Obradoiro de
Expresión Literaria
Inglesa
(20th & 21st Century
Narratives
in English through Film)
Office Hours 2010-2011
B Building B41
Monday 13h-15h, Tuesday 11h-13h, Wednesday 12h-14h
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Literatura Anglosaxona e
Medieval
Obradoiro de
Expresión Literaria
Inglesa Office Hours 2010-2011 |
0. INTRODUCTION.
0.1. GOALS AND COURSE STRUCTURE.
0.2. DESCRIPTION OF THE PERIOD: OLD & MIDDLE VS MEDIEVAL.
1. THE OLD ENGLISH PERIOD.
1.1. ESSENTIAL CONTEXT: BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO ANGLO-SAXON ENGLAND.
1.2. BASIC FEATURES OF OLD ENGLISH LITERATURE.
1.2.1. Literature from the Old English Period: Fundamentals, Thematic
Features.
1.2.2. Formal Features: Verse, Rhythm, Kennings, Orality, Literacy.
1.2.3. Magic and Entertainment: Riddles & Charms.
1.3. ELEGIAC POETRY: THE INDIVIDUAL FACING HIMSELF.
1.3.1. What is Elegiac Poetry?
1.3.2. The Seafarer.
1.3.3. The Wanderer.
1.3.4. Wulf and Eadwacer.
1.3.5. Deor.
1.3.6. The Wife’s Lament.
1.4. EPIC POETRY: THE INVIDUAL FACING THE GROUP.
1.4.1. What is Epic Poetry? Heroic, Historic & Christian.
1.4.2. Beowulf: Paganism, Christianism, Myths, & Legends.
How is the oral story built?
1.4.3. Beowulf updated: John Mactiernan’s The 13th
Warrior
(1999). Gareth Hinds’ The Collected Beowulf (2003)
1.5. PROSE LITERATURE: A BRIEF SURVEY.
1.5.1. Introductory remarks.
1.5.2. King Alfred’s School & The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles.
1.5.3. Religious Prose: Wulfstan & Aelfric.
2. THE MIDDLE ENGLISH PERIOD.
2.1. ESSENTIAL CONTEXT: BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO THE 1100-1500 PERIOD.
2.2. BASIC CHARACTERISTICS OF MIDDLE ENGLISH LITERATURE.
2.3. ROMANCE GENRE, ARTHURIAN LEGEND & THE ALLITERATIVE REVIVAL.
2.3.1. What is a Romance?. Types, Matters, Classification.
2.3.2. The development of the King Arthur Legend: pseudo-history and
Geoffrey of Monmouth.
2.3.3. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.
2.3.4. Thomas Malory’s Le Morte D’Arthur.
2.3.4.1. Malory on Film?: John Boorman’s Excalibur (1981)
2.3.5. 14th Century Alliterative Revival: Gawain Poet, Piers Plowman.
2.4. THE DIVERSITY OF MEDIEVAL VERSE: ILLUSTRATIVE EXCERPTS.
2.4.1. Samples from The Bestiary.
2.4.2. Lyric Poetry.
2.4.3. Comic Verse: Dame Siriþ.
2.4.4. Debate Genre: The Owl and the Nightingale.
2.5. THE WORKS OF GEOFFREY CHAUCER.
2.5.1. Geoffrey Chaucer: Fundamentals.
2.5.2. The Canterbury Tales: “The General
Prologue”,
“The Wife of Bath’s Tale”, “The Pardoner’s Tale”. BBC The
Canterbury
Tales (2004).
2.6. MEDIEVAL THEATRE.
2.6.1. Fundamentals: Mistery & Morality Plays.
2.6.2. The Harrowing of Hell.
3. GOALS.
This subject offers an in-depth course on Medieval English Literature,
covering its basic periods, genres, works and authors. Apart from
carrying
out a theoretical/practical analysis of the texts proposed in the
syllabus
within its medieval context, we’ll try to see to what extent many of
the
topics enclosed in them are relevant for the contemporary reader.
