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Browse materialsMIT 21L.005 · Fall 2004

Introduction to Drama

Art: Gustave Doré, Gustave Doré, Illustration for John Milton’s “Paradise Lost“, 1866.…, 1866 · Public domain

Instructor: Prof. Diana Henderson
Term: Fall 2004
Level: Undergraduate
What's inside: 1 reading · 6 other files · 5 web pages
Materials open: MIT OCW

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21L.005 · Fall 2016 · Study here
21L.005 · Fall 2004 · Study here (this version)

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Start course: Lecture 1: Introductory Discussion. Objective To think hard…Find a topic

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Source: MIT OpenCourseWare 21L.005 Introduction to Drama, Fall 2004, Prof. Diana Henderson — original course page on ocw.mit.edu ↗. License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. Study order: MIT's own listing order, section by section. Taken from MIT's published course files, downloaded from ocw.mit.edu on September 23, 2026. How RedLectern is built.

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MIT OpenCourseWare, Prof. Diana Henderson, 21L.005 Introduction to Drama, Fall 2004.

License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 · Edition: Fall 2004 · Open the original course on OCW ↗

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Introduction to Drama

Before you start

What's here, and what isn't

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Materials by section

Assignments

Study Materials

Lecture 1: Introductory Discussion. Objective To think hard about “drama”: meanings, assumptions, prejudices. To understand why this class matters and how it is designed, and recognizing the skills to be learned.

Lecture 3: Discussion of The Bacchae. Objective To interpret drama as a complex set of perspectives on values. To think historically, symbolically and poetically. To share responses orally.

Lecture 4: Discussion of The Bacchae, Oedipus and Aristotelian Dramatic Criticism. Objective To consider the philosophical bases for drama: what one learns, what is real, what one feels. Discuss the nature of tragedy and its effects on an audience.

Lecture 6: Video Screening of “Master Harold.”

Lecture 11: Watch Scenes from Nigerian Dramatic Performance and Discuss Wole Soyinka’s Death and the King’s Horseman. Objective To consider drama as a representation of “culture(s).” To understand the meanings and function of “postcolonial” thinking in interpretation.

Lecture 12: Discussion of Death and the King’s Horseman , with Reference to Amiri Baraka’s “What is Black Theater? Performance Group Meetings. Objective To reconsider tragedy and the roles of race and gender in a different cultural context. To move the rehearsal process forward.

Lecture 13: Discuss Christopher Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus. Objective To understand the role of poetry in drama. To read Elizabethan drama historically, comprehending what is “early modern” about this protagonist and his story.

Lecture 15: Discussion of Doctor Faustus . Performance Group Meetings. Objective Last class’s objectives, continued. To understand the cultural and artistic significance of this play. To make further progress in the rehearsal process.

Lecture 16: Discussion of Aphra Behn’s The Rover. Objective To locate Restoration comedy within its post-war culture. Further practice in analyzing extensive dramatic structure, including patterns of repetition-with-a-difference and foils.

Lecture 17: Discussion of The Rover with Reference to Oliver Goldsmith’s “A Comparison Between Sentimental and Laughing Comedy.” Objective To analyze the components and varieties of comedy, and to understand the logic behind some classic comic tropes.

Lecture 19: Discussion of Six Characters in Search of an Author , with Reference to Antonin Artaud’s “No More Masterpieces.” Objective To supplement the education and enjoyment provided by the Pirandellans on Monday.

Lecture 20: Discussion and Performance of Bertolt Brecht’s Galileo . Objective Brechtians: To perform vividly and lead the discussion and analysis effectively, educating your audience. Pirandellans: To attend carefully, critically and generously as an audience member and contributor to discussion.

Lecture 21: Discussion of Galileo , with Reference to Brecht’s “Theatre for Pleasure, Theatre for Instruction.” Objective To supplement the education and enjoyment provided by the Brechtians on Monday.

Lecture 22: Discussion of Caryl Churchill’s Top Girls . Objective Discuss gender and performance. Analyze the use of non-realist techniques and orchestrated speaking.

Lecture 23: Video Screening of Top Girls .

Lecture 24: Discussion of the Scene and Research Assignments (tentative).

Lecture 26: Discussion of Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia . Reports. Objective To remember the pleasure of comedy. Analyzing history, science and art as topics and methods. To reap the benefits of one another’s research.

Lecture 28: Reflections. Reports. Evaluations. Objective To reflect, to evaluate. To reap the benefits of one another’s research. To celebrate achievement and community.