A study of the work of three of the most original and influential contemporary playwrights. Our main focus will be on Beckett's Waiting for Godot, Endgame, Krapp's Last Tape and Happy Days; on Pinter's The Birthday Party, The Caretaker, The Homecoming, Old Times and Betrayal; and on Stoppard's Rosencranz and Guildenstern Are Dead, Travesties, The Real Thing, and Arcadia. The plays will be considered both as literary and theatrical texts and at different points may be connected to projects undertaken by Williamstheatre and in Theatre Department courses. Format: discussion/seminar. Requirements: one 4-to 5-page paper, and an independent project of each student's own devising that will result in an essay of 15-20 pages. Prerequisites: a 100-level English course, except 150. Enrollment limit: 20 (expected: 20). (Post-1900)