- Enseignant-e: Charlotte Potter
- Enseignant-e: Andrew Reilly
The Restoration period, which began in 1660 when King Charles II was restored to the throne of England after eighteen years of civil war, republican government, and suppression of public theatrical performance, is often associated with new developments in the theatre and dramatic literature. Not only were women allowed to act on English professional stages for the first time, but the newly constructed theatres of the period also offered opportunities for acting companies to experiment with staging and performance. At the same time, a new generation of dramatists experimented with structure, language, and genre, while also engaging critically with the legacy of earlier playwrights. The aim of this seminar is to closely study three important plays written in the 1670s (Aphra Behn’s “The Rover”, John Dryden’s “All for Love”, and George Etherege’s “The Man of Mode”) and consider how these developments were realised in dramatic texts during the period. Our discussions will touch on different themes including love, wit, gender, and social status and we will also engage with a range of secondary texts.
Recommended editions:
Aphra Behn, “The Rover” (revised edition), ed. Robyn Bolam, New Mermaids (London: Bloomsbury, 2012). ISBN: 978-1-4081-5211-9
John Dryden. “All for Love”, ed. N. J. Andrews, New Mermaids (London: A & C Black, 2004). ISBN: 978-0-7136-7105-6 (The 2014 Methuen reissue of this edition is also fine).
George Etherege, “The Man of Mode”, ed. Michael Neill, New Mermaids (London: Bloomsbury, 2019). ISBN: 978-1-4742-8953-5