The Play's the Thing

The Worth of the Acting Profession

2011-12-21T14:06:00.000-08:00

This question of the worth of dramatic acting -- "do actors improve or debase civil order? -- is grave. Denied entry into the ideal republic by Plato for the unworthiness of a life comprised of (absent justification) impostery; exposed by Dr. Johnson backstage for their titillating inveteracy; and compromised in advance of advocacy by their brotherhoood resounding allegient oaths to its thespian Prince, de Sade, the question is seemingly answered negatively in the very asking.

More than this, culpatory for actors is their (characteristically self-centrered) perennial fixation on their own worth. Bis interimitur qui suis armis perit. The prosecutorial case is condensed in the Shakepearean dictum "The lady doth protest too much, methinks." (Hamlet, III, ii, 239.)

By way of example, consider a certain local wretch who, in mid-life still a drudge in servile trade, trumpets at any opportunity the 'surpassing regard' of his co-menials long past; would this unfortunate not be recognised universally as all but proving the meanness of his trade thereby? To quote again Dr. Johnson:

Sir, all the arguments which are brought to represent poverty as no evil, show it to be evidently a great evil. You never find people labouring to convince you that you may live very happily upon a plentiful fortune.

Paraphrasing for the present case, you never find people 'labouring to convince' that neurosurgery is a worthy & substantial profession.

This brings us to our lectures on Shakespeare in Love. The presence of perpetual self-engagement among theatrati is manifested (knowingly) in this screenplay in the villainisation of the Master of Revels and (unknowingly) as the guilt experienced by the character William Shakespeare at his impostory as Christopher Marlower: imposture being, by very definition, the whole business and purpose of actory.

Likewise, the ubiquity of scenes, lines and drama entire covering the drunkensome and erotomaniacal tenor of dramaturgy tells. Instance, from Yes, Minister, ostensibily on politicians:

But people on stages are called actors. All they are required to do is look plausible, stay sober and say the lines they are given in the right order. Those that try to make up their own lines generally do not last long.

Felix qui potuit rerum cognoscere causas ....

Lecture Sides

2011-04-10T13:26:00.000-07:00

Combined lecture slides are available here. Do be careful to remember that lecture slides are the wrong way to prepare for the Final Exam...

Shaw's Fabianism in Comparison

2011-03-03T14:23:00.000-08:00

FABIAN (Socialist)—benevolent power of the State.

WHIGISM—individual is the primary unit, and individual expression & protection is the highest social good (Capitalism & Darwinism.)

TORYISM—small social units & tradition are the social good, non-internationalism (local is best.)

Lecturer's Office Change

2011-02-28T12:13:00.000-08:00

My office move has finally been completed: I am now in FASS 5192.

NLP and Derren Brown

2011-02-14T08:30:00.000-08:00

Here are links to the 'neuro-linguistic programming' clips that we viewed from the English mentalist Derren Brown who is doing something for a living that Shakespeare does, in part, for his drama. (Thanks to classfellow CS for the suggestion.)

Tragedy and Comedy

2011-02-14T08:26:00.000-08:00

More useful questions from students came after class today. One required clarification of the Aristotle's treatment of two types of drama: Tragedy and Comedy.

Remember that Tragedy is imitation of actions of men or women that are better than ourselves, and Comedy is imitation of actions of men or women that are worse than ourselves.

Tragedy (in Aristotle's Dramatic sense) is not a synonym for "sadness" nor is Comedy (in Aristotle's Dramatic sense) a synonym for humour. Tragedy can contain humour and Comedy can express sadness.

MId-Term Topics

2011-02-03T20:58:00.000-08:00

Following the Mid-Term essay criteria listed in the course syllabus, below are the topics from which you chose one. The five-paragraph model detailed in lecture will form the basis of your essay, and, along with the parsimony criterion, are the expectation of your marker.

Use Aristotle's doctrine of the Golden Mean to explain the requirements of effective character (in the sense of dramatis personae) detailed in the Poetics.
Dr. Johnson sets forward a very compelling principle of quality by which drama (and by extension art generally) can be judged. Detail his principle, expound it in terms of common sense, and give your evaluation of its validity. You may consider using any dramatic work of less than a century's vintage to help illustrate your argument.
Does Æschylus give a dialectic or a didactic treatment of Fate in Prometheus Bound? Use proof by both quotation and logic to support your determination.

Lecture Terms

2011-01-24T00:24:00.000-08:00

Some terms from lecture defined:

tautology -- lit. "same-saying": a repetition of the same statement.
dilemma -- lit. "double proposition": a situations involving the choice of two (or, loosely, more) alternatives, either of which is (or appears) equally unfavourable.

In Prometheus' opening soliloquy, Æschylus uses these and other lingustic devices of intensification to help impress the force of Prometheus' situation the more effectively in the minds of his drama's audiences. This profound felicity with language--using the full range of the grammatical, rhetorical, etymological and idiomatic resources available--is a characteristic of (indeed almost a criterion for) first-order dramatic geniuses such as Æschylus, Shakespeare and Shaw.

Our Working Definition of "Drama"

2011-01-10T14:17:00.000-08:00

From John Dryden (1631-1700) An Essay of Dramatic Poesy, drama is:

… a just and lively image of human nature, reproducing the passions and humours, and the changes of fortune to which it is subject, for the delight and instruction of mankind.

A very great deal is contained in this brief definition: be sure to tease out its full range of specific and inter-related meaning from lecture.

