the assigned reading). A maximum of 2 unexplained absences is allowed.

2. Oral presentation of 20 min duration.

3. A final essay (minimal length 3 000 words). The essay topic must be consulted with the instructor in advance. Deadline for essays: 10 June 2015. Any rewrites must be submitted by 8 September 2015.