4. BASIC BIBLIOGRAPHY.
4.1. REFERENCE AND CRITICISM
BUENO, J. L. 2001: El Discurso Poético Elegíaco del
Inglés
Antiguo. Vigo: Servicio de Publicacións da Universidade de Vigo.
BUENO, J. L. 2005: Literatura Inglesa Medieval y Renacentista:
Guía
Temática y Bibliográfica. Oviedo: Septem Ediciones.
BUENO, J. L. 2007: La épica de la Inglaterra anglosajona:
Historia
y textos desde el auge de Mercia al declive de la monarquía
(760-1016).
Vigo: Servicio de Publicacións da Universidade de Vigo.
DONOGHUE, D. 2004: Old English Literature: A Short Introduction.
London:
Blackwell.
ELLIS, S. 2005: Chaucer: An Oxford Guide. Oxford: OUP.
GALVÁN, F. 2001: Literatura Inglesa Medieval. Madrid: Alianza
Editorial.
JOHNSON, D. & TREHARNE, E. eds. 2005: Readings in Medieval Texts:
Interpreting Old and Middle English Literature. Oxford: OUP.
LAPIDGE, M. et al. 1999: Blackwell Encyclopedia Of Anglo-Saxon England.
Oxford: Blackwell.
PEARSALL, D. 2003: Arthurian Romance: A Short Introduction. London:
Blackwell.
4.2. READING
Exception made of Beowulf & Sir Gawain and the Green Knight —the
editions by Heaney & Stone will be followed—, all the texts whose
analysis
will be made throughout the course will be given by the instructor at
the
beginning of each section. Some of them are taken from the editions
mentioned
below. In the course, students will be given detailed further reading
lists
which they can use to broaden their knowledge on a particular topic.
Handouts
with additional material will be handed in during the course.
COGHILL, N. trans. 1977: Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales.
Harmondsworth:
Penguin Books.
CROSSLEY-HOLLAND, K. trans. 2009: The Anglo-Saxon World: An Anthology.
Oxford: O.U.P.
HAMER, R. 1970: A Choice of Anglo-Saxon Verse.London: Faber &
Faber.
HEANEY, S. trans & DONOGHUE, D. ed. 2002: Beowulf: A Verse
Translation.
London & New York: W.W. Norton.
STONE, B. trans. 1971: Medieval English Verse, Harmondsworth: Penguin
Books.
STONE, B. trans. 1974: Sir Gawain and The Green Knight. Harmondsworth:
Penguin Books.
TREHARNE, E. 2004: Old And Middle English: An Anthology. Oxford:
Blackwell.
5. ASSESSMENT.
There will be one single final exam in January/February 2011. It will
have
a theoretical part –in which the student will have to show his/her
knowledge
of the topics exposed throughout the course– and a practical part –in
which
two texts will be analysed and commented–. Besides, students can
compose
written papers about any text or topic from the analysed period. Those
students who wish to write such papers are strongly advised to talk
with
the instructor for personal assesment.
Back to top 
Back to mainpage
| ACTIVITIES | IN-CLASS ATTENDANCE | INDEPENDENT & PRIVATE STUDY | WORKLOAD TIME FACTOR | TOTAL WORKLOAD (HOURS) |
| Theory Sessions | 16 | 24 | 1,5 | 40 |
| Practice Sessions | 37 | 55,5 | 1,5 | 92,5 |
| I-C Tutorials | 2 | 4 | 2 | 6 |
| Term Paper Final Version | 1 | 10,5 | 10,5 | 11,5 |
| TOTAL | 56 | 94 | 150 |
GOALS AND SKILLS
The works of William Shakespeare have always been one of the objects
of filmic adaptations based on literary material. Admitting that there
are multiple methods that lead to an optimum result when it comes to
offer
a cinematic rendering of Shakespeare, the aim of this course is
twofold:
a) On the one hand, we’ll consider how Shakespeare-on-Film
paradigms
of adaptation have evolved, taking into account the theoretical
background
of film adaptation and film analysis.
b) On the other, we´ll carry out an in-depth practical analysis
of several adaptations –bearing in mind Shakespeare’s texts and
arguments–
from a wide variety of viewpoints.
