ENGLISH RENAISSANCE DRAMA :

The sense of exploration, discovery, experimentation, excitement, creativity, and--inevitably--moral complexity of the Renaissance era in England (from roughly 1550 to 1660) is reflected in the incredible variety and number of plays written by Shakespeare's predecessors, contemporaries, and successors, from the first English comedies (Ralph Roister Doister, credited to Nicolas Udall [1553], Gammer Gurton's Needle [author unknown] and Gascoigne's The Supposes, both in 1566) to the dark and macabre tragedies of Thomas Middleton and John Webster in the first part of the seventeenth century. Following introductory material on the development of the drama in England, we will study, analyze, and discuss a selection of Elizabethan and Jacobean playwrights, exclusive of Shakespeare. Though emphasis will be on the forms and themes of the plays themselves, we will also apply ideas drawn from "New Historicism" as well as give some attention to Renaissance backgrounds. NOTE: Every effort will be made to maintain a "user-friendly" atmosphere.

Presentation: Lecture-Discussion, Group Activities, Seminar Format.

Prerequisites: Open to graduate English students but senior English majors are also welcome.

Requirements: Two brief (5-10 min.) oral reports on individual plays; a longer oral presentation (15-20 min.) which discusses and summarizes your seminar paper; a seminar paper (7-10 pages) on a topic of your choice (many suggested topics will be provided); and a mid-term and final exam (in-class essay exams with optional questions).

Texts: The Spanish Tragedy by Kyd (Norton Mermaid; Edward II by Marlowe (Norton Mermaid); The Alchemist by Jonson (Norton Mermaid); A Woman Killed With Kindness by Heywood (Norton Mermaid); A Chaste Maid in Cheapside and The Changeling by Middleton (Norton Mermaid); The Shoemaker's Holiday by Dekker (Barron); The Knight of the Burning Pestle by Beaumont (Norton Mermaid); The Duchess of Malfi by Webster (Norton Mermaid); A New Way to Pay Old Debts by Massinger (Norton Mermaid); and `Tis Pity She's a Whore by Ford (Norton Mermaid).

English 240K (14977) ENGLISH RENAISSANCE DRAMA Fall, 1998

Prof Nelson (DH 101) MW, 1:00-2:15

Office Hours: MWF, 12-12:50 Calaveras 134

Office tel: 278-6920 SYLLABUS Dept tel: 278-6586

TEXTS: Please use only the following texts: The Spanish Tragedy (1588) by Thomas Kyd (Norton Mermaid); Edward II (1592) by Christopher Marlowe (Norton Mermaid); The Shoemaker's Holiday (1599) by Thomas Dekker (Barron); A Woman Killed With Kindness (1603) by Thomas Heywood (Norton Mermaid); The Knight of the Burning Pestle (1607) by Francis Beaumont (Norton Mermaid); The Alchemist (1611) by Ben Jonson (Norton Mermaid); A Chaste Maid in Cheapside (1611) by Thomas Middleton (Norton Mermaid); The Duchess of Malfi (1613-14) by John Webster (Norton Mermaid); The Changeling (1622) by Thomas Middleton and William Rowley (Norton Mermaid); A New Way to Pay Old Debts (1626) by Philip Massinger (Norton Mermaid); and `Tis Pity She's a Whore (1632) by John Ford (Norton Mermaid). If you have other editions of the plays, please do not use in class. REMINDER: Don't leave home without it!" It is very important that you bring the appropriate text for each class meeting. NOTE: Don't be cheap! Buy all you texts now. Remember that the Hornet Bookstore returns to the publishers all texts not published by late October. Not having the appropriate text or not bring it to class can be hazardous to your academic health.

AUG 31: INTRODUCTION: The Elizabethan Theater; Evolution of English Drama; Classical Revival; Native Tradition.

Assignments of brief (5-10 min) oral reports on The Spanish Tragedy for Monday, February 7.

SEP 2: INTRODUCTION (continued):

7: LABOR DAY (holiday)

12: The Spanish Tragedy (1588): 1. plot summary; 2. elements of tragedy; 3. background and nature of revenge tragedy; 4. introduction to the play: conflict.

14: The Spanish Tragedy (continued): 4. sub-plot and its implications; 5. action and setting; 6. character and motivation.

16: The Spanish Tragedy (continued): 7. group discussions; 8. resolution; possible meanings.

