Final Exam Discussion and Practice Questions

Our final exam will take place in the classroom on Tuesday 10 July, starting at the normal time (6:10pm). I've posted some practice questions in the Assignments section on the right. These should give you an idea of what will be asked on the exam and what its format will be.

If you have any questions about the exam or the material, feel free to post them here as a comment to this post. While I'm happy to answer questions in person or via email, posting them here can benefit everyone.

Good luck!

Assignment 7: Beckett's Happy Days

What's your favorite (or least favorite) passage, and why?

Assignment 6: Brecht's Mother Courage and her Children

In Mother Courage and her Children, does Bertolt Brecht use theatrical elements (placards, costume changes, music, etc.) effectively? Why or why not? What line or passage demonstrates this?

Assignment 5: O'Neill's Long Day's Journey Into Night

Eugene O'Neill's Long Day's Journey Into Night has been called the great American play, meaning that it somehow captures the essence of America or being American. In light of our class conversation today, do you think this is true? Why or why not? Which passages in the play or in the supplementary material support your idea?

Assignment 4: The Role of Women in Susan Glaspell's The Verge

Due Thursday 6/21: In The Verge, how does Glaspell use elements of setting or action to emphasize the role of women and gender issues? What lines or passages seem important? Did Shoshana Felman's article or our class discussion change your initial understanding of the play?

Assignment 3: The House in The Ghost Sonata

August Strindberg's The Ghost Sonata is a surrealist play with many changing facets. It deals with sin and innocence, generational conflict, lies vs. truth, and false identities. Just about the only thing that remains stationary -- though not unchanging -- is the Colonel's house. What is the significance (or at least one significance) of the house in this play? Can you point to a particular passage where you see it?

Assignment 2: Marriage and Shaw's Candida

Marriage is one aspect of modernity that undergoes close scrutiny in the first two plays we've read. How does Shaw use dramatic (i.e. characterization, dialogue) and theatrical (i.e. setting and stage direction) elements to examine marriage in Candida? What does he seem to be saying about marriage, and which lines or passages seem important?

Assignment 1: Setting and the Action of Ibsen's The Wild Duck

In our class discussions we have addressed the relationship between the setting and the action, between the environment and its inhabitants. One feature of Realist drama is that it attempts to show in an objective yet analytical manner the facts that comprise modern experience. In Act I of The Wild Duck, how does the setting relate to the characters and what they do? In what ways is it significant? Is there a particular line or passage that demonstrates what you think?

One or two paragraphs are all that's required, but of course feel free to write more if you have lots of thoughts.

Welcome

Welcome to Modern Drama to 1950! I enjoyed meeting you all today and am looking forward to working with you over the first Summer session. By now, you should have received the invitation email at the address you gave me in class today.

If you don't already have a Google account, you'll need to create one in order to write to this blog. So be sure to follow the link in the invitation email which tells you how to do this.

I have placed in the Links section to the right illustrated instructions on registering for the blog and writing comments.

If you encounter any problems, don't hesitate to email me at the address listed on the syllabus or see me in office hours or before class.

Please write a quick "hello" comment to this post, just to make sure everything's working right.

See you tomorrow.