FRENCH 213 From Myth to the Absurd: French Drama in the Twentieth Century

This course will first look at how modern drama appears with the revolutionary importance given to the “mise en scène” and then will offer students the opportunity to study some of the most important and influential works of French drama since 1900 and to acquire at the same time a knowledge of the major literary and philosophical trends of the twentieth century: symbolism, surrealism, existentialism, and the absurd.

 The class will examine not only the ideas expressed in each play but also its “mise en scène” and the author’s use of theatrical language.  Attention will be given to the particular social, political, and aesthetic context of the plays and to the formal qualities of different dramatic genres: tragedy, comedy, tragi-comedy, and farce.

 Written and Oral work:

Regular preparation of an analysis of the plays and discussion in class.  Two short papers (one on Anouilh and Cocteau, one on Sartre and Camus), short reviews of plays (videos of plays by Giraudoux, Ionesco, Beckett and Genet), one final project plus an oral exam for which the students will be encouraged to write a short play, or to learn a part of a play (Beckett, Ionesco, Genet), or discuss a topic (Beckett, Ionesco, Genet, Claudel).

  Works to be studied:

Jean Cocteau, La machine infernale (LDP, 854)

Jean Anouilh, Antigone (Didier, La Table Ronde)

Jean Giraudoux, La Guerre de troie n’aura pas lieu (LDP 945)

Jean-Paul Sartre, Les Mains Sales (Gallimard, Folio)

Albert Camus, Les Justes (Gallimard, Folio)

Paul Claudel, L’Annonce faite à Marie (Gallimard, Folio)

Samuel Beckett, En attendant Godot (Macmillan)

Eugène Ionesco, La Leçon (Gallimard, Folio)

Jean Genet, Les Bonnes (Gallimard, Folio)

 Secondary readings:

Fin XIXe début XX: importance de la mise en scène en Europe

Antonin Artaud: extraits de quelques écrits sur le théâtre

Alfred Jarry, Ubu roi, extraits