Grades Bonus: Final Examination

2011-01-07T15:35:00.000-08:00

As I promised in our opening lecture, I am offering a ten percent bonus on the Final Examination to the entire class, on the condition that no-one uses a data device during lectures for any purpose other taking offline notes.

So, so long as no-one, absolutely no-one, opens a chat window, sends or receives a text message, watches a video -- in short, anything but writes text on a full screen -- then the entire class will receive a free ten percent on the Final Examination.

(All by way of encouraging proper focus in an Age of distraction.)

Course Website FAQ

2011-01-06T10:56:00.000-08:00

Here are FAQ about the course website.

The 5 most recent posts are displayed on the main page.
A permanent link list, entitled "Pertinent & Impertinent" is always visible on the sidebar of the course website, containing direct links to crucial information.
Also on the sidebar, always visible, is the "Blog Archive" displaying direct links to all posts on the course website.
The "Blog Archive" has a section for 2006 in addition to 2010. Links for our Summer 2010 course are under the "2010" section. The 2006 archive is for previous iterations of the course which may, or may not, be interesting for you.
An "Older Posts" hotlink is always visible at the bottom of the main page which displays the next 5 most recent posts.
Certain PowerPoint lecture slides are occasionally posted on the course website.

Course E-Mail Netiquette

2011-01-06T10:52:00.002-08:00

Here are the points of e-mail protocol for our course :

E-mail (indeed, all communication) between Lecturer and student, and TA and student, is a formal and professional exchange. Accordingly, proper salutation and closing is essential.
Business e-mail is courteous but, of professional necessity, concise and direct. It rejects roundabout or ornate language, informal diction, and any appearance of what is termed in the vernacular, 'chat.'
Customary response time for student e-mail to the Course Lecturer or TAs is two to three office days. E-mail on weekends will ordinarily be read the Monday following.
Use only your SFU account for e-mail to the course Lecturer. All other e-mail is blocked by whitelist.

In general, Course e-mail is for matters of Course administration solely. It is not an alternative to, nor substitute for, Office Hours or Tutorial. All questions about understanding of lecture material, course reading, assignment criteria, and deadlines are reserved for Tutorial and Office Hours.

Missed classes and deadlines are not to be reported by e-mail: if a medical or bereavement exception is being claimed, the supporting documentation is handed in, along with the completed assignment, either in person or to the Instructor's mailbox outside the Department Office.

Course Syllabus

2011-01-06T10:50:00.000-08:00

Course Syllabus & Information

Be up-to-date with the following reading schedule and you will be ahead of lecture.

Below is a schedule for student readings; not a schedule of lecture material.
Lecture is not a Procrustean bed : week by week, lecture will follow the developing class interests and course dynamic; all material will, sublimely, be covered by course end.

Reading Schedule

Week 1: Aristotle, The Poetics
Week 2: Aeschylus, Prometheus Bound
Week 3: Aeschylus, Prometheus Bound
Week 4: Dr. Johnson - Preface to Shakespeare
Week 5: Dr. Johnson - Preface to Shakespeare
Week 6: Shakespeare, Henry V
Week 7: Shakespeare, Henry V
Week 8: Shaw, Saint Joan
Week 9: Shaw, Saint Joan
Week 10: Mishima, Madame de Sade
Week 11: Agatha Christie, The Mousetrap
Week 12: Agatha Christie, The Mousetrap
Week 13: Review.

Assignment Deadlines.
There is a twenty-five percent per day late penalty for all assignments, documented medical or bereavement leave excepted. For medical exemptions, provide a letter from a physician on letterhead which declares his or her medical judgement that illness or injury prevented work on the essay. The letter must cover the entire period over which the assignment was scheduled and may be verified by telephone. For any matter affecting deadlines, consult with the TA in person and before the assignment period.

Schedule of Assignment Due Dates.
(Assignments coded by colour. See separate assignment posts for details.)

January 6th or 10th, Group Project members set: in tutorial.
February 3rd, Mid-Term Essay topics posted.
February 24th, Mid-Term Essay due: in lecture.
March 10th Mid-Term Essay returned graded: in lecture.
March 24th Mid Term Revision due: in lecture.
April 7th, Mid-Term Revision returned graded: in lecture.
April 7th or 11th, Group Project due: in tutorial.
April 13th, 8:30AM - 11:30AM , Final Examination, Room TBA.

Nb: “Participation (10% of course grade) requires participation, and punctuality in seminar and punctual attendance at lecture."

Instructor Contact:
Office Hours: Surrey Campus FASS 5192 Mondays 11:30-12:30pm. E-mail to ogden@sfu.ca.
TA is Dr. Stanley Green (ABD), e-mail to stanleyg@sfu.ca

Assignments Overview

1. Mid term essay, fifteen hundred words: due February 24th in lecture. Assignment sheet with suggested topics will be blogged on February 3rd. Criteria will include literary analysis, engagement with course themes and writing mechanics.
2. Mid-Term paper, revision: due March 24th in lecture. Corrections to the mid-term essay according to the TA's comments and analysis. Grade is determined by the quality of the revisions, not the independent quality of the revised essay itself.
3. Group television analysis: With a group of classfellows from seminar, you will watch a current television programme throughout the term and make notes on how it stands up to the ideals of drama presented in lecture. You will then collaborate with your group members and design a dramatical presentation of your analysis to be acted in seminar weeks twelve and thirteen. There will be one group grade assigned; determined by your seminar instuctor.
4. Individual seminar participation: attendance, punctuality and productive contributions.
5. Final Examination: April 13th, 8:30AM - 11:30AM Place TBA, covering material from lecture exclusively.