21: Edward II (1592): 1. plot summary; 2. the history or chronicle play; 3. brief biography of Edward II.

23: Edward II (continued): 4. introduction to the play: character and conflict; 5. setting and structure; 6. imagery and symbolism.

28: The Shoemaker's Holiday (1599): 1. plot summary; 2. elements of comedy; 3. character analysis and motivation.

30: The Shoemaker's Holiday (continued): 4. comic confusion, complication; 5. theme and resolution.

OCT 5: A Woman Killed With Kindness (1603): 1. plot summary; 2. reversal of revenge tragdy; 3. overview of the play.

7: A Woman Killed With Kindness (continued): 4. character analysis; 5. possible motifs and themes.

12: The Knight of the Burning Pestle (1607): 1. the collaborations of Beaumont and Fletcher; 2. plot summary; 3. inner and outer plot structure.

14: The Knight of the Burning Pestle (1607): 4. action and setting; 5. significance of environment and atmosphere; 6. satirical elemenmts; 7. possible theme or themes.

19: The Alchemist (1611): 1. background to the play; 2. plot summary; 3. basic conflict and satirical elements.

21: The Alchemist (continued): 4. scientific and pseudo-scientific imagery; 5. character analysis; 6. possible themes and implied moral norms.

26: MID-TERM EXAM

28: A Chaste Maid in Cheapside (1611):

1. plot structure and its implications; 2. the role of women; what they expect; what is expected of them; 3. setting and possible themes.

NOV 2: The Duchess of Malfi (1613-14):

1. characteristics of Jacobean tragedy; 2. plot structure;

NOV 4: The Duchess of Malfi (continued): 3. the Duchess's relationship to her two brothers; 4. the Duchess's character: her strengths and limitations; the choices she makes.

9: The Changeling (1622): 1. possible meaning or meanings of the title; 2. basic conflict and its implications; 3. kinds of corruption in the play.

11: The Changeling (continued): 4. the play as tragic love story: what went wrong? 5. resolution and possible theme or themes.

16: A New Way to Pay Old Debts (1626): 1. The opening of the play: what is the hero of the play doing? what is our first impression of him? what is his "problem" (how does his name indicate his true character)? 2. Who is the "blocking" or "humor" character in the play? What are his values? What does his name suggest?

18: A New Way to Pay Old Debts (continued): 3. how would you characterize the minor characters in the play--Greedy, Marrall, Tapwell? 4. what values--social and moral--does the play ultimately seem to uphold?

23: `Tis Pity She's a Whore (1632): please devise two questions and bring to class with you; be prepared to turn your questions in.

25: `Tis Pity She's a Whore (continued): continue with questions submitted by students.

30: `Tis Pity She's a Whore (continued): continue with questions submitted by students; group discussion.

NOTE: Seminar paper due

DEC 2: Student presentations

4: Student presentations

9: Student presentations

11: Student presentations

GOALS OF THE COURSE:

Following introductory material on the development of the drama in England, we will read, study, analyze, and discuss a selection of Elizabethan and Jacobean playwrights, exclusive of Shakespeare. Though emphasis will be on the forms and themes of the plays themselves, we will also apply ideas drawn from "New Historicism" as well as give some attention to Renaissance backgrounds. The format of the seminar will include lecture-discussion, brief oral reports, group activities, and student presentations.

ASSIGNMENTS AND REQUIREMENTS:

A. Attendance.

1. Attend all classes. Attendance is mandatory and more than two absences, whether excused or unexcused (with rare exceptions about which you should see me), will progressively lower your grade. Arriving late or leaving early will--after three times--count as one absence. If you do arrive late and are counted absent, be sure to come up after class and have this adjusted; otherwise, you will be counted as absent. RECOMMENDATION: Save your cuts! For those days when you (or, if a parent, your child) may be ill or when you need to take care of personal business. Do not cut frivolously and then have no cuts left when you get sick or when your children get sick. Please do not ask me to excuse you because, over the Thanksgiving holiday, you must miss the Wednesday before or the Monday after the Thanksgiving holiday (or both) in order to qualify for discount airfares. Save your cuts for that purpose.

2. Do not come to class unprepared! If you have read a play or plays before, be sure to re-read each play before coming to class. Participate in and contgribute to all class discussions (very hard to avoid, anyway, in a seminar). In particular, as a courtesy to other class members (if nothing else), be especially conscientious in attending the seminar on those class meetings that take place after you have given your longer, informal presentation during the last part of the semester.

