The Killer
(Drama II Final Project)
Directions: Read each play and provide extensive answers to each of the
tasks outlined. All tasks should take up at least one full page in single-
spaced, 12 pt. Times New Roman or High Tower Text fonts. This project will
only be accepted in print. You must file the tasks in a .5” (half-inch) binder.
The first page will be a cover page, which legibly states “The Killer,” your
name, and date. The second page will be a Table of Contents and only will
state the Parts’ titles and their respective beginning page numbers (page of
first task) [no tasks should appear in the Table of Contents]. Good Luck!
Part I - Contemporary
1. Read Cat on a Hot Tin Roof by Tennessee Williams. Define a
protagonist out of the Cast of Characters and defend your position.
Your argument must include a complete psychoanalysis of the
character’s mental state, examples found in textual scenarios, and
examples found in situations with other characters. You must include
support also from Williams’ other plays, including but not limited to: A
Streetcar Named Desire, The Rose Tattoo, The Glass Menagerie, etc.
2. Read Oleanna by David Mamet. Rewrite “Act Three,” replacing every
line that ends with an ellipses with a full sentence.
Separately, defend your position (for or against) that a main theme in
Oleanna is a Battle of the Sexes. Defend your argument with examples
from the text and at least one direct quote with importance to your
position.
3. Read Lost in Yonkers by Neil Simon. Define the impact of early trauma
on character/behavior as it relates to the character of Grandma
Kurnitz. Base your argument on factual psychology and textual
scenarios, including direct quotations from the play.
4. Draw a literal comparison (compare/contrast) between the
representations of Pontius Pilate in The Last Days of Judas Iscariot by
Stephen Adly Giurgis, Jesus Christ Superstar by Webber and Rice, and
The New Testament of the Bible (King James Version). Include a
psychoanalysis, literal definition of character, and a subjective analysis
of behavior of Pilate.
5. Read Venus in Fur by David Ives. Define the plot of the play-within-the-
play “Venus in Fur.”
Define 2-4 Freudian principles found within the play along with the
scenarios that correspond with them.
Part II – Pre-Contemporary
1. Read Salomé by Oscar Wilde. Defend or oppose the question of
insanity in the character of Salomé. Define lust as it relates to the play,
and use this definition in your argument.
Separately, describe the civilization of the Chaldeans. Using this
knowledge, explain the character motives of Herodias. Reference those
motives with direct scenarios from the text.
2. Read Proserpine by M. and P. B. Shelley. Define the significance of
Percy Shelley’s poems in the text. Compare the plot to the actual story
of Persephone and Hades, and account for the differences. Cite the
author of your version of the Greek tale.
3. Read Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand. Provide a factual
explanation of why there is an absence of cæsurae in the rhythm
scheme. Identify the scenarios in which Cyrano’s tactics change.
4. Read A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen. Identify Dr. Rank’s likely
euphemism, and why he would not reveal its true meaning to Nora
based on connotation and social custom. In what way can Nora leaving
her children be related to Euripides’ Medea. In what ways can it not.
5. Read Spring Awakening by Frank Wedekind. Describe the relevance of
its subtitle “A Children’s Tragedy;” support your explanation with
textual support. Justify the likeliness that this play was conceived
based on fantasy or fact of Wedekind’s life. Use cultural knowledge and
textual scenarios to support your position.
Part III – Renaissance
1. Read Romeo & Juliet and A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William
Shakespeare. Draw a comparison between the views of love between
the characters of Mercutio and Puck. Specifically, use Mercutio’s
“Queen Mab” speech and Puck’s final soliloquy.
2. Read Hamlet by William Shakespeare. Account for the differences
between both plays-with-plays in Hamlet and A Midsummer Night’s
Dream. Using textual scenarios and characters’ psychoanalysis,
support or challenge the possible theme of betrayal in Hamlet.
3. Read Everyman. Describe how this play can be used as propaganda for
the Church. Use direct situations and scenarios of the text. How does
this play make statements about the state of European society?
Answer this question providing textual support of quotes and
scenarios.
4. Read Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlowe. Explain how the religious
beliefs of the author affect the plot. Describe the importance of the
comedic interludes in the text. Describe the similarities and differences
Marlowe’s and Thomas Mann’s Doctor Faustus. Defend or Challenge
the idea that this play is a display of “Good versus Evil.” Use textual
quotes and scenarios to aid your arguments.
5. Read All’s Well That Ends Well by William Shakespeare. Assess the fact
that the play may have been co-written by Thomas Middleton. State
your position on the matter (affirm or negate) and defend your
standpoint. Use facts procured from Middleton’s writings, as well as
Shakespeare’s, and use direct quotations and scenarios and
affirmations in writing style to support your argument.
Part IV – Classical
1. Read Œdipus the King (Œdipus Rex) by Sophocles. Provide a complete
Freudian analysis of “Œdipus.” Also describe the supernatural values of
the Greeks, as can be drawn from the extents of this play, only using
what is provided in text. Use direct quotations and scenarios from the
text.
2. Read Elektra by Sophocles and Medea by Euripides. Compare the
themes of revenge between “Orestes” and “Medea.”