Course Approach

The course will introduce you to Drama from the perspective of literary scholarship. That is, we will examine methods by which playwrights dramatise Ideas to "instruct by delighting." The plays in the course are each accompanied by a famous commentary that has historically shaped how its dramatical ideas are interpreted and experienced. This means, of course, that we within the literary canon give less attention to the performance -- what we might call the theatrics -- of drama than is the case, for instance, in Departments of Fine Art. That being said, our course will not neglect the thespian dimension. To better understand the commentaries accompanying our important plays, we will consider the question of why anyone cares what actors have to say once they are off the stage.

Actors are far -- very far indeed -- from being celebrated for their wide & grave learning; their responsible private behavior; their steady emotions; their self-denial; their public morality; their humility, sobriety or piety. Ghandis and Mother Theresas, they, in a word, are not. Yet in our celebrity culture, who more celebrated? whose opinions more eagerly solicted? whose obiter dicta sell more magazines? If we understand this modern peculiarity, we will better understand the ages-long criticisms of Drama and its place in civil society.

Course requirement weighting:
10% Productive participation
20% Mid-Term Essay
15% Mid-Term Essay Revision
20% Group Television Project
35% Final Examination

Nb: “Participation requires both participation in seminar and attendance and punctuality at lecture and seminar."

Group Assignment: TV-Analysis

2011-01-06T10:33:00.000-08:00

This week in seminar we will set memberships for the Group Assignment. The deadlines & broad outline are given in the course syllabus.

The assignment is designed to help us determine whether the claim, made in our course rubric, that "..... television is furniture" is accurate or is instead merely an expression of theatre snobbery.

Each group will agree on one television programme to be watched as drama for the weeks of our course. Members will take notes that evaluate their chosen progamme against specific criteria from the critical writers explained in lecture: one of Aristotle, Dr. Johnson, Shaw, or Mishima. These notes will then be pooled within the group, summarised, and then used to create a dramatical representation of your group conclusions. Your drama will then be acted in seminar on one of the last two course weeks -- you will sign up for your presentation date when your seminar leader assigns the group memberships. The presentation will be between five and fifteen minutes in length.

There is no restriction on the type of TV programme you can select: if, for instance, you think TV News is a form of drama then simply analyse one news show as being such. When meeting to create your drama, you will be able to apply & use the dramatical principles introduced in lecture. Seminar time will be provided throughout the term for group work on this assignment, but of course the more time together you put in, the better your grade will be on what amounts to a full 20% of your final course mark. Should your group wish it, I can set you up with a blog so that you can exchange ideas and store your progress online and at your own convenience. Simply stop by any Office Hour, or make a special appointment.

You will find that this assignment is captivating and beneficial in equal proportion. Each group should have one member assigned who is experienced in, or at least comfortable with, dramatic performance: not every member of the group needs to take an acting part -- each group can assign the individual group duties as it sees fit. There will be one group grade for all the members, determined by the tutorial leader.

Essay Marking: Copy-Editing Symbols

2011-01-06T09:54:00.000-08:00

Follow this link, as well as this other link, for a legend of the standard copy-editing symbols used in the marking of your essays

Some of the more frequently-used are the following.

SYN: faulty syntax
GR: faulty grammar
AWK: awkward wording or awkward expression of idea.
SP: faulty spelling
PRON: missing or faulty pronoun.
AGR: faulty agreement (grammar.)
T: incorrect tense (grammar.)
M: incorrect mood (grammar.)
//: lack of correct parallelism
¶ : faulty paragraph structure
CAP: capitalise
MM: mixed metaphor
NO CAP: don't capitalise
WDY: excessive, roundabout or unhelpful wording that obscures the argument.
ARG: argument required.
DEV: faulty or missing development of the argument
D: faulty diction (e.g. use of jargon or informal idiom.)
PASS: passive (usually adjectival rather than adverbial) form
WC: faulty word choice
WW: wrong word
PURPLE: gradiloquent section: ornate, florid or overly-written piece of incongruous writing.
LITOTES: unnecessary and unhelpful use of negative construction.
RELEV: irrelevant remark.
PETITIO: a petitio principii ('begging the question')—assuming as a conclusion that which needs to be established as a premis. Often in essay argument, a statement delivered as a proof which itself is as yet unproven.
UNCL: unclear expression of an idea
ARTIC: missing or mistaken use of grammatical article.
REP: repetitive wording or repetition of a previously-presented idea.
REL: faulty relation of idea or no clear relation to surrounding idea.
TRUISM: statement of the obvious: unnecessary.
C&E: mistake between cause and effect
P: faulty punctuation.
ITAL: italicise this text.
DEL: unnecessary text requiring deletion
PLEON: pleonasm
REPORT: book report--i.e. absence of argument.
CIT: missing citation
DANGL: dangling modifier.
STR: faulty or absent argument structure.
R-O: run-on sentence.
FRAG: sentence fragment
THESIS: misplaced thesis-level sentence
X: false statement.
SS: faulty sentence structure
INDIR: indirect expression of idea--often weak or padded syntax.

How To: Writing Group Project Outlines

2011-01-06T09:53:00.000-08:00

Outlines for Creative Assignments and Group Projects can be helpfully constructed as failure standards. Failure standards are a real-world use of the falsification concept from experimental science, where a theory becomes ranked as scientific only when it is capable of being falsified in a replicable experiment.