B. Brief, informal reports (10 minutes):

1. Do not take these lightly; do not speak off-the-cuff; prepare them as you would prepare notes if you were teaching the class. Students will do at least three brief reports. The reports will be graded. The time limit must be strictly adhered to. If you exceed ten minutes, I will have you stop, even if you are in the middle of a sentence.

2. For your oral report, do not prepare a formal, written paper and simply read it to the class. Instead, prepare and submit to me a copy of your typewritten outline (choose your own outline format) immediately before you are to give your report.

3. Deal with your topic economically and succinctly. Do not introduce extraneous material. Try not to overlap with someone else's report (though, with certain topics, such overlapping might be unavoidable).

4. Use of sources: 1): primary source: cite page number and line numbers of the play you are reporting on (example: p. 32, lines 24-36), that is, if you allude to a passage in the play that you are reporting on which you think illustrates or supports a point you wish to make; 2) secondary source: allude to these informally but conscientiously. Do not give complete bibliographical information; try to paraphrase as much as possible. (Example: "As Freeman points out in his book, Thomas Kyd and the Revenge Play....," etc.)

5. Never miss a class meeting on a day when you are responsible for a brief report, or when you turn comes up for your longer, informal presentation. Please call me at my office (278-6920, voicemail) if you are unable to attend class on a day when you are scheduled for a report of for your longer, informal presentation.

C. Presentation and Paper:

1. The brief, informal reports are the trial runs for your "project"--a longer, informal oral presentation (15-20 minutes long) that you will present to the seminar during the last part of the semester (following the Thanksgiving recess). If you exceed twenty minutes, I will tell you to stop.

Your task is to summarize three scholarly articles from a given three-year period of the annual MLA International Bibliography (published by the Modern Language Association). The presentation is to be fifteen to twenty minutes long. When you summarize each article, you must also crtique that article (that is, inform the class of its strengths and weaknesses). You must type a summary of each of the three articles, each summary not to exceed three pages, double-spaced and typewritten. Please distribute a copy of your summary to me and also to each member of the class before you give your informal presentation. Please try not to read from your typewritten summary, but prepare notes from your typewritten material beforehand and refer to those as you talk informally to the class. If you exceed twenty minutes I will stop you.

2. A finished seminar paper, 7-15 pages in length, double-spaced and typewritten, on a topic of your choice, but you must confer with me beforehand to get approval of the topic. The topic must be on a play or group of plays that are listed on the syllabus. (Please follow themost recent MLA guidelines in writing your paper. If you need to purchase the MLA research guide, please check the text book shelf for English 200A in the Hornet Bookstore; there are usually copies there.) Your finished paper is due on Monday, November 30, at the beginning of the class period.

D. Exams:

In addition to the brief reports, the seminar presentation, and the paper, you will be given a mid-term and final exam. The mid-term will be over the plays we have covered up until that time. The final exam will be over the plays we have covered since the mid-term. (In other words, the final exam will not be comprehensive.) Each exam will include optional questions.

E. Grades:

You will receive grades for your brief oral reports, for your informal presentation, for your seminar paper, and for the mid-term and final exams. The average of your oral report grades will be the equivalent of your grade on the mid-term exam. The longer, informal presentation will be the equivalent of your grade on the final exam and of your seminar paper. The longer presentation, the final exam, and the seminar paper will count one-and-a-half times as much as the grades you receive on the average of your oral reports and your grade on the mid-term exam.

HOW TO COMPUTE YOUR GRADE (based on the 4.00 grade point system): A=4.0; A-=3.6; A-/B+=3.5; B+=3.4; B+/B=3.2; B=3.0;

B-=2.6; B-/C+=2.5; C+=2.4; C+/C=2.2; C=2.0; C-=1.6; C-/D+=1.5; D+=1.4; D+/D=1.2; D=1.0; D-=.6.

Student X makes the following grades:

Average of oral reports: Informal presentation:

B = 3.0 + 3.0 A- = 3.6 + 3.6 + 3.6

Grade on Mid-Term exam: Grade on Final Exam:

B+= 3.4 + 3.4 B+ = 3.4 + 3.4 + 3.4

Seminar Paper:

A-/B+ = 3.5 + 3.5 + 3.5

3.0+3.0+3.4+3.4+3.6+3.6+3.6+3.4+3.4+3.4+3.5+3.5+3.5=44.3 ÷13=3.4

NAME SIGNATURE

1. Coppedge, Steven R.

2. Becker, Michelle

3. Cepeda, Juan

4. Lamons, Michele R.

5. Maul, Patrick M.

6. Nguyen, Jason L.

7. Westgate, John C.

Suggested Paper Topics

Length: 7-12 pages, typewritten, double-spaced.

