ENGL 40526 - Beckett, Theater and Visual Art

Institution:

University of Notre Dame

Subject:

English

Description:

In this course we will read and watch Samuel Beckett's plays, read some of his art criticism and view work by artists he admired--where possible, we will seek out paintings by these artists in the L.A. area. As a dramatist, Beckett makes extensive use of painterly effects, both in stage design and in direction. We will be able to watch both TV productions of plays like Krapp's Last Tape, Not I and Eh Joe that Beckett himself closely supervised, and the newly-completed film versions of his plays (including Waiting for Godot, Endgame, and Happy Days) by directors that range from Neil Jordan and Atom Egoyan to Damien Hirst and David Mamet. Artists we will look at will include the Irish painter Jack B. Yeats (brother of W.B. Yeats), Bram Van Velde, the Dutch abstract painter, and Avigdor Arikha, the Israeli figurative painter and close friend of the writer from the late 1950s. We will, accordingly, read Beckett as dramatist in the context of the visual arts and their influence on his work, and learn to read visual material--painting, film, plays. We will try to understand Beckett both in the context of Irish drama and art (reading a little of the drama of Synge and W.B. Yeats) and in the context of the international avant-garde of which he was part. The dramas and visual material will be supplemented by a small number of critical works that will aid students in understanding Beckett's works. Students will be expected to do response papers and one longer research paper.

Credits:

3.00

Credit Hours:

Prerequisites:

Corequisites:

Exclusions:

Level:

Instructional Type:

Lecture

Notes:

Additional Information:

Historical Version(s):

Institution Website:

www.nd.edu

Phone Number:

(574) 631-5000

Regional Accreditation:

North Central Association of Colleges and Schools

Calendar System:

Semester

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