So, for your assignment proposals, if you chose to adopt this valuable format, you would list (in either essay or point form) the full set of criteria by which your project can be gauged to have failed. for example "Our project will have failed if:"

the project does not advance an academic thesis.
the project does not have [some measurable degree of] quality
the project does not identifiably incorporate material from relevent scholarship
the project fails to relate directly to some number of the primary course texts
the project fails to represent and demonstrate advanced understanding of the central ideas of the course
&c, &c.

This effectively prevents creativity from being substituted by open license.

Additionally, proposals are accompanied by a concise justification of the academic validity of the project being proposed.

An effective proposal describes (nb. look up the etymology of this word in the OED) three components of a project:

Area
Range
Structure

The Area is the specific subject of your project: e-mail writing, for instance. Range delimits the specific aspect of your subject: courtesy and professional manner in e-mail, say. And Structure outlines the manner in which the project will formed.

Two pages is a reasonable length for a proposal of this type, four pages at most.

Dividing Post

2011-01-05T23:59:00.000-08:00

Posts above this are from the current, Spring 2011, iteration of Engl 103W, Surrey Campus.

Posts below this are from previous iterations of Engl 103W. You may, or may not, find these outdated posts interesting.

On Nietzsche

2010-11-19T10:20:00.000-08:00

From classfellow A.D.

In lecture today, you mentioned Nietzsche and his views of the Enlightenment period. Somebody showed me a T-shirt of Nietzsche I found amusing and thought you may enjoy [at this hotlink.]
Make sure to look at the front and the back.

"Send for Shaw, not Shakespeare"

2010-10-20T23:59:00.000-07:00

A writer in the Times of London Literary Supplement rates Bernard Shaw above Shakespeare, downplays & tries to explain away the former's praise of fascists, and, at bottom, asserts political efficacy as the ultimate criterion in Art

William Shakespeare Terms & Information

2010-10-12T18:46:00.001-07:00

Here are the lecture slides from the opening Shakespeare lecture...

"Tautology" & "Hubris" Cartoons

2010-10-01T11:13:00.000-07:00

From helpful classfellow A.A., the following XKCD webcomics on two of our course terms.

Mid-Term Essay

2010-09-30T21:24:00.000-07:00

An essay of fifteen hundred words that applies one of either Aristotle's or Dr. Johnson's principles of drama to either Prometheus Bound or Henry V is due in lecture on October 14th .

Choose any one principle of drama that was detailed in lecture of either Aristotle or Dr. Johnson, and write an essay analysing how your chosen principle applies to either Prometheus Bound or Henry V.

For example, you might choose to show how one or more of Shakespeare's characters in Henry V is, as Dr. Johnson states, not an individual but a species.

Your paper will follow proper grammer and the orthodox structural form of the academic essay.

Your essay will have three general parts.

The first part, one quarter of the essay, approximately three hundred and seventy-five words, will name your chosen concept and demonstrate that you correctly understand it.
The second part, one half of the essay, approximately seven hundred and fifty words, will consist of your analysis of how your concept applies to either of the two plays.
The third part, one quarter of the essay, approximately three hundred and seventy-five words, will give your own personal evaluation of the explanatory validity or value of your chosen concept.

So, for example, if you choose to analyse to thaumaston in Henry V, you would write approximately three hundred and seventy-five words that explain what to thaumaston is; then write approximately seven hundred and fifty words that locate and analyse to thaumaston in the play; and conclude with approximately three hundred and seventy-five words that tell your reader your personal and individual estimation of the worth and value of Aristotle's idea of to thaumaston to understanding Henry V: did it help you to understand the play? Or was it unhelpful or even distracting to your understanding?

Note. Although the mid-term essay has three general parts, the essay is one smooth and unbroken argument: do not fracture your essay into three sections separated by a headers "1, 2, 3." English 103W is a writing-intensive course and working toward correct essay formation is an essential part of all WI course requirements.

Aristotle's "Golden Mean" & "Three Unities"

2010-09-30T10:07:00.000-07:00

The ideas of the Golden Mean and the Three Unities are not found named in the Poetics, nor in any of Aristotle's works; they are, however, terms that effectively describe important elements of his thought (argument over one of the three unities notwithstanding.)

Keep both in mind in your reading & reflections on our course texts and assignments. The "rule of not too much" is part of our civilisation's DNA and the "three unities" haunt Western drama even where they are violated: never, by any substantial playwright, ignored.

Lecture Slides

2010-09-30T09:01:00.000-07:00

Here are the lecture slides from week three that listed terms.

Likewise for the Dr. Johnson quotations.

And the first Shakespeare set of slides.

And the second.

Then the Bernard Shaw slides. Now the second part.

Followed by the slides on Mishima.

Next, the first slides on film and drama.

The Western Canon

2010-09-26T17:15:00.000-07:00

From the indispensable Arts & Letters Daily, an article in praise of studying 'canonical' dead white writers like Aristotle & Aeschylus.

In 2007 a home affairs select committee produced a report about young black boys in the criminal justice system, calling for the department for education and schools to consult with black community groups to make the curriculum more relevant—and to find “content which interests and empowers young black people.” We can safely assume they were not talking about Ovid, Chaucer or Shakespeare.

(Tip: usually, a blog post's title takes you to the linked article.)

Question about Plato on Drama

2010-09-19T15:28:00.000-07:00

A useful question from classfellow D.L. on Plato's demands of drama:
Plato, recall, does not say that drama can't be a part of a perfect society: rather he demands that drama (along with all other human occupations) justify itself before it can be welcomed in.

