EN3TBS: The Bloody Stage: Revenge and Death in Renaissance Drama

Module code: EN3TBS

Module provider: English Literature; School of Humanities

Credits: 20

Level: Level 3 (Honours)

When you'll be taught: Semester 2

Module convenor: Professor Michelle O'Callaghan, email: m.f.ocallaghan@reading.ac.uk

Module co-convenor: Dr Chloe Houston, email: c.houston@reading.ac.uk

Pre-requisite module(s): Before taking this module, you must have at least 40 credits of EN-coded modules at Part 1 (except for visiting students). (Open)

Co-requisite module(s):

Pre-requisite or Co-requisite module(s):

Module(s) excluded:

Placement information: NA

Academic year: 2024/5

Available to visiting students: Yes

Talis reading list: Yes

Last updated: 11 November 2024

Overview

Module aims and purpose

This module explores the representation of revenge and death across a range of revenge tragedies performed on the Renaissance stage. The Renaissance was a period when bodies were mutilated and put on public display by the state. We will explore what spectacles of punishment can tell us about wider cultures of retribution and violence, including the tensions between private revenge and state justice. Since bodies in death are surprisingly articulate, this module will consider how to analyse the staging of death scenes and whether there are differences in the ways that men and women die on stage. These highly stylised revenge tragedies are deliberately provocative and raise important questions about the aesthetics and ethics of violence. 

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, it is expected that students will be able to:

1. Apply discipline-specific practices of close reading, interpretative analysis and critical argument
2. Discuss and appraise published research, or equivalent advanced scholarship, within the field of English literature
3. Recognise what and how they have learnt, through self-reflection and through constructive dialogue with other people

Module content

The module examines a range of Elizabethan and Jacobean revenge tragedies through close reading and analysis, paying attention to questions of performance and context. Plays for study may vary year to year but may include some of the following: Thomas Kyd,The Spanish Tragedy, Christopher Marlowe,The Jew of MaltaandMassacre at Paris, Shakespeare,Titus Andronicus, Thomas Middleton,The Revenger’s Tragedy, John Marston,Antonio’s Revenge, Elizabeth Cary,Tragedy of Mariam, John Webster,The Duchess of MalfiandThe White Devil.

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

There will be three seminar hours weekly, for which students are required to do preparatory reading. These contact hours are supported by online screencasts and other learning resources. Students are also entitled to a half-hour tutorial on their formative written work.The online content provides an informative background to the seminars and allows students to prepare and undertake independent reading in advance of class discussion. 

Study hours

At least 33 hours of scheduled teaching and learning activities will be delivered in person, with the remaining hours for scheduled and self-scheduled teaching and learning activities delivered either in person or online. You will receive further details about how these hours will be delivered before the start of the module.

Please note the independent study hours above are notional numbers of hours; each student will approach studying in different ways. We would advise you to reflect on your learning and the number of hours you are allocating to these tasks.

Semester 1 The hours in this column may include hours during the Christmas holiday period.

Semester 2 The hours in this column may include hours during the Easter holiday period.

Summer The hours in this column will take place during the summer holidays and may be at the start and/or end of the module.

Assessment

Requirements for a pass

Students need to achieve an overall module mark of 40% to pass this module.

Summative assessment

Penalties for late submission of summative assessment

The Support Centres will apply the following penalties for work submitted late:

Assessments with numerical marks

• where the piece of work is submitted after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): 10% of the total marks available for that piece of work will be deducted from the mark for each working day (or part thereof) following the deadline up to a total of three working days;
• the mark awarded due to the imposition of the penalty shall not fall below the threshold pass mark, namely 40% in the case of modules at Levels 4-6 (i.e. undergraduate modules for Parts 1-3) and 50% in the case of Level 7 modules offered as part of an Integrated Masters or taught postgraduate degree programme;
• where the piece of work is awarded a mark below the threshold pass mark prior to any penalty being imposed, and is submitted up to three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline), no penalty shall be imposed;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): a mark of zero will be recorded.

Assessments marked Pass/Fail

• where the piece of work is submitted within three working days of the deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): no penalty will be applied;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): a grade of Fail will be awarded.

The University policy statement on penalties for late submission can be found at: /cqsd/-/media/project/functions/cqsd/documents/qap/penaltiesforlatesubmission.pdf

You are strongly advised to ensure that coursework is submitted by the relevant deadline. You should note that it is advisable to submit work in an unfinished state rather than to fail to submit any work.

Formative assessment

Formative assessment is any task or activity which creates feedback (or feedforward) for you about your learning, but which does not contribute towards your overall module mark.

Formative feedback is given on Journal entries submitted prior to the end of Week 6. 

Reassessment

Additional costs