Special attention will be paid to those cases that display a more
creative
use of filmic staging, abandoning old-fashioned performative trends in
favour of a more gifted handling of filmic language. As far as the
specific
competences to be acquired by the student as a result of the subject’s
learning outcomes, the student, thus, will be able to:
a) understand and use the fundamental concepts of film analysis and
film adaptation of literary material.
b) offer critical explanations of filmic texts using the concepts of
filmic language.
c) compare from a critical point of view a given filmic text with its
main literary source(s), in this case, a film based on Shakespearean
material
with its source play(s).
SYLLABUS
1. THEORY AND PRACTICE OF SHAKESPEARE-ON-FILM ANALYSIS
1.1. THE LIFE AND TIMES OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE. ESSENTIAL CONTEXT.
1.1.1. Brief sketches for a biography of William Shakespeare: Michael
Wood’s In Search of Shakespeare (2003)
1.2. FROM LITERATURE TO FILM: ADAPTATION AND ITS CONTEXTS.
1.2.1. Theory and practice of Film Adaptation: Typology and adaptation
processes
1.2.2. Shakespeare on Screen: A swift overview
1.2.3. Interpretation vs. Overinterpretation.
1.3. FILM AS TEXT: FUNDAMENTALS OF FILM ANALYSIS.
1.3.1. Mise en Scène.
1.3.2. Cinematography.
1.3.3. Editing.
1.3.4. Sound.
1.3.5. Film Techniques, Film Form and Narrative.
2. SCREENING SHAKESPEARE(S): FROM PLAY-SCRIPT TO SCREENPLAY
2.1. A CHANGE OF PERSPECTIVE TO START WITH: SAME TOPIC, DIFFERENT
TARGET
2.1.1. Considering the texts: Titus Andronicus.
2.1.2. Julie Taymor’s Titus (1999)
2.2. HAMLET: SAME STORY, DIFFERENT APPROACHES.
2.2.1. Considering the text: Hamlet
2.2.2. Kenneth Branagh’s In the Bleak Midwinter (1995)
2.2.3. Kenneth Branagh’s Hamlet (1996)
2.2.4. Michael Almereyda’s Hamlet (2000)
2.3. MACBETH: SAME STORY, DIFFERENT CULTURE.
2.3.1. Considering the text: Macbeth
2.3.2. Orson Welles’ Macbeth (1948)
2.3.3. Akira Kurosawa’s Throne of Blood (1957)
2.3. RICHARD III: SAME STORY, DIFFERENT FILTERS.
2.3.1. Considering the text: Richard III.
2.3.2. Al Pacino’s Looking for Richard (1996)
2.3.3. Richard Loncraine’s Richard III (1995)
2.4. MACBETH: SAME STORY, DIFFERENT CULTURE.
2.4.1. Considering the text: Macbeth
2.4.2. Orson Welles’ Macbeth (1948)
2.4.3. Akira Kurosawa’s Throne of Blood (1957)
2.4.4. Mark Brozel’s Macbeth (2006)
2.5. MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING: SAME COMEDY, DIFFERENT AIM.
2.5.1. Considering the text: Much Ado About Nothing.
2.5.2. Kenneth Branagh’s Much Ado About Nothing (1993)
2.5.3. Brian Percival’s Much Ado About Nothing (2006)
BASIC BIBLIOGRAPHY
A) The PHOTOCOPY SET with all the compulsory theory material. It is available at the faculty’s copy shop. It contains the following:
ON SHAKESPEARE’S LIFE AND TIMES, THEATRE, STYLE AND VERSE:
Crystal, David. 2004: “The Language of Shakespeare” in Wells, S. &
Orlin, L.W. eds. 2004: Shakespeare: An Oxford Guide. Oxford: Oxford
University
Press.
Crystal, David & Crystal Ben. 2002: Shakespeare’s Words: A Glossary
and Language Companion. London: Penguin.