I was just reviewing my lecture notes and came up with a question. We have concluded on the question of whether or not drama can be included in a society because of its imitating properties, correct? But, within a perfect society isn't there the need to keep people happy? And it is clear that drama makes people laugh thus making them happy. How come drama can't be a part of a perfect society even though it brings joy to people?

Now, for it making people happy, this is effectively Plato's very problem with drama: that people become happy from watching something that at best is merely an imitation of reality. At worst, as Plato points out, people become happy watching something that is evil--mocks the Good, for instance, or promotes wicked behavior, or belittles noble leaders and praises ignoble pretenders.

Plato's position is that only happiness that promotes Goodness and virtue is happiness that can be accepted into the perfect society.

[PS: good to see that D.L., like all of you, is reviewing his lecture notes as our resource post advises....]

Course Texts Shipment Completed

2010-09-15T14:24:00.000-07:00

Good news for us: the BookStore has finalised our coure text orders:. The Poetics & Shakespeare in Love are now complete & on the shelves.

On John Dryden

2010-09-11T19:38:00.001-07:00

The wonderful encapsulatory definition of drama from John Dryden at opening lecture is worth posting:

… a just & lively image of human nature, reproducing the passions & humours, & the changes of fortune to which it is subject, for the delight & instruction of mankind.

As is a brief estimation of his art and worth, on-line here. (Image with gratitude to the New World Encyclopedia.)

"Preface to Shakespeare" On-Line

2010-09-09T02:40:00.000-07:00

[UPDATE] Our course text by Dr. Samuel Johnson, "Preface to Shakespeare", is available on-line here, with my lecture highlighted passages. The link is perpetually available under the "Pertinent & Impertinent" list to the right.

Plato's Allegory of the Cave: Video

2010-09-08T14:40:00.000-07:00

Here is a youtube video dramatising Plato's Cave Allegory (they show use real objects walking in front of the fire instead of pupeteers, but the point is the same.)

(Image courtesy of http://www.kenstout.net/)

Mid-Term Essay Criteria

2010-09-07T18:25:00.000-07:00

The mid term paper, fifteen hundred words in length, is due June 29th in lecture. This assignment requires you to apply the views of any one of our three writers on Drama -- Plato, Aristotle, or Dr. Johnson -- to any of our three dramas assigned for reading to date: Aeschylus' Prometheus Bound, Shakespeare's Henry V, George Bernard Shaw's St. Joan. Put another way, you are to analyse any one of these three plays according to principles, values and ideas of your choice of the three great theorists. Your analysis must include direct reference to three specific insights from course lecture: you will identify these three insights using authorised footnote or endnote format.

Your esssay must conform to the English Department Style Guide (permanently linked under the "Permanent & Impermanent" here on the blog.) Your paper will be graded according to the strength & originality of its analysis, the structure, arrangement & rational cohesion of its argument, and the correctness of its English grammar.

In lecture Tuesday June 12th, I will go over these criteria & demonstrate effective essay-writing mechanics. You are encouraged to visit your tutorial leader during Office Hours to discuss the conception of your essay, and, subsequently, to go over a draught of your thesis paragraph; again, during Office Hours.

Course Outline

2010-09-07T15:33:00.000-07:00

"Theatre is Life; Film is Art; Television is Furniture”

If the notable saying in our course title is true, millions of us would rather furnish than live. But then, for as long as there have been plays, there has been someone else to write about what plays mean. In this course we join in the fun. We find out for ourselves whether or not theatre is indeed superior to film and television. We will read, study and enjoy four very famous (and still influential) plays – one ancient, one middle-aged, one modern, one foreign – alongside four equally famous critical commentaries, one from each period. We then study the screenplay of a popular recent film in comparison with what we will have learned in class. And while this is going on, you and a group of your class fellows will be watching your choice of a weekly television series, writing down your personal opinions (abusive or laudatory), and preparing for a dramatic presentation in seminar that acts your Group’s conclusion on TV’s relative worth. At that, we can say that we will have been properly introduced to Drama.

REQUIRED TEXTS:
Aristotle The Poetics Penguin
Æschylus Prometheus Bound Oxford
Johnson, Samuel Preface to Shakespeare On-Line
Shakespeare, William Henry V Oxford
Shaw, Bernard Saint Joan Penguin
Mishima, Yukio Madame de Sade Courseware
Christie, Agatha The Mousetrap

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
10%   Productive participation
20%   Mid-Term Essay
15%   Mid-Term Essay Revision
20%   Group Television Project
35%   Final Examination

To receive credit for this course, students must complete all requirements.

TUTORIALS WILL BE HELD THE FIRST WEEK OF CLASSES

Writing Criteria

2010-09-07T14:31:00.000-07:00

The explicit writing criteria for the course are detailed in The Little, Brown Handbook, ranking Canada alongside England with its Oxford English Dictionary, Fowler's Modern English Usage, and Roget's Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases.

The Little, Brown Handbook is set on Course Reserve and is available at the SFU Bookstore, on the tradebooks floor. It is an indispensable work for anyone who will ever write non-fictionally.

Part I of the Handbook gives the specific criteria used in grading writing in 105W. They can be summarised under the following simple headings.

Precise fidelity to the Rules of Grammar.
Correct spelling.
Use of Plain English.
Opening paragraph is a statement of thesis.
Subsequent paragraphs develop the thesis logically (ideally, by dialectic.)
Concise paragraph structure, including:

three to five sentences;
one clearly-identifiable topic sentence;
two or three sentences that develop the topic;
one transitional sentence to conclude.