1. Implications of comic structure in two selected comedies (see Northrop Frye handout on comedy, to be distributed to class).

2. A feminist reading of two selected comedies or two selected tragedies.

3. A reading of two selected comedies or tragedies based on contemporary critical theory (i.e., deconstructionist, new historicist, Marxist or cultural materialist, and so on).

4. A "myth-archetype" reading of two selected comedies or tragedies. Having taken Professor Hennelly's "Myth Criticism" course is the best training for this approach, but if you haven't taken the course, see Anatomy of Criticism by Northrop Frye (especially the chapter, "The Mythos of Spring: Comedy," of which you will be supplied a handout); see also Shakespeare's Festive Comedy by C.L. Barber (see especially the chapter on "The Saturnalian Pattern"); for background reading two books by Mircea Eliade: The Myth of the Eternal Return and Cosmos and History; and two books by Joseph Campbell: The Hero With a Thousand Faces and Myths to Live By.)

5. An explication (i.e., "close reading," based on the older "New Criticism" approach) of two comedies or two tragedies.

6. A comparative analysis (i.e., using both comparison and contrast) of two selected comedies or two selected tragedies.

7. A "search for identity" approach using two selected comedies or two selected tragedies (somewhat similar to "Myth- Archetype" approach above, but also different), which would primarily be based on Jungian psychology.

8. A "coming of age" approach (similar to and overlapping to some extent with Myth-Archetype approach and Jungian approach) to the main characters in two comedies or two tragedies, utilizing the theory in The Rites of Passage by Arnold Van Gennep and the extension of Van Gennep's ideas by anthropologist Victor Turner.

Sample Specific Topics

1. An analysis of mis-rule in The Spanish Tragedy and Edward II.

2. The conflict of head and heart in A Woman Killed With Kindness and The Duchess of Malfi.

3. An Aristotelian analysis of the tragic protagonist in Edward II and The Spanish Tragedy.

4. Tragic protagonists as women: a feminist reading of A Woman Killed With Kindness and The Duchess of Malfi.

5. Comic structure and satirical elements in The Alchemist and The Knight of the Burning Pestle.

6. Elements of the Baroque in The Duchess of Malfi and `Tis Pity She's a Whore.

7. Typical elements of revenge tragedy in The Spanish Tragedy and The Duchess of Malfi.

8. Deadly passages (using the idea of the "rites of passage") in Edward II and The Duchess of Malfi.

9. Images of an Eden corrupted: the loss of chastity in The Changeling and A Woman Killed With Kindness.

10. The relationship and significance of the multiple-plots in A Chaste Maid in Cheapside and The Shoemaker's Holiday.

Altman, Joel. The Tudor Play of Mind. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1978.

Barber, C.L. Creating Elizabethan Tragedy: The Theatre of Marlowe and Kyd. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1988.

Barish, Jonas. The Anti-Theatrical Prejudice. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1981.

Belsey, Catherine. The Subject of Tragedy: Identity and Difference in Renaissance Drama. London and New York: Metheun, 1985.

Bentley, Gerald E. The Development of English Drama: An Anthology. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts, 1950.

. The Profession of Dramatist in Shakespeare's Time, 1590-1642. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1971.

Bevington, David M. From Mankind to Marlowe: Growth of Structure in the Popular Drama of Tudor England. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1962.

. The Theatrical City: Culture, Theatre, and Politics in London, 1576-1649, edited by David L. Smith, Richard Strier, and David Bevington. Cambridge [England] and New York: Cambridge University Press, 1995.

. Tudor Drama and Politics: A Critical

Approach to Topical Meaning. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1995.

Bluestone, Max and Norman Rabkin, eds. Shakespeare's Contemporaries. 2nd ed. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice- Hall, 1970.

Bowers, Fredson. Elizabethan Revenge Tragedy, 1587-1642. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1950.

Braden, Gordon. Renaissance Tragedy and the Senecan Tradition: Anger's Privilege. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1985.

Braunmuller, A.R. and Michale Hattaway. The Cambridge Companion to English Renaissance Drama. Cambridge [England] and New York: Cambridge University Press, 1990.

