Module Details

Module Code: CULT H8025
Full Title: Shakespeare and his Contemporaries: Poetry and Drama in the Elizabethan World
Valid From:: Semester 1 - 2019/20 ( June 2019 )
Language of Instruction:English
Duration: 1 Semester
Credits:: 10
Module Owner:: Aoileann Ni Eigeartaigh
Departments: Unknown
Module Description: This module explores the Elizabethan world, examining its political and social structures, its embodiment of Renaissance and humanist ideas, and the development of its dominant cultural themes and styles. Students study both the poetry and the drama of the era. A key focus of the module is on facilitating a close engagement with the techniques and stylistic innovations of Elizabethan literature.
 
Module Learning Outcome
On successful completion of this module the learner will be able to:
# Module Learning Outcome Description
MLO1 Explain the key political, ideological and cultural characteristics of the Elizabethan world.
MLO2 Discuss concepts of status, order, hierarchy and gender, and explain their role in Elizabethan society, poetry and drama.
MLO3 Perform a close textual examination of a number of key works of Elizabethan poetry, prose and drama.
MLO4 Analyze the extent to which Elizabethan poetry and drama reflected – and sometime challenged – the prevailing political and social values and norms.
MLO5 Assess the ways in which English society changed in the post-Elizabethan era, and explore the ways in which dominant themes and anxieties are reflected in the poetry and drama of the era.
MLO6 Critique the technical and aesthetic development of English language and literature during the Elizabethan period.
Pre-requisite learning
Module Recommendations
This is prior learning (or a practical skill) that is strongly recommended before enrolment in this module. You may enrol in this module if you have not acquired the recommended learning but you will have considerable difficulty in passing (i.e. achieving the learning outcomes of) the module. While the prior learning is expressed as named DkIT module(s) it also allows for learning (in another module or modules) which is equivalent to the learning specified in the named module(s).
No recommendations listed
 
Module Indicative Content
The Elizabethan world: social and political context
n/a
Renaissance Humanism: Ideology and Culture
n/a
The revenge tradition in Elizabethan literature
n/a
Courtly love poetry and gender anxieties
n/a
Order, hierarchy and inheritance in the Elizabethan world
n/a
Overturning the Elizabethan world
n/a
Shakespearean and Jacobean drama in practice
Language, acting style and theatre conventions, genre, themes and issues
Module Assessment
Assessment Breakdown%
Course Work50.00%
Final Examination50.00%
Module Special Regulation
 

Assessments

Full-time

Course Work
Assessment Type Continuous Assessment % of Total Mark 30
Marks Out Of 0 Pass Mark 0
Timing n/a Learning Outcome 1,2,3,4,6
Duration in minutes 0
Assessment Description
Students will submit two short assessments, one based on poetry and the other on a play. The aim of the assessments is two-fold: it will give students the opportunity to develop their independent critical skills and will give them the opportunity to perform a close textual study of proscribed texts; approx. 1500 words
Assessment Type Presentation % of Total Mark 20
Marks Out Of 0 Pass Mark 0
Timing n/a Learning Outcome 1,2,3,4,5,6
Duration in minutes 0
Assessment Description
Working in groups, students will analyze two texts (one poem and one play) under a number of headings relating to theme, tone and technical characteristics. The aim of the assessment is to enable students to reflect on the connections between different genres of text and to assess the development of new styles and modes of expression.
No Project
No Practical
Final Examination
Assessment Type Formal Exam % of Total Mark 50
Marks Out Of 0 Pass Mark 0
Timing End-of-Semester Learning Outcome 2,5
Duration in minutes 0
Assessment Description
End-of-Semester Final Examination

Part-time

Course Work
Assessment Type Continuous Assessment % of Total Mark 30
Marks Out Of 0 Pass Mark 0
Timing n/a Learning Outcome 1,2,3,4,6
Duration in minutes 0
Assessment Description
Students will submit two short assessments, one based on poetry and the other on a play. The aim of the assessments is two-fold: it will give students the opportunity to develop their independent critical skills and will give them the opportunity to perform a close textual study of proscribed texts; approx. 1500 words
Assessment Type Presentation % of Total Mark 20
Marks Out Of 0 Pass Mark 0
Timing n/a Learning Outcome 1,2,3,4,5,6
Duration in minutes 0
Assessment Description
Working in groups, students will analyze two texts (one poem and one play) under a number of headings relating to theme, tone and technical characteristics. The aim of the assessment is to enable students to reflect on the connections between different genres of text and to assess the development of new styles and modes of expression.
No Project
No Practical
No Final Examination
Reassessment Requirement
A repeat examination
Reassessment of this module will consist of a repeat examination. It is possible that there will also be a requirement to be reassessed in a coursework element.

DKIT reserves the right to alter the nature and timings of assessment

 

Module Workload

Workload: Full-time
Workload Type Contact Type Workload Description Frequency Average Weekly Learner Workload Hours
Lecture Contact No Description Every Week 4.00 4
Tutorial Contact No Description Every Week 2.00 2
Directed Reading Non Contact No Description Every Week 8.00 8
Independent Study Non Contact No Description Every Week 4.00 4
Total Weekly Learner Workload 18.00
Total Weekly Contact Hours 6.00
Workload: Part-time
Workload Type Contact Type Workload Description Frequency Average Weekly Learner Workload Hours
Lecture Contact No Description Every Week 4.00 4
Tutorial Contact No Description Every Week 2.00 2
Directed Reading Non Contact No Description Every Week 8.00 8
Independent Study Non Contact No Description Every Week 4.00 4
Total Weekly Learner Workload 18.00
Total Weekly Contact Hours 6.00
 
Module Resources
Recommended Book Resources
  • Greenblatt, Stephen et al. (2018), The Norton Anthology of English Literature - 3 volume set: A B & C, W.W. Norton and Company.
  • Taylor, Gary et al. (2017), The New Oxford Shakespeare Complete Set, Oxford University Press.
  • Lennard, John. (2005), The Poetry Handbook, Oxford University Press.
Supplementary Book Resources
  • Belsey, Catherine. (1985), The Subject of Tragedy: Identity and Difference in Renaissance Drama, Methuen.
  • Dollimore, Jonathan and Glnys Troddyn.. (2004), Radical Tragedy: Religion, Ideology and Power in the Drama of Shakespeare and His Contemporaries, Duke University Press.
  • Swinburne, Algernon Charles.. (2002), Contemporaries of Shakespeare, Adamant Media Corporation.
  • Zimmerman, Susan.. (1998), Shakespeare’s Tragedies: Contemporary Critical Essays, Palgrave Macmillan.
  • Dillon, Janette. (2007), The Cambridge Introduction to Shakespeare's Tragedies, Cambridge University Press.
  • Gay, Penny. (2007), The Cambridge Introduction to Shakespeare's Comedies, Cambridge University Press.
Recommended Article/Paper Resources
  • DkIT subscribes to a wide variety of Ebooks and Ejournals. Relevant articles will be recommended to students..
Other Resources
  • Online Resources, Students will be expected to stay up-to-date with contemporary critical and cultural developments. Relevant websites and data bases will be strongly recommended to them.