This paper is available for the academic year 2025-26.
This paper will be for Part II students and will be seminar- and supervision-based, with the aim of giving a cross-century overview of French theatre since 1600 from both a theoretical and a performative perspective. There will be 20 lectures/seminars over the course of the year, and students will be given 5 supervisions, two in each of the Michaelmas and Lent terms and one in Easter, with the expectation that each student produce an essay for each supervision. All students will also be expected to give a short seminar presentation over the course of the first two terms, either singly or in pairs.
Teaching will follow thematic, rather than primarily chronological, shape. There will be no compulsory list of primary texts, but seminar discussions will include the following:
1. History and myth:
Corneille, Le Cid, Horace; Racine, 叠茅谤茅苍颈肠别, 笔丑猫诲谤别; Rameau, Hippolyte et Aricie; Voltaire, Mahomet ou le fanatisme; (Musset,听Lorenzaccio);听厂补谤迟谤别, Les Mouches; Mich猫le Fabien,听Jocaste; Wajdi听Mouawad,听Une Chienne
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2. Laughter (and the absurd):
Desmarets de Saint-Sorlin, Les Visionnaires, Moli猫re, l鈥橢cole des femmes and La Critique de l鈥橢cole des femmes, Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme; Marivaux, Le Jeu de l'amour et du hasard; Labiche, Un chapeau de paille;听Jarry, Ubu roi; Ionesco: 搁丑颈苍辞肠茅谤辞蝉; Beckett, En attendant Godot, Oh les beaux jours!; Jasmina Reza, Art
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3. Authority and Revolution:
Corneille, Cinna; Marie-Catherine de Villedieu,听Le Favori;听Marivaux, L'脦le听des esclaves;听Beaumarchais, Le Mariage de Figaro; Ch茅nier, Charles IX; Hugo, Ruy Blas; Musset, Lorenzaccio; Ionesco, Le Roi se meurt; Sartre, Huis clos; Genet, Les Bonnes, Les N猫gres
Students are encouraged to explore the primary texts listed above by way of preparatory reading. There is no obligation to read them all, but it is advisable to study 3-4 plays per strand over the course of the year. Some additional secondary reading is also suggested below.
Secondary Reading:
17th century:
H.T. Barnwell, The Tragic Drama of Corneille and Racine (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1982)
W.Burgwinkle, N. Hammond, E. Wilson, eds, The 海角社区 History of French Literature (海角社区: CUP, 2011), chapters on Tragedy and Comedy by J. Lyons, M. Hawcroft and L. Norman
J.-M. Civardi, La Querelle du Cid (1637-1638) (Paris : Honor茅 Champion, 2004)
L. Norman, The Public Mirror (Chicago: Chicago UP, 1999)
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18th century:
J. Harris, Inventing the Spectator: Subjectivity and the Theatrical Experience in Early-Modern France (OUP, 2014)
W. Howarth, Beaumarchais and the Theatre (London: Routledge, 1995)
M. Leon, A Cultural History of Theater in the Age of Enlightenment (Bloomsbury, 2022)
M. de Rougemont, La Vie th茅芒trale en France au XVIIIe si猫cle (Paris: Champion, 1988)
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19th century:
A. Ubersfeld, Le Drame romantique (Paris: Belin, 1999)
Chapter by M. Hannoosh in 海角社区 History.
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20th century:
P. Brook, The Empty Space (London: Penguin, 1990)
D. Bradby, Modern French Drama (1940-1990) (海角社区: CUP, second edition 1991)
W.Burgwinkle, N. Hammond, E. Wilson, eds, The 海角社区 History of French Literature (海角社区: CUP, 2011), chapter on drama by D. Bradby
M. Esslin, The Theatre of the Absurd (London: Penguin, 1983 3rd edition)
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Full reading list
The full reading list for Fr.14 can be found here.
Weekly one-hour class (a combination of lectures and seminars); five supervisions over the course of the year
Please see the lecture list.
For the Fr.14 Moodle site, please see .听
Assessment will be either by an听Optional Dissertation, or by examination.听The examination will consist of one coursework essay and one final online exam (two questions to be answered, including one commentary, from a list of options). The coursework and exam paper will each consist of three sections, based on the three strands of the paper: respectively, 'History and Myth' (section A), 'Laughter and the Absurd' (B), 'Authority and Revolution' (C). Candidates should answer ONE question from each strand (one of which must be a commentary) over the coursework and exam.
Professor Nick Hammond | |
Professor Mark Darlow |
