Essay questions for groups 2, 3 and 4.

Theatre

Answer on one of the following questions. Students must submit an essay of between 1,500 and 2,000 words. Submission deadlines can be found in the freshman student handbook.

Q1. In Oedipus the King can we attribute any fault to the central characters for their actions or are they entirely blameless and merely victims of the gods’ play?

Q2. “What’s Hecuba to him, or he to her,
That he should weep for her?” (Ham. 2.2.494-5)
Discuss the idea of role-playing in Hamlet.

Q3. “Have you heard the argument? Is there no offence in’t?” (Ham. 3.2.226)
Discuss the significance of the play-within-the-play in Hamlet.

Q4. Discuss Iago’s motivations in Othello. Does he deserve any sympathy for the actions he takes? Is he merely an opportunist attempting to advance his career or are his actions entirely malevolent?

Q5. Discuss Miller’s challenge to the notion of heroic action in Death of a Salesman.

Q6. Discuss Synge’s depiction of an Irish rural community in Playboy of the Western World. Does Synge use irony to challenge stereotyping?

Q7. In Endgame, how does Beckett satirise the ritualistic element of contemporary society?

Q8. In any two plays from Michaelmas Term, discuss the idea of unrequited love.

Q9. Discuss genre in relation to any three texts from the course and address and defend why each play adheres to such classification.

Q10. Classifying drama into genres over-simplifies and demerits the power of that drama. Discuss.

Rory Loughnane
loughnrv@tcd.ie

Group 2 Re-scheduled class

Dear Group Two,

due to low attendance at today's re-scheduled class, I will be re-scheduling another class on Hamlet after Reading Week. Prepare Othello and Death of a Salesman for the first class after Reading Week and we will re-schedule an appropriate time after that class.

Best wishes,

Rory Loughnane.

Group 2 Theatre Re-scheduled class

Dear Group 2 (normally 4-5 Monday),

because of the Bank holiday this week, we have to re-schedule our class on Hamlet. Meet me at 4pm on Thursday outside room 4019. If you can't make this re-scheduled class please email me at loughnrv@tcd.ie

Best wishes,

Rory Loughnane.

Questions of the Week!

What reasons does Hamlet give for procrastinating over the murder of Claudius? Which reasons do you find convincing?

How are the female characters presented in the play? Are Ophelia and Gertrude merely pawns in the political world of Elsinore, or influential players in the power struggle?

Is Claudius a good King? Discuss his treatment of Laertes, Ophelia, Polonius, Rosencrantz, Guildenstern and Gertude.

Discuss the significance of the graveyard scene. What comic relief does the clown bring, and how does this conflict with/or parallel Ophelia's "funeral"?

Discuss spying in Elsinore.

Questions of the Week!

Discuss the conflict between personal liberty and fate in Oedipus the King.

Can we condemn Oedipus's actions in the tragedy?

What dramatic effect does the unity of time, action and place in the Oedipus the King create?

What use is made of the metaphor of blindness in the play?