1. Discuss the connection between masculinity and violence. You might consider one ore more of the following: Is violence connected to certain male attributes or characteristics? To male sexuality? To personal or political power or lack thereof? Is violence in the male characters depicted as natural, as a perversion of nature or as social prescription? Does this violence reflect the cultural mores and gender roles of the society in which the text was produced?
2. Analyze the theme of revenge in ONE OR TWO plays from our course. You might consider the following: who seeks revenge and why? Is the revenge justified? Does the revenge lead to tragic consequences? How and why?
3. Nothing is funnier than unhappiness (Nell, Endgame). A number of the texts we are reading use comedy to address serious, even tragic topics. Analyze the interconnectedness of comedy and tragedy in at least ONE play from our course.
4. The tradition of Western theatre is a white male tradition. However, numerous contemporary playwrights confront the whiteness and maleness of Western theatre by representing traditionally marginalized characters and/or groups on stage. Through an analysis of race, gender and/or sexuality in ONE OR TWO plays from our course, examine how and why traditional power structures (white, male and/or heterosexual) are challenged.