Egan, Gabriel. 2004: “Theatre in London” in Wells, S. & Orlin,
L.W. eds. 2004: Shakespeare: An Oxford Guide. Oxford: Oxford University
Press.
McDonald, Ross. 2004: “Shakespeare’s Verse” in Wells, S. & Orlin,
L.W. eds. 2004: Shakespeare: An Oxford Guide. Oxford: Oxford University
Press.
Potter, Lois. 2004: “Shakespeare’s Life and Career” in Wells, S. &
Orlin, L.W. eds. 2004: Shakespeare: An Oxford Guide. Oxford: Oxford
University
Press.
Wells, Stanley. 2004: “Why Study Shakespeare?” in Wells, S. &
Orlin,
L.W. eds. 2004: Shakespeare: An Oxford Guide. Oxford: Oxford University
Press.
ON FILM ADAPTATION:
Bueno, Jorge L. 1999: “La dimensión visual del material
literario:
¿Hacia una antropología cinematográfica?
Adaptación,
transvase y rituales fílmicos en John Huston's The Dead”,
in Caramés, J. L. et al. eds. El Cine: Otra Dimensión del
Discurso Artístico. Volumen I. Oviedo: Servicio de Publicaciones
de la Universidad de Oviedo.
Stam, Robert. 2005: “Introduction: Theory and Practice of Adaptation”
in Stam, R. & Raengo A. eds. 2005: Literature and Film: A Guide to
the Theory and Practice of Film Adaptation. Oxford: Blackwell.
ON FILM AS TEXT / FILM ANALYSIS:
Abrams, Nathan., Bell, Ian and Udris, Jan. 2001: Studying Film. London:
Arnold. (Chapter 2.6. “The Language of Film”)
ON SHAKESPEARE ON FILM:
Boose, Lynda E. & Burt, Richard. 2003: “Totally Clueless?
Shakespeare
goes Hollywood in the 1990’s” in Boose, L. E. & Burt, R. eds. 2003:
Shakespeare, The Movie: Popularizing the plays on film, tv and video.
London
and New York: Routledge.
Bueno, Jorge L. 2004: ‘Baseless fabric’ vs. ‘Potent art’: Towards new
perspectives in Shakespeare cinematic revisions” in Moskowich-Spiegel,
Isabel. et. al. eds. Interpretations of English: Essays on Literature,
Culture and Film. Coruña: Universidade da Coruña Press.
Jackson, Russell. 2002: “From play-script to screenplay” in Jackson,
R. ed. 2002: The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare on Film. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.
B) A CRITICAL EDITION of the WORKS of William Shakespeare analyzed in this course: Hamlet, King Henry V, King Richard III, Macbeth, Titus Andronicus. The following Arden editions are recommended:
BATE, J. ed. 2004: The Arden Edition of the Works of William
Shakespeare.
Titus Andronicus. London: Thomson Learning.
CRAIK, T. W. ed. 2004. The Arden Edition of the Works of William
Shakespeare.
King Henry V. London: Thomson Learning..
HAMOND, A. ed. 2000: The Arden Edition of the Works of William
Shakespeare.
King Richard III. London: Thomson Learning.
MUIR, K. ed. 2004: The Arden Edition of the Works of William
Shakespeare.
Macbeth. London: Thomson Learning.
THOMPSON, A. & TAYLOR, N. eds. 2006. The Arden Edition of the Works
of William Shakespeare. Hamlet. London: Thomson Learning.
TEACHING METHODOLOGY
This seminar will be conducted following an experimental approach to
the ECTS system. The European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System
(ECTS)
is a student-centred system based on the student workload required to
achieve
the objectives of a programme, objectives preferably specified in terms
of the learning outcomes and competences to be acquired. Learning
outcomes
are sets of competences, expressing what the student will know,
understand
or be able to do after completion of a process of learning, long or
short
Thus, one ECTS credit = 25 working hours for the student. A 6 ECTS
credit
subject = 150 working hours.
