English 200 (02): English Literature to the Restoration
September - December 2000
Meeting: Th 6:30 - 9:30 PM
Room: Bldg. 345, Rm. 104

Course WWW page:
http://web.mala.bc.ca/siemensr/teaching/Engl200-00.htm

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Description

A broad, representative view of  writing in English literature from its beginnings to the Restoration, with attention to literary form, the social and intellectual characteristics of periods or schools, and major authors.

Course Materials

• Course Text:
  • Abrams, M. H. (gen. ed.), et al, eds.  The Norton Anthology of English Literature.  Vol. 1.  7th ed.  New York: W.W. Norton and Co., 2000.
• Additional Resources:
  • Suggested: Lunsford, Andrea, Robert Connors, and Judy Segal.  The Everyday Writer: A Brief Reference. Canadian ed.  New York: St. Martin's P, 1997.  (The home page for most recent edition of this work is found at <http://www.bedfordstmartins.com/lunsford/everyday_writer/default.html>.)
  • The Writing Centre at Malaspina U-C.
  • Malaspina U-C, English Department Grading Standards

Course Requirements

• Writing Sample and Presentation, 0%.  (Week 1.)
  • A brief sample on the topic of "Literary History" (the subject of the first lecture), which will be presented to the class.
• Mid-term exam, 15%.  (Week 5.)
  • This exam will cover the material considered up to and including week 4.  It will have 3 sections: [1] identification of passages and expansion on their significance, [2] short answer (paragraph), and [3] long answer (essay).
• Research Presentation, 15%.  (Due throughout the term.)
  • A well-researched and formal presentation on your topic, which will be assigned during the first week of class (topics are listed below).  The presentation will be approx. 10 minutes in length, and will include [1], for the class, a handout that outlines your presentation and lists useful secondary resources for those who wish to know more about your topic and [2], for the instructor, a detailed outline of your research paper on the same topic and an annotated list of between 5 - 8 secondary academic resources directly related to your topic.
  • Note: The complete script or outline for your presentation, the handout, and the outline of your paper are due for approval at our class meeting two weeks before the night of your presentation.  Without approval, your presentation cannot go forward.
• Research Paper, 30%.  (Due one week after your presentation.)
  • A formal research paper on your topic, having its origins in your research presentation; it will be presented in MLA style, ca. 2,000 words, and will include an annotated list of works cited.
• Class and Seminar Participation; Quizzes, 15%.
• Final Exam, 25%.

Notes:

• All deadlines are firm.
• Attendance is mandatory.
• All course requirements must be met (and a mark of greater than F received) for a passing grade to be issued in the course.
• There will be a small number of unscheduled quizzes during the course of the term.
• This course assumes training and/or ability in the use of our library (and ILL facilities), its catalogue, and the various specialized indexes and bibliographies related to literary studies in the areas covered by the course.
• All students are advised to consult and use The Everyday Writer as part of their course and assignment preparation.  All students are advised to be familiar with Malaspina's Student Conduct Policy (available at: http://www.mala.bc.ca/www/crsinfo/calendar/STUDCOND.HTM), which includes a section on plagiarism.

Syllabus
 
• Week 1 (Sept. 7):  Course and student introductions; Anglo-Saxon Literature: "The Wanderer," "The Dream of the Rood," and discussion of Beowulf.  Writing Sample.
• Week 2 (Sept. 14):  Chaucer, The Pardoner's Prologue and Tale; Kemp, The Book of Margery Kempe.
• Week 3 (Sept. 21):  Sir Gawain and the Green Knight; The Second Shepherd's Play (Wakefield Cycle).
• Week 4 (Sept. 28):  Everyman; More, Utopia.
• Week 5 (Oct. 5):  Skelton; Wyatt; Surrey; Hoby. Mid-term Exam.
• Week 6 (Oct. 12):  Elizabeth I; the Sidneys; Ralegh; Shakespeare (non-dramatic).
  • Presentations:  [1] Elizabeth I and the Writings of Renaissance Royals; [2] Aureate and Plainstyle Poetic Traditions; [3] The Sonnet Cycle; [4] Shakespeare and the Sonnet.
• Week 7 (Oct. 19):  Spenser, Faerie Queene.
  • Presentations:  [5] The Importance of Spenser's "Letter"; [6] Romance and the Epic; [7] Reading Redcrosse Knight; [8] Allegory and The Faerie Queene, Book 1.
• Week 8 (Oct. 26):  Marlowe, Dr. Faustus.
  • Presentations:  [9] The Over-Reacher (Faustus and its Marlovian Context); [10] Textual Variance and its Effect; [11] Secular and Religious Traditions; [12] Faustus.
• Week 9 (Nov. 2):  Shakespeare, 1 Henry IV.
  • Presentations:  [13] Rendering History (Plot and its Adaptation); [14] Setting and its Function; [15] Hal (and Hotspur); [16] Falstaff and Henry IV.
• Week 10 (Nov. 9):  Donne; Herbert; Crashaw; Marvell.
  • Presentations:  [17] Metaphysical Style; [18] The Conceit; [19] Secular Themes; [20] Religious Themes; [21] Donne's La Corona; [22] Herbert's The Temple.
• Week 11 (Nov. 16):  Jonson (non-dramatic); Carew; Herrick; Philips; Suckling.
  • Presentations:  [23] Continuity between the Cavaliers and Metaphysicals; [24] The Cavaliers and English History; [25] Derivation of the Cavalier Style; [26] Themes; [27] Jonson's Works; [28] Herrick's Hesperides.
• Week 12 (Nov. 23):  Milton, Paradise Lost.
  • [29] Chronology and the Structure of Milton's Epic; [30] Milton's Subject and its Treatment; [31] Parallel Falls, and the Fortunate Fall.
• Week 13 (Nov. 30):  Milton, Paradise Lost.
  • Presentations:  [32] Satan as Hero?; [33] The Father and the Son; [34] Adam and Eve.

   

• Notes:
  • More precise lists of readings for each meeting will be assigned during the term.

© R.G. Siemens, 2000-.
Last updated 1 September 2000.