Note Taking for University

2010-09-07T10:40:00.000-07:00

"Learn how to listen and you will prosper even from those who talk badly.” Plutarch (AD 46-120) Greek Biographer & Philosopher.

The Student Learning Commons at the W.A.C. Bennett Library has an exceptionally helpful on-line guide to effective note-taking at university lecture. (It is a trifle disconcerting reading for the Lecturers themselves, because it implies--indeed, all-but declares--that many of us are dull, confused, inarticulate, habituated and otherwise deficient in our craft.)

The guide is available online in .pdf format at this hotlink.

The Student Learning Commons additionally has an entire page of links to on-line resources to improve the student's "Listening & Note-Taking" at this hotlink.

Note-taking in lecture is one of the skills that one learns at university with broad applicability in life. Arguably, learning how to take written notes from oral delivery is one of the most practically valuable benefits of a university education.

These resources linked here are very valuable: especially as it is increasingly common for undergraduates to confuse note-taking with copying down PowerPoint slides. It is rule worth learning that PowerPoint is not the Lecture: lectures are what happen when you are distracted by copying down PowerPoint slides....

Last Class of the Term

2006-08-01T23:54:00.000-07:00

On Thursday we have our guest speaker to talk on -- & demonstrate -- dramatic performance. The actress is Ms. Karen Budra, a lecturer at Langara College: she will provide specific understamding of the dialogue Shakespeare writes between women and men.
It is also the day for Course Evaluations, & a general word about the Final Exam. Remember that I will have extended Office Hours every day of the week before the Exam: check back here for specific dates & times.

Japanese Dramatic Æsthetic in Anime

2006-07-22T14:13:00.000-07:00

A classfellow offers this summary analysis of the import Anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion

The story becomes very involved with the characters and what is happening to them both mentally and emotionally as well as the effects their choices have on other characters and the world. Near the end of the show it starts to focus more on Shinji, a 14 year old boy who is very afraid of his father and of himself. It shows his development as the plot rolls on. The plot itself is involved withShinji's father who leads the government organization Nerv, which was created to defend Earth from an alien threat called angels. He has his own secret agenda though which comes into conflict with the government committee called Seele. The story does not have a very satisfactory ending, much like Madame de Sade, as it leaves something unfinished at the end. I guess that is the'ketsu' of the anime. The aesthetic elements of Japanese culture we have gone over in class can be seen in the series the more I think about it as there is a sudden break in the last 2 episodes and then sudden action. It also could be attributed to the fact that the creator suffered a mental breakdown during the series due to the stress of the plot elements becomingmore deeply involved and complex.

I love the, uhm, ambiguity in the concluding reflection....

Buddhism & Suffering

2006-07-18T14:50:00.000-07:00

The two Buddhist concepts which infuence the mono no aware sensibility in Japanese drama, poetry & literature are the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path (the latter elaborates the fourth of the former.)
You will see that mono no aware is a very real & powerful mood in Yukio Mishima's play Madame de Sade.
This is not, I should clarify, not to say that these Buddhist doctrines influenced Mishima. The contrary, in fact, since hedonism violates the fourth noble truth. Rather, the doctrines are the historical background to mono no aware -- a mood which Mishima does deliberately invoke in his drama.

Japanese Æsthetic Concepts

2006-07-14T17:37:00.000-07:00

For summary detail on the some of the Japanese æsthetic concepts presented in lecture, click on this link. I will have the article on the ki sho ten ketsu composition form, by John Hinds, on Course Reserve next week.

Extra Office Hours

2006-06-24T23:27:00.000-07:00

With Thursday's deadline for the mid-term paper in sight, I hope that at this point you have your thesis clearly stated, a draught of your all-important opening paragraph, and an outline of your essay's structure (how many paragraphs you will have, what the specific content of each will be, how the logic & transitions of each cohere, and an approximation of the sentence order.)

For help with any points of technicality, I will be in office hours this week as follows:

Monday, 12:00-3:00.
Tuesday, 10:30- 11:20, 1:45-3:00
Wendesday, 12:00-3:00
Thursday and Friday as usual.

I can also arrange individual appointments those three days from three o'clock until a quarter to midnight.

Mark Pedrosa's tutorials for the week of June 19

2006-06-20T21:51:00.000-07:00

hi hi hi - today i had an excellent question regarding joan of arc as a protestant figure, as mentioned by shaw in his preface (i recommend reading this)!

[interlude: furthermore, the Epilogue is part of the play, not just an "aside" that you don't have to read... so read it! it's chalk-full of super important stuff, and is one of the main aspects for which shaw came under fire in his representation of joan].

anyway, back to it. i'll try to explain briefly how shaw sees joan as a protestant. but first, i'm going to need you to do some reading of your own. so here's the plan:
1. go to http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks02/0200811h.html -- you need to be connected to the sfu server to access this link. it's just the fulltext of shaw's preface and play.
2. search (under Edit > Find) for "protestant"; you'll find many instances of it. one of the earliest claims her to be both a "devout catholic" and a "protestant martyr," all in the same sentence.

as you continue to search for your key word, note how it's being used: to refer to the ideas embodied by protestantism, namely INDIVIDUALITY (taking out the middle man in connection with God). many catholics take issue with shaw's interpretation of joan of arc, claiming she couldn't be either protestant or nationalistic based solely on the historical timeline (when something is out of its timeline, it's said to be anachronistic). of course joan (and all of the characters, for that matter) wouldn't know about the results their actions evoke, such as a move away from a feudal system to one of nationalism, or even the emergence of protestantism (undermining the "need" for the church to provide a link to God). this is one of shaw's literary techniques -- giving his characters a healthy dose of foresight, as though they have the knowledge of all the social and political events that will unfold from each major action taken. this is, after all, why the english and french finally come to a compomise to end joan's rise to power.

that's all i can think of at the moment. if you have any questions or comments, don't be afraid to do it up on the blog, or else in tutorial, or else in my office hours, or else over email, etc etc.