Bradbrook, M. C. Aspects of Dramatic Form in the English and the Irish Renaissance. Brighton, Sussex: Harvester Press; Towata, N.J.: Barnes & Noble Books, 1983.

. Themes and Conventions of Elizabethan Tragedy. 2nd ed. Cambridge [England] and New York: Cambridge University Press, 1980.

. The Growth and Structure of Elizabethan Comedy. London: Chatto & Windus, 1980

Bristol, Michael D. Carnival and Theater: Plebian Culture and the Structure of Authority in Renaissance England. New York: Metheun, 1985.

Brodwin, Lenora Leet. Elizabethan Love Tragedy, 1587-1625. New York: New York University Press, 1971.

Cope, Jackson. The Theatre and the Dream: From Metaphor to Form in Renaissance Drama. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1973.

Davidson, Clifford, C.J. Gianakaris, and John H. Stroupe, eds. Drama in the Renaissance: Comparative and Critical Essays. New York: AMS Press, 1986.

Dessen, Alan C. Elizabethan Stage Conventions and Modern Inter prete rs. Cambr idge [Engl and]: Cambr idge Unive rsity Press , 1984.

Dollimore, Jonathan. Radical Tragedy: Religion, Ideology, and Power in the Drama of Shakespeare and His Contemporaries. Revised edition. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1989.

Doran, Madeleine. Endeavors of Art: A Study of Form in Elizabethan Drama. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1954.

Ellis-Fermor, Una. The Jacobean Drama: An Interpretation. 4th edition. London: Metheun, 1958.

Farnham, Willard. The Medieval Heritage of Elizabethan Tragedy. Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1956.

Foakes, R.A. Illustrations of the English Stage, 1580-1642. Palo Alto: Stanford University Preww, 1985.

Ford, Boris, ed. The Age of Shakespeare. Revised edition. New York: Penguin, 1982.

Gibbons, Brian. Jacobean City Comedy. 2nd edition. London and New York: Metheun, 1980.

Goldberg, Jonathan. James I and the Politics of Literature. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1983.

Greenblatt, Stephen, ed. Representing the English Renaissance. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1988.

Griswold, Wendy. Renaissance Revivals: City Comedy and Revenge Tragedy in the London Theatre, 1576-1980. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1986.

Gurr, Andrew. Playgoing in Shakespeare's London. Cambridge [England]: Cambridge University Press, 1987.

. The Shakespearean Stage, 1574-1642. 2nd edition. Cambridge [England]: Cambridge University Press, 1980.

Hattaway, Michael. Elizabethan Popular Theatre: Plays in Perfo rmanc e. Londo n and Bosto n: Routl edge and Kegan Paul, 1982.

Honigmann, E.A.J., ed. Shakespeare and His Contemporaries: Essays in Criticism. London and Dover, N.H.: Manchester University Press, 1986.

Kaufmann, R.J., ed. Elizabethan Drama: Modern Essays in Criticism. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 1961.

Leggatt, Alexander. Citizen Comedy in the Age of Shakespeare. Toronto and Buffalo: University of Toronto Press, 1973.

. Jacobean Public Theatre. London and New York: Routledge, 1992.

Leinwood, Theodore B. The City Staged: Jacobean Comedy, 1603- 1613. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1986.

Levin, Richard. The Multiple Plot in English Renaissance Drama. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1986.

. New Readings vs. Old Plays: Recent Trends in the Interpretation of Renaissance Drama. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1979.

Linthicum, M.C. Costume in the Drama of Shakespeare and his Contemporaries. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1936.

Long, J.H. Music in Renaissance Drama. Lexington: University of Kentucky Press, 1969.

Margeson, J.M.R. The Origins of English Tragedy. Oxford: The Clarendon Press, 1967.

McLuskie, Kathleen. Renaissance Dramatists: Feminist Readings. Atlantic Highlands, N.J.: Humanities Press International, 1989.

Orgel, Stephen. The Illusion of Power: Political Theater in the English Renaissance. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1975.

Ornstein, Robert. The Moral Vision of Jacobean Tragedy. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1965.

Paster, Gail Kern. The Idea of the City in the Age of Shakespeare. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1985.

Salingar, Leo. Dramatic Form in Shakespeare and the Jacobeans. Cambridge [England]: Cambridge University Press, 1986.

Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900. Annual Survey of Studies in Elizabethan and Jacobean Drama. Houston: Rice University (scholarly journal beginning Volume I, 1961).

Tomlinson, T.A. A Study of Elizabethan and Jacobean Tragedy. Cambridge [England]: Cambridge University Press, 1964.

Ure, Peter [publisher]. Elizabethan and Jacobean Drama: Critical Essays. Ed. J.C. Maxwell. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 1974.

Wells, Stanley, ed. English Drama (Excluding Shakespeare): Select Bibliographical Guides. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1975.

Wickham, Glynne. Early English Stages, 1300-1600. 3 vols in 4. London: Routledge and Paul; New York: Columbia University Press, 1959-81.

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Choose a play on the syllabus;

2. Choose a particular three-year period from 1970 to the present;

3. If two of you have selected the same play, then you must get together, with one of you selecting one three-year period, and one of you selecting another.

4. Select three scholarly articles from the "British Renaissance" section of the MLA International Bibliography. Do not select articles that are merely "notes." That is, do not select an entry from a journal such as Notes and Queries or English Language Notes. Such entries are only three pages or so in length. In addition, make sure that the articles you have selected are in journals that are available in the University Library. Most--if not all--major academic journals are subscribed to by the University Library.

5. Read carefully and take notes on the three articles you have selected. (You will probably want to make photocopies of the articles you have selected, so you can work on them at home.)

6. Write a summary and critique of each article. (The critique may come after the summary, if you so prefer.) The summary of each article should be no longer than three double-spaced, typewritten pages. Be sure to include the bibliographic information (i.e., name of author, name of article, name of journal, volume number, page numbers, year). Thus, your typewritten summary of all three articles should not exceed 9 pages.

7. You must make enough photocopies of your summary so that you can distribute one copy to each member of the class, plus one copy for me and one copy for you. You should distribute these to the class prior to your presentation but on the day you are scheduled to give it. (You need not hand in your notes to me.)

8. Make your oral presentation to the class, in which you present your "findings" (i.e., your summary of each of the three articles). IMPORTANT: Do not simply read your typewritten summary to the class. Make notes from your typewritten summary and use these notes to refer to in giving your oral presentation. Make sure, in other words, that your oral presentation is informal, as if you were teaching the class.

. Plan your oral presentation for 15 minutes. If you exceed 20 minutes, I will stop you, even if you are in the middle of a sentence. But I urge you to limit yourself to only 15 minutes.

. I will grade your summary and return it to you. But please realize that the grade I assign will also include my evaluation of the effectiveness of your oral presentation.

Group 1:

1. When is the homosexual relationship between Edward II and Gaveston introduced in the play? If you were guessing, would you say that Marlowe's openness on this subject is daring? (See p. 5, scene i, lines 1-15.)

2. How would you define Gaveston's tastes. What sorts of things does he seem to value? (See pp. 7-8, scene i, lines 49-70.)

3. How would you describe Edward's approach to ruling the kingdom in the opening of the play? (See especially p. 9, scene i, lines 90-96.)

4. How many honors and titles does Edward heap on Gaveston? Even though Edward's brother, Edmund (the Earl of Kent), warns him, what is Edward's response? (See p. 12, scene i, lines 152- 169.)

5. When the nobles insist on Gaveston's exile, how does Edward respond? (See p. 21, scene i, lines 47-50.) What does his response tell us?

6. Later in the play, what is the other title that Edward grants to Gaveston? Why might this "reward" seem especially outrageous and even blasphemous to an Elizabethan audience? (See pp. 13-14, scene i, lines 181-98.)

Group 2:

1. By roughly the middle of the play, who is beginning to replace Gaveston in Edward's favor? What circumstances have caused this change? (See pp. 54-55, scene vi, lines 239-52.)

2. We learn that Edward has arranged for Lady Margaret, his niece (and daughter of the late Earl of Gloucester), to marry Gaveston. (See p. 55, scene vi, lines 253-262.) How can this be, since Edward and Gaveston seem to be carrying on a homosexual relationship openly? How does Lady Margaret feel about Gaveston? Does she seem to know about Edward's and Gaveston's relationship? (See pp. 41-42, scene v, lines 57- 82.)

3. In the first part of the play, is Queen Isabella a faithful and loving wife to Edward? (See pp. 17-18, scene ii, lines 46-83; and pp. 25-27, scene iv, lines 144-86.) What do Edward and Gaveston accuse her of?

