Syllabus
1 Introduction 2 Endgame 3 Happy Days 4 Krapp's Last Tape 5 Words and Music 6 Cascando 7 Play 8 Not I 9 That Time 10 Footfalls 11 no class 12 A Piece of Monologue 13 reserve + play screening
Annotation
OBJECTIVES
The course is designed as a wide exploration of stage and radio plays written by Beckett from the 1950s to the beginning of the 1980s. A central objective is to follow in these plays the trajectory taken by recurrent themes such as voices resounding in the head, fighting back and/or piecing together memories, or the omnipresence of the torturing external gaze. Moreover, close attention will be paid to the way in which Beckett's drama often stretches its medium to the utmost limit: it will become manifest how radically Beckett changed the face of modern drama with his fundamental experiments. The course will combine textual analysis with an examination of the performative aspects of the play-text and the specific forms of dramatic communication utilised. Most items will be screened or made available in audio format.
ASSESSMENT
Credit requirements include active participation in debates, an in-class presentation and a final essay (min. length 3000 words). Deadline for essays: 15 January 2008.