III—THE DRAMA IN ENGLAND; VICTORIAN PERIOD
1. Early Nineteenth-Century Dramatic Criticism—Charles Lamb's selections from the early English dramatists. His great love of the stage, and his essays describing plays and actors of his time. Essays of Hazlitt and of Leigh Hunt upon the stage.
2. Sheridan Knowles—Readings from Virginius. Bulwer-Lytton—Readings from The Lady of Lyons and Richelieu.
3. Tom Taylor—Readings from Our American Cousin and The Ticket of Leave Man. Robertson—Readings from Society and Caste. Boucicault—Readings from London Assurance; Louis XI.; and The Colleen Bawn.
4. Irving and Terry—As exponents of Shakespeare. Their personalities. Irving as a manager. His magnificent stage-settings.
Books to Consult—Brander Matthews: Development of the Drama. C. M. Gayley: Representative English Comedies. H. A. Clapp: Reminiscences of a Dramatic Critic.
The immense improvement in the art of staging plays in this period is an excellent topic for one paper. The famous actors also may be studied: John Kemble, Edmund Kean, Macready, and Helen Martin (Lady Faucit), for the earlier years; the Bancrofts, the Kendals, and Beerbohm Tree, for the later. Sothern's great success as Lord Dundreary, Macready's visit to the United States during the Civil War, and the popularity of Irving and Terry are worthy of consideration. Particular mention may be made of plays other than Shakespearean, in which Irving and Terry appeared: The Bells, The Lyons Mail, Faust, and Tennyson's Becket. Read from Terry's recently published biography. The history of Drury Lane and Covent Garden theaters deserves a special paper.
IV—THE GERMAN DRAMA
1. Lessing—The dulness of the German theater up to the middle of the eighteenth century. Paralysis of genius by the Thirty Years' War. Lessing's dramatic criticism. Readings from Minna von Barnhelm, and Nathan the Wise. Translations in Bohn's Library.
2. Goethe—His life-story, his writings, his influence. German admiration for Shakespeare largely due to Goethe. Description of life at Weimar. Goethe's first play: Goetz von Berlichingen. Readings from Egmont, Iphigenia, and Tasso. Bohn's Library.