2006-06-19T11:33:00.000-07:00

Another topic option for the Midterm Essay

Pick one of the two Henry V film adaptations viewed in tutorial. How does it hold up to the Shakespearean original when based on the criteria of Aristotle or Dr. Johnson? Analyse the film in comparison to the play, keeping in mind the goals of the course as projected by Dr. Ogden in his outline. You still have to import at least three items from lecture.

Helpful hints:
-This topic is fairly wide open; as such, treatment of the texts in their entirety may produce a far too generalized paper (remember, it’s only 1500 words!). Focus your investigation. Consider analysing a specific Act, Scene or group of related scenes. Similarly, hone in on the Aristotle or Johnson criteria.
-Some questions you might ask yourself: what is the purpose of drama? What do Aristotle and Johnson feel is the preeminent characteristic in good drama? How does film help or hinder the dramatic representation of Shakespeare’s play? Do you find the film it to be a faithful adaptation of the original?
-Remember to look at your notes: taking into account context, affect and realism can be helpful.

Group Project: Updates

2006-06-16T18:55:00.000-07:00

How are your Group Projects going? I have updates from some of you, and am delighted to see that these are well on their way. Hopefully you are well on your way in your note-taking an analysis and have found the opportunity to touch the crease with your fellows. If you have and questions or wish for good advice, by all emans check in with your tutorial leader.
By all means forward your choice of drama to study, and I can post them all for us to share. In my tutorial, our groups have selected Star Trek, Canada's Next Top Model, and the World Cup broadcasts respectively for the project.

Introduction to Affect Theory

2006-06-03T11:50:00.000-07:00

What we did in Mark Pedrosa's tutorials, and then some.

Part I - The Basics

- Developed by Silvan Tomkins
- Chronicled in his major work, Affect Imagery Consciousness (1963)
- From work with children, Tomkins posited that our emotional lives can be traced back to nine organ-like structures in our brain. He called these structures "affects.”

Positive: joy, interest
Neutral: surprise
Negative: fear, disgust, dissmell, anger, distress, shame

ALL experience is FILTERED through these 9 AFFECTS, or physical areas of the brain. There are no other options. If we are aware of something, we are aware of it in relation to one of these areas. A feeling is what we only become conscious of AFTER AN AFFECT (that biological part of our brain) HAS BEEN TRIGGERED.

Part II - Contagious Feelings: The Epidemiology of Affect (excerpts from Gibbs)

Tomkins distinguishes nine discrete innate affects, each of which acts to amplify the gradient and intensity of a neural firing, producing a positive feedback loop in which more of the same affect will be evoked in both the person experiencing the affect and in the observer (a phenomenon known as 'affective resonance').The face, according to Tomkins, is the primary site of affective communication and plays a crucial part, along with the voice, in the phenomena of feedback, resonance and contagion, because any one component of affective response will trigger the other neurological and physiological components of the entire pattern of response.

The subject's response to her own affective experience, which draws on memory (socially and familialy produced or learned sequences of affects, as well as defenses against particular affects, and specific meanings attached to them) but which also includes future-oriented projections, will be of cardinal importance in determining how or whether new experiences will be able to be integrated into the existing self-formation. Affects exist in complex interaction: in the therapeutic situation, some affects can be used to modulate or amplify other affects: here as elsewhere familiar sequences of affects (of which the subject is unaware) will often be triggered. Prolonged unrelieved distress is an innate activator of anger, though for social reasons it may also trigger shame, which may in turn produce contempt towards the self or others – and all this may happen internally and automatically, outside awareness.

Attitudes tend to carry with them certain very general ideas about the way the world works. Because of this, the affects that comprise attitudes may be thought of as media for such ideas. Further, because particular affects are innate activators of other affects, or can activate learned affective sequences, if one of these affects is 'caught' it may trigger the sequence of other affects which reactivate a characterisitic attitude (or possibly produce an available, culturally familiar, attitude as a posture).

Part III - Further Reading, interest permitting

A. Tomkins and Affect - A thorough and accessible overview of Affect Theory
B. An Affect Theory of Social Exchange - Edward Lawler claims that emotions are a central feature of social exchange, which is in turn responsible for the production of positive or negative global feelings. This is a dense but rewarding read; of particular interest are the five theoretical assumptions, outlined on page 327. Accessing this article requires that you be connected to the University's proxy server.

Final Thought:
The important "thing" to notice is what happens when we experience a text (in writing, in theatrical performance, cinema, television, music, and so on). Consider the unique properties and limitations of each -- how is the architect manipulating his or her medium to elicit certain responses from the audience? A play in its raw written form will inevitably differ from its adaptation on stage and on screen but, as viewers, we expect the core, central "essence" of the work to be present in each adaptation. The question, then, is how effective (or affective) is each adaptation in embodying the essence of a given work? And further, how is reception of each new adaptation related to its temporal and social /cultural context? (Hint: think of what Dr. Ogden was saying in class about Olivier's WWII-era version of Henry V).

