Dissecting the Dark Side: Dragons, Demons and Dark Lords 1

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An Introduction to the Course

This course is devised to work in a number of ways, and can be modified to suit different levels of study. As it was created, it looks at representations of evil through a chronologically arranged selection of texts which introduce students to some of the major works of English literature. The structure of the course relates them to J.R.R.Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, as a means of stimulating the interest of students (particularly boys who may not be easily engaged by literature). Although originally devised to use evil as the thematic topic, the course, by implication examines representations of goodness. The original topic is 'transgressive' enough to be interesting, but can be easily controlled to enable the study of other topics. Comparative studies may be accommodated if one or more of the recommended texts/films is exchanged for texts/films in another language, and/or belonging to a different culture.

In addition, the course also introduces The Lord of the Rings to show students how Tolkien's epic fantasy is built out of many literary sources. The course illustrates where Tolkien's text belongs in relation to some of the great works of fantasy in the English language. It can therefore be used to

1. introduce the study of English literature through a focus on one particular topic,
2. facilitate the specialised study of Tolkien's work in relation to English literature,
3. enable the study of the fantasy genre as manifested throughout the history of English literature, and/or as manifested in other world literatures,
4. enable the study of culturally elite and popular forms of literature.

The course includes a selection texts which may be chosen according to the requirements of a syllabus. They include poetry, drama, and novels. A selection of films is offered, any of which may be substituted for one or more texts. One or more films can be used to illustrate how good and evil have been transferred from literature to the new culturally significant medium of film.

The course can be adapted to address the following themes:

• the study of heroes
• the study of villainy
• the relationship between good and evil
• changing ideas of literary worth and the rise of popular culture
• the relationship between pagan and Christian ideas
• the relationship between Christian ideals and science
• changing concepts of good and evil as reflections of social and cultural change
• the study of mythology
• comparative mythology
• the role of women in the depiction of good and evil
• the techniques employed to depict, defend, and embody masculinity in changing social contexts
• changing images of Otherness and marginalisation

The course can be suited to AS/A2 study by selecting appropriate texts. A suitable selection would be

• Macbeth (see Week 4)
• Dracula (see Week 6)
• Nineteenth-century fantasy poems (see Week 7)
• The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

This selection provides the same theme(s) and offers Shakespearean drama, a classic gothic novel, poetry, and a current best-seller fantasy novel. All elements except the poetry can be studied in the context of, and with the aid of, film versions.

At undergraduate level the course also engages with changing ideas of literary worth and the rise of popular culture through the inclusion of The Lord of the Rings and a selection of recent 'blockbuster' films.

Undergraduates should read the whole of each text before it is discussed in its session, but since the basic course looks specifically at the representations of evil, sections of the texts are suggested in the reading plan and provide enough material for discussion with less experienced students.

This page shows an outline plan of reading for this course.

The following pages provide

a week-by-week detailed reading plan as an outline for students,

a session plan for teachers,

a preliminary bibliography,

sample essay questions.

Outline Reading Plan

Week 1

• If the course is used for pre-university students the focus can be entirely on coping with the texts. Background and contexts can be introduced as necessary.
• At undergraduate level week 1 should provide an Introduction to cultural background and contexts such as Christianity, language changes, religious change, the rise of the bourgeoisie, post-Cartesian science, the significance of fantasy and mythology. An introduction to Jung theories of the collective unconscious may be included. Students should be introduced to critical techniques to be used where relevant such as feminism, postmodernism, post-colonialism.

Week 2 Beowulf - pagan monsters, and Anglo-Saxon bravado.

Week 3 Christopher Marlowe, Dr Faustus - Tudor tragedy, the anit-Hero, and demons.

OR Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, Book 1 - the Hero-knight, his lady, his seductress, and the old dragon.

Week 4 William Shakespeare, Macbeth - Jacobean horror, witchcraft, and the grotesque.

OR John Milton, Paradise Lost, Book 1 - Satan's fall and the imagery of hell.

Week 5 Mary Shelley, Frankenstein - creation in the age of gothic horror and science.

Week 6 Bram Stoker, Dracula -a proliferation of Heroes, vampires, dracs, werewolves and women.

Week 7 Nineteenth-century fantasy poetry and the Celtic Twilight: Tennyson's The Lady of Shallott, and 'Blow Bugle, Blow', William Allingham's 'The Fairies', Robert Browning's 'Childe Rolande', and W.B. Yeats's 'The Shadow Waters', 'In Tara's Halls', and 'The Magi'.

Week 8 J.R.R.Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings - . Security and insecurity in The Fellowship of the Ring. This links back to vampires, dracs, and the undead encountered in Dracula.

Week 9 The Lord of the Rings - The Two Towers. Defining and locating evil in Books 3 and 4. This material looks back to Beowulf and Macbeth

Week 10 The Lord of the Rings -The Return of the King, this week covers epic battle and its surrounding actions. Echoes of the Authorised Version of the Bible (King James), Macbeth's taboos, and the dragon battle in The Faerie Queene.

Week 11 The Lord of the Rings -changing Heroes in the films. Adaptation and the preservation of evil.

OR William Golding, Lord of the Flies - diminutive forms of good and evil, and the allegory of political anxiety.

Week 12 a choice of films:

• Star Wars - the Dark Lord and the Hero in space fantasy. This film allows for the study of influences as well as the transferring of mythology into another dimension.
• Independence Day - this film enables the study of the preoccupation with the proliferation of evil in a post-modern context, and the post-colonial Hero.
• Harry Potter - the boy hero in a post-modern world. Many influences from literary and other sources and the vulnerable youth as hero.

Whichever film is chosen, students should compare and contrast the depiction of heroes, villains, women, weaponry, imagery, and linguistic style with the texts studied and The Lord of the Rings films, if used.