Mysteries and Morality on the Medieval Stage
| Code | School | Level | Credits | Semesters |
| ENGL4377 | English | 4 | N/A | April Full Year UK, Full Year UK, January Full Year UK |
- Code
- ENGL4377
- School
- English
- Level
- 4
- Credits
- N/A
- Semesters
- April Full Year UK, Full Year UK, January Full Year UK
Summary
This pod invites students to explore a variety of early fifteenth- to early sixteenth-century dramatic texts ranging from the vast spectacles of mystery pageants like the York cycle to smaller productions requiring few actors and limited props like the humorous morality play Mankind. Critically reading these plays will give students insight into the major literary, cultural and religious concerns of the late medieval period. The pod trains students to look beyond the words of a modern edition to understand how staging practices, costume, characterisation and dialogue worked in tandem to create meaning. Students will also evaluate the ease with which a peculiar and sometimes bawdy brand of secular humour sat alongside sacred themes to create dynamic performance events. The pod also explores how the drama produced during this century left an indelible mark on British dramatic history, even though most of these plays were banned as heretical after the Reformation.
Target Students
Students registered on the School of English online masters scheme.
Assessment
- 100% Participation: Student Participation
Assessed by end of designated period
Educational Aims
This module comprises an optional component in the following pathways: Applied English, Drama and Performance, English Literature, Medieval Englishes, and Medieval Literatures. As such, it contributes in its specific aims to the programme-level coverage of these pathways.Learning Outcomes
Demonstrate a robust knowledge of genre and performance strategies as they relate to late medieval drama and its cultural and historical contexts.
Perform close analysis of dramatic texts, explaining how features such as structure, character, language and staging are integral to our understanding of the work of the medieval playwright
Articulate a comparative and nuanced understanding of how medieval playwrights balanced the didactic and entertainment purposes of performance for their varied audiences.
Demonstrate knowledge and skills acquired to the appropriate disciplinary and professional standard.
Demonstrate knowledge and skills acquired to the appropriate disciplinary and professional standard.
Demonstrate knowledge and skills acquired to the appropriate disciplinary and professional standard.
Assimilate and present subject-specific material in an appropriate format (assessed within the ‘Assessment Portfolio’ 1, 2 or 3).