Shakespeare: Plan

2006-05-31T14:01:00.000-07:00

Thursday's lecture we will begin our study of William Shakespeare's Henry V, we will walk through the opening scense s and acts & get a sense of how to read the text. Tuesday we will step back & look at some large patterns.

Celebrate Queen Victoria on her holiday

2006-05-22T00:32:00.000-07:00

Hoping you're enjoying your holiday in honour of Queen Victoria!
I came across this oblique & tendentious article in the Telegraph on the predominance of women at the political head of England following on from Victoria's eminent sixty-four year regnancy:

Have you noticed that modern Britain is the most matriarchal society in the history of the world? The four most famous figures in the public service since the war have been women - the Queen Mother, the Queen, Diana, Princess of Wales and Margaret Thatcher.

Seminar Responses to Plato

2006-05-12T12:44:00.000-07:00

Groups in Thursday afternoon seminar put Plato in the dock over his analysis of Drama. Here are some of their thoughtful conclusions: I must say, like them all very much. By all means add yours to the Comments section of this post, or email them to me & I can add them here in the post.

Group "TM"

Plato wasn't giving credit to people, believing that they would be so easily taken in by the drama they saw.
There was a lack of understanding of where the thoughts came from - as people conceive the ideas for dramas, those thoughts are present in people whether or not they see them on stage (they come from somewhere) so the banning of 'detrimental' theatre would only stop the mass communication of those ideas.
There is a paralell between Plato's attempt to control the content of ancient dramas could be seen as similar to modern attempts to control the content of television, print media, and so on.
A circular argument exists with the defence that a rational government would clean up dramas, leading to greater rationality and republican attitudes. If a rational government doesn't exist (owing to destructive influences like drama) then the control that they would exert over those influences would either be insufficient, or misguided.
There is a greatpossibilty of a corrupt governanace using the media as a tool to brainwash people en masse.

Group "LTC"

Since all dramas are considered misleading, all drama should be removed inan ideal society, because even dramas that promote positive values are misleading. Yet, Plato's idea of an ideal society is itself a misleading fantasy (a drama?). There is NO ideal society [i.e. so just who is promoting a fantasy here anyway!]

Group "RM"

The misrepresentation of reality, i.e. drama, could conceivably serve the ideal republic in an educational role. First, there is a purely intellectual and/or conjectural use. I may find patricide and incest abhorrent, and not be particularly desirous of committing either, but that doesn't mean I'm not interested in understanding the mindset of a person, e.g. Oedipus, who has committed both. Good drama is a thorough exploration of one possible explanation for Oedipus' behaviour, and the effect it has on him afterwards. The dramatist's empathy for the immoral or polluted subject of his drama need not be permanent; being a rational human being, he can still pass a moral judgment on his characters' conduct.
A second purpose served by drama is that of the negative example (if you can't be a good example, then be a terrible warning, or words to that effect). It shows that sin leads to misery, and illumines the good by defining what the good is not. For example, in Antigone, Creon's stubborness and insistence that l'Etat c'est lui led, at least in part, to the suicides of his wife and son. Plato countered these arguments by saying that reason is a more civilized and more effective (I think) means of education, but later he explained that "the heart" can sometimes control the body where the mind cannot. I asked if that meant that the emotional appeal of drama might make it, in some cases, a more realistic lesson. Plato, I think, replied that empathy, vicarious experience, &c were not necessarily to be desired, as emotions often encourage people to do harmful things.
I think somebody pointed out that presumably rational adults, such as the citizens of the ideal republic, could be counted on the distinguish between reality and the dramatic representation of reality. I added that television has much more verisimilitude than live theatre, which point Plato disputed, saying that television is a representation of a representation of reality. I haven't yet been able to come up with an accurate explanation of what I meant by verisimilitude in relation to television. Woe, lackaday, &c. It did occur to me this morning that vicarious emotions are, with regards to techne, closer to Use than reason. Reason seeks to moderate emotion by distancing itself from... it. It stands to reason, then, that the reasonable discussion of emotion would be more like Representation than Use. But when I say "this morning" I mean "4:30 AM when I was trying to get back to sleep," so maybe this objection will make no sense at all to Plato, who may consider understanding emotion to be an uncivilized pursuit.

"Prometheus Bound" Arrives

2006-05-12T12:42:00.000-07:00

As promised by the good people at our campus Bookstore, Aeschylus' Prometheus Bound is now in stock.

Re. the Group Project

2006-05-10T17:07:00.000-07:00

All tutorial groups take note that the criteria for the Group Project will be released early: second course week, in fact.

Aeschylus Text Late

2006-05-10T17:01:00.000-07:00

I have just had confirmed that the Aeschylus text, Prometheus Unbound, is delayed until the end of this week. The recommended schedule for your readings in posted in the syllabus, and provided you read Aeschylus by the end of next week you will be on schedule. Lecture on the Poetics continues through next Tuesday. You have the opportunity of course to get ahead this week on your reading of Shakespeare: you will discover that the Folger text we are using has exceptionally helpful notes on the verso.

Mark Pedrosa's Tutorial

2006-04-11T18:16:00.000-07:00

E-mail Mark Perdrosa at mpedrosa@sfu.ca

Stephen Zillwood's Tutorial

2006-04-11T18:15:00.000-07:00

E-mail Stephen Zillwood at szillwoo@sfu.ca

Welcome

2006-02-24T01:23:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the course blog for English 103 "Introduction to Drama" at Simon Fraser University. More to come as the course begins ....