4. At what point does Isabella's love for Edward begin to change? (See pp. 28-32, scene iv, lines 193-299.)

5. What does Isabella do that seems to establish a definite alliance with Mortimer, Junior? (See pp. 58-9, scene viii, lines 24-70.) What does this scene reveal about Isabella's sense of loyalty and morality?

6. Who is responsible for Gaveston's death, and by means of what kind of treachery? (See p. 70, scene xi, lines 103-120.) Are there any "good guys" in this play?

Group 1

1. What does Queen Isabella do that seems to establish a definite alliance with Mortimer Junior? (See pp. 51-52, II, iv, 23- 69.) What does this scene reveal about Isabella's sense of loyalty and morality?.

2. Who is responsible for Gaveston's death, and by means of what kind of treachery? (See pp. 61-62, III, ii, 103-120.)

3. Who wins the battle between Edward, Spencer Senior, and Spencer Junior on the one hand, and Lancaster, Warwick, Pembroke, and Kent on the other? (See pp. 64-67, III, iii, 1- 47.)

4. Warwick and Lancaster are beheaded immediately after the battle, but Mortimer Junior is sent to the Tower. Why doesn't Edward have him executed also? (See pp. 66-67, III, iii, 48- 75.)

5. What is Spencer Junior's motive for sending Levune to bribe the French into rejecting Isabella's overtures? (See pp. 67- 68, III, iii, 76-95.) (Recall that Edward himself had sent Isabella to France to negotiate with the King of France--who is her brother, Lord Lavois--about the loss of Normandy; see pp. 60-61, III, ii, 59-88.) In the meantime, what titles does Edward confer upon Spencer Junior? (See p. 59, III, ii, 46- 51; and p. 63, III, ii, 143-147.)

6. Who helps Mortimer Junior escape from the Tower, and why does this man's help turn out to be ironic? (See p. 68, IV, ii, 1- 17; then see pp. 98-99, V, iv, 81-114.)

Group 2:

1. Why does Mortimer relieve, first, Leicester, and second, Berkeley, from being in charge of Edward's imprisonment? (See pp. 86-87, V, i, 125-155; then see V, ii, 28-45.) Who does he appoint in their place, and what does he tell them to do to Edward? (See pp. 89-90, V, ii, 46-73.).

2. Can you describe the suffering and torment that Edward is forced to undergo? What castle, ironically named, do Matrevis and Gurney enter with Edward? Why do they shave his beard off? What does the loss of his beard make him seem like? (See pp. 92-94, V, iii, 1-48.)

3. Who is the person that Mortimer sends to actually murder the king? What does his name suggest? What will happen to him afterwards? (See pp. 96-97, V, iv, 15-46.)

4. How does Mortimer view his status after all his "accomplishments"? (See pp. 96-97, V, v, 47-76.)

5. When Lightborn arrives to murder the king, he specifically asks for a fire and a red-hot spit (poker) as well as a table and a feather-bed. As grim as his requests are, what do they suggest as to how Edward dies? (See pp. 100-101, V, v, 14- 37.) What do we learn further about the tortures that Edward is enduring? (See p. 100-104, V, v, 14-118.)

6. Who is primarily responsible for the "fall" of Mortimer Junior and Isabella? What qualities does the young king (formerly Prince Edward, now King Edward III) demonstrate in confronting Mortimer Junior and Isabella? What happens to each of them, respectively? (See pp. 104-108, V, vi, 1-102.)

Group Discussion for Opening of the Play, Act I, scenes I and ii:

Group One--Act I, scene I, pp. 5-9:

1. What is a possible advantage (or, advantages) of beginning the play with the Ghost of Andrea and the figure of Revenge?

2. Why is Andrea refused passage on Charon's boat, and who resolves this problem? (See p. 6, lines 20-27.)

3. What is the function of a Knight-Marshall (Hieronimo's official title in the play)? (See p. 6, line 25; see also the gloss at bottom of page for line 25.)

4. As Andrea travels through the Underworld toward Pluto's court, what does he say he sees that is especially unsettling? (See p. 7, lines 57-58.) What function do you think these lines serve in the larger intentions of the play?

5. What are the three paths of the Underworld? Which one does Andrea have to take, and what is the result? Why has Revenge brought Andrea back to earth and what will Andrea see unfold? (See pp. 7-9, lines 59-91.)

