Morality Plays of the late medieval and Tudor periods are among the most ribald and entertaining material of their day. Major influences on early modern drama, including Marlowe’s Faustus and Shakespeare’s Tempest, the plays focus on the construction of the self, the monarch, and the body politic. In doing so, they demonstrate the movement from religious to political allegory in the context of the Reformation and the beginning of the early modern state.
The class will read a selection of morality plays from 15th and 16th century England and Scotland, including Mankind, Everyman, The Castle of Perseverance, John Skelton’s Magnificence and selections from Sir David Lyndsay’s A Satire of the Three Estates, as well as an additional five plays chosen by the class. When possible we will view videos of modern day stagings of the plays. All plays will be read in the original Middle English (or Middle Scots), but students will receive help and instruction in acquiring the skills needed to read and pronounce the language. As the plays were written for performance, the class will contain some experiments in reading and staging the plays as well as a performance component.