This module is designed to introduce students to French literature, culture and history by the close study of a number of dramatic texts from the 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th and 21st centuries. The authors studied use drama to explore a wide variety of themes: religious, philosophical, political, literary and social questions will be examined as they are raised in each text. Students will undertake close readings of the primary texts and will make connections with broader political, social, historical and cultural issues.
Total Contact Hours: 20
• Screencast – 20%
• Essay Plan – 20%
• Essay (2,000 words) – 60%
Indicative Reading List
Marivaux, Pierre de (2006) [1730], Le Jeu de l'amour et du Hasard. Paris: Larousse Petits Classiques ; (2006) Marivaux Plays: Double Inconstancy, False Servant, The Game of Love and Chance [etc.]. London: Bloomsbury
Molière (2006) [1664], Le Tartuffe ou l'imposteur. Paris: Larousse Petits Classiques; (2008) The Misanthrope, Tartuffe and Other Plays. Oxford: OUP.
Reza, Yasmina (2011) [2007], Le Dieu du Carnage. Paris: Magnard Classiques et contemporains; (2008) The God of Carnage. London: Faber.
Rostand, Edmond de (2007) [1897], Cyrano de Bergerac. Paris: Larousse Petits Classiques; (2006) Cyrano de Bergerac. Harmondsworth: Penguin Classics.
Sartre, Jean-Paul (2012) [1948], Les Mains Sales. Paris: Gallimard/Folio; (1989) No Exit and Three Other Plays. London: Vintage.
See the library reading list for this module (Canterbury)
On successfully completing the module students will be able to:
Demonstrate an appreciation of the history of French drama from the seventeenth to the twentieth century;
Demonstrate analytical skills for the study of structure, dramatic technique and treatment of key themes in the French dramatic texts studied, and an ability to evaluate and describe examples of French drama;
Demonstrate skills relating to the close reading and evaluation of literary texts;
Plan and write an essay analysing cultural and historical questions as they are articulated in drama;
Demonstrate their ability to develop lines of argument and make sound judgements in accordance with theories and concepts used in the study of literature
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