SURVEY OF ENGLISH LITERATURE I

Specific Foundation / Core

Upon successful completion of the course, students will have achieved the following: -familiarity with a broad spectrum of English literature from the Middle Ages to the early 18th C. -familiarity with the English language as it developed up to the 18th C--through the reading of the texts in the language in which they were originally written. -strengthening of the historical consciousness and the understanding that the literature of a people is related to that people's history--through the contextual study of literary texts and historical contexts. -strengthening of the theoretical and critical thought--through a comparative approach of the common issues faced by the various periods (love, marriage, relation between the two sexes, religion etc).

Course content/ syllabus Lit6-260 Session 1. The Middle Ages: Feudal society; love and marriage; the role of the church. View video by Johanna Alemann*. Read: Derrek Brewer, “The Social Context of Medieval English Literature” (in e-class) and “Middle English Literature” along with “Medieval English” (in Norton Anthology, 9th ed pp. 13-24). Session 2. Thomas of England, Le Roman de Tristran; background on Romance, pp. 140-142; Marie de France, “Chevrefoil”; Capellanus, The Art of Courtly Love, trans. John Parry, pp. 28-36 & 184-186. (The first three are in Norton, 9th ed; the last one in e-class). Session 3. Introduction to Chaucer & The Canterbury Tales (9th ed of Norton, pp. 238-243); Chaucer, “The Franklin’s Tale” (in Norton, 6th ed, & in e-class). Review session. Session 4. The Early Modern Age: Renaissance Humanism, Protestant Reformation, Tudor monarchy, political absolutism, court & administration, social change, literature and drama, development of English. Read: Introduction to the 16th Century in Norton Anthology, 9th edition, pp. 531-544; An Homily Against Disobedience; Queen Elizabeth, “Tilbury speech”; Castiglione, “Ladder of Love” in his Book of The Courtier; Dod-Cleaver & Smith, Household Government; Erasmus, “Woman in childbed.” (The first three texts are in Norton, 9th ed.; the last two are provided in e-class.) Session 5. The Elizabethan Sonnet: Sidney, Astrophil and Stella (sonnets 5, 6, 71 & 72); Spenser, Amoretti, sonnets 65 & 79; Shakespeare, Sonnets, 18, 130, 138; patrarchism and neo-Platonism. Session 6. Elizabethan Theatre: Romeo and Juliet; view film: Shakespeare in Love. Session 7. Romeo and Juliet (con’t) Session 8. Romeo and Juliet (con’t). Review session. Session 9. The Early 17th Century: from female to male monarch, navigations & colonial aspirations, scientific discoveries, changes in mood and literary style; gender debates. Read: Introduction to the early 17th century in Norton Anthology, 9th ed, pp. 1341-1355; excerpt from A Brief and True Report by Hariot (in Norton 6th ed.); Bacon, “Of Plantations” (Norton, 9th); “A Homily of the State of Matrimony,” excerpt (in e-class); Swetnam, The Arraignment of Women; Speght, A Muzzle for Melastomus; [The last two are in the 9th ed of Norton.] Session 10. Change in literary styles; metaphysical poets. Donne, “Batter my Heart,” and “The Good Morrow”; Marvell, “To His Coy Mistress” Session 11. The Civil War and the Republic. Genesis, from the King James Bible (in e-class); Milton, Paradise Lost (Book IV, lines 285-535, 610-775; & Book IX, lines 494-833) Session 12. Milton, Paradise Lost (Book X, lines 641-1104, & Book XII, lines 466-649); Review session. Session 13. The Restoration & the 18th Century: political & social changes after the restoration of the monarchy in 1660. Read: Introduction to the Restoration & the 18th Century in Norton, 9th ed.; Steele, “The Spectator’s Club”; Addison, “The Royal Exchange”; Pepys, “The Deb Willet Affair” in his Diary; Anne Finch, “Introduction. (All of these texts are included in the 9th ed of Norton.) Important Note 1: The materials included in this syllabus can be found either in The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Vol 1, Ninth edition, or in the course’s e-class under “Documents.” The Norton Anthology vol 1 (as well as a photocopied corpus of texts to be used from this volume) will be placed on RESERVE in the ENL Library for anyone who does not own the volume. Texts uploaded in e-class will not be available in photocopied form. Note 2: The course includes two writing workshops, which will be organized around a critical/research paper. You will be notified about them in due time through an announcement in e-class. ________________________________________ *Video by Johanna Alemann, Europe in Transition, available from: https://archive.org/details/EuropeInTransition Recommended films to view: Shakespeare in Love (1998), dir John Madden Tristan and Isolde (2006), dir Reynolds, (produced by Ridley Scott)

Middle Ages, Renaissance, humanism, Reformation, 17th century, Restoration, English literature, poetry, drama, theatre, epic

08-11-2015