6. Finally, how much has Kyd accomplished in the "Induction," that is, in Act I, scene I? Can you summarize all the elements and relate these to the larger motifs and possible themes of the play?

Group Two--Act I, first part of Scene ii, pp. 9-13:

1. Is there a contrast between Act I, scene I, and the opening lines of Act I, scene ii? (See p. 17; see especially the gloss at the bottom of the page for lines 1-21.)

2. To what does the King of Spain and the Duke of Castile attribute the Spanish victory over Portugal? (See p. 10, lines 10-14.)

3. In a long speech, the General describes in specific terms the Spanish victory. (See pp. 10-11, lines 22-84.) Why is this speech so long? What is its dramatic purpose? (That is, does it make the play at this point more dramatic, more exciting? For a partial answer, see the gloss near bottom of page on p. 10 for lines 22-84.)

4. Who, finally, seems--at least temporarily--to have turned the tide of battle toward Spain and victory? (See pp. 12, lines 65-67.)

5. What then happens? Who defeats Andrea? In the general's description, is there any indication of dishonorable behavior on Balthazar's part? (See p. 12, lines 68-72.)

6. Who then challenges Balthazar and secures the victory for Spain? (See pp. 12-13, lines 76-84.) What does this tell us about the relationship between Andrea and Horatio?

Group 1:

1. Hieronimo first puts on a "dumb show" or masque in Act I. Although our editor, in a footnote, says the masque would appeal to English patriotism, what are other possibilities? What does the masque seem to suggest? (See p. 27, Act I, scene iv, lines 138-79).

2. How does Lorenzo discover Bel-Imperia's love for Horatio? What do his actions here reveal about him? What motivates Balthazar to join with Lorenzo in plotting against Horatio? (See pp. 32-35, Act II, scene i, lines 42-136.)

3. In antithetical speeches, Horatio and Bel-Imperia voice their love while Lorenzo and Balthazar secretly watch and make menacing comments. (In a footnote, our editor notes the dramatic irony of the scene.) Aside from the dramatic irony, what are some thematic implications of this scene? (See pp. 36-38, Act II, scene ii, lines 1-57.)

4. In the love-making scene between Horatio and Bel-Imperia, how are antithetical points of view once again dramatized? Does Bel-Imperia have misgivings about being there with Horatio? The fact that it is night in Hieronimo's garden or bower suggests what? Horatio and Bel-Imperia are Mars and Venus, and, as Bel-Imperia says, "there must needs be wars." What does she mean? (See pp. 40-43, Act II, scene iv, lines 1-50. For the Mars-Venus references, see specifically lines 34-50.)

5. Can we tell who, specifically, murders Horatio? Do Lorenzo, Balthazar, Serberine, and Pedringano all appear to participate? They hang him "in the arbour" (on a tree-like trellis?) and then stab him to death. Is there any significance in the way that he is killed?

6. What do you make of Bel-Imperia's statement, "I loved Horatio, but he loved not me"? (See p. 43, Act II, scene iv, line 58.) Does her statement make any sense?

Group 2:

1. What are some of the consequences of the murder of Horatio? List as many as you can think of, beginning with Hieronimo's soliloquy (pp. 43-44, Act II, scene v, lines 1-33) and going all the way to the end of the play?

2. How does chance or accident seem to play a part in the outcome in roughly the last half of the play? (See, for example, p. 50, Act III, scene i, lines 57-96, when Alexandro is about to be executed.) What is the thematic significance of chance or accident in the play?

3. Why does Lorenzo have Pedringano kill Serberine? And then have Pedringano caught and executed? (See p. 55, Act III, scene ii, lines 69-86; and p. 57, Act III, scene ii, lines 111-19.) What do these actions reveal about Lorenzo?

4. In Hieronomo's next soliloquy, he expresses great disillusionment about what? (See pp. 69-70, Act III, scene vii, lines 1-19. Do you think his loss of belief is justified?

5. Later, the Hangman gives Hieronimo a letter written by Pedringano to Lorenzo (apparently just before Pedringano was executed). What does Hieronimo now discover? Is this development yet another example of "chance" or "accident" in the play? What does Hieronimo now plan to do? (See pp. 70- 72, Act III, scene vii, lines 19-73)

6. Why is Hieronimo unsuccessful in attempting to explain to the king the murder of Horatio? (See pp. 83-84, Act III, scene xii, lines 57-101.) Is this another irony in the play, another example of "chance" or "accident"?