The student workload in the ECTS system consists of the time (IN-CLASS
+ INDEPENDENT & PRIVATE STUDY TIME) required to complete all
planned
learning activities such as attending practical and theoretical
lectures,
independent and private study, reading, preparation of projects, etc.
As it is shown in the table above, the PLANNED LEARNING ACTIVITIES
in this seminar are divided as follows:
a) Theory sessions: In-Class sessions in which the theoretical aspects
of the subject will be explained and presented to the students.
b) Practice sessions: In-Class practical sessions in which detailed
practical analysis of the films proposed will be conducted. Active
participation
of the students is required.
c) In-Class Tutorials: Specific tutorials to guide the students in
their term paper writing and in other practical aspects of the subject.
d) Term paper final version writing: the estimated amount of time that
will be required to write the final version of the term paper after all
the preliminary work (reading, taking notes, film critical viewing,
draft
writing, etc) has been completed.
The WORKLOAD TIME FACTOR is used to calculate the amount of time the
student needs (both in-class attendance time and independent &
private
study time) to achieve the objectives of the syllabus. It includes the
reading of all the compulsory material (theoretical and practical) and
other aspects of the learning process such as personal study, note
taking,
etc.
ASSESSMENT.
The subject will be assessed as follows:
a) Final exam in June 2011. It will have a theoretical part –in which
the student will have to show his/her knowledge of the topics exposed
throughout
the course– and a practical part –in which a clip from the films
discussed
in the course will be analysed and commented–. [60% of the final mark]
b) Three short written practical exercises will be handed in throughout
the course, at the end of every major section. [15 % of the final mark]
c) A written term paper (8-10 pp) will have to be composed about any
text or topic from the analysed period. The student is free to select
the
approach and the topic. Although guidance will be given at all times,
students
are strongly advised to talk with the lecturer for personal assessment.
[25% of the final mark]
Back to top
Back to mainpage
This course offers a theoretical-practical workshop on 20th and 21st Century literary genres in English language through Film. As such, this course has a hybrid nature that combines literary analysis and film criticism to examine how the differences between written fiction and cinematic narrative allow the director of each adaptation to transfer the original story into a visual medium. The course considers a corpus of written and cinematic examples whose inclusion in it is based on the following assumptions: a) the literary texts are all important and representative pieces in the genres they belong to (novel, short story, theatre, graphic novel, screenplay); b) the cinematic texts are all important and relevant films from the point of view of filmmaking; c) the films are all intriguing narratives whose value is not dependant exclusively upon their “fidelity” to their literary sources. In some cases they stand apart from the fiction they transfer even as they descend from it. The transition from page to screen requires inevitable changes that make each adaptation a unique work of art. To deal with this complex connection and its thematic intricacies is the main aim of this course. As far as the specific competences to be acquired by the student as a result of the subject’s learning outcomes, the student, thus, will be able to: a) understand the fundamental concepts of film analysis and film adaptation of literary material; b) offer critical explanations of filmic texts using the concepts of filmic language; c) compare from a critical point of view a given filmic text with its main literary source(s).
BASIC BIBLIOGRAPHY
A PHOTOCOPY SET with all the compulsory theory material will be
available
at the faculty’s copy shop. It will contain all the required readings
for
the course.
The subject will be assessed as follows:
a) Final exam in June 2010. It will have a short theoretical test –in
which the student will have to show his/her knowledge of the topics
exposed
throughout the course– and a practical part –in which two clips from
the
films discussed in the course will be analysed and commented–. [50% of
the final mark]
b) Active involvement in the in-class practical sessions and
commentaries
[10 % of the final mark]
c) A written term paper (10-12 pp) will have to be composed. It will
compare any of the written fictions analyzed in the course with its
cinematic
narrative. The student is free to select the approach and the topic.
Although
guidance will be given at all times, students are strongly advised to
talk
with the lecturer for personal assessment. [40% of the final mark]
Back to top
Back to mainpage
Back to top
Back to mainpage
Back to top
Back to mainpage