ENG
211-02
Major
British Authors: Medieval to
Neoclassical
Dr.
Jennifer Keith
TR
11:00-12:15 EBER 161
Office
hours, MCVR 120: Tuesdays and Thursdays 1:00-1:45, 3:30-4:00, and by
appointment
e-mail: jmkeith@uncg.edu;
telephone: 334-4692
At the completion of this course, the student will be able
to:
·
Identify
and understand varied characteristics of literature
·
Apply
techniques of literary analysis to texts
·
Use
literary study to develop skills in careful reading and clear writing
·
Demonstrate
understanding of the diverse social and historical contexts in which literary
texts have been written and interpreted
·
Courses
will be broad and foundational in nature; they will not assume extensive
previous knowledge
·
Courses
will satisfy most (if not all) of these guidelines
Texts:
Norton Anthology of English, Literature, vol. 1, 7th ed., and
Shakespeare Othello (Pelican edition)
Reference
books to consult: a dictionary of the English language, Chris Baldick’s
The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms (Ref. PN41.C67 1990), and
C. Hugh Holman’s A Handbook to Literature (Ref. PN41.H6 1986)
Aug. 20 Introduction
Romance
22 Sir Gawain and
the Green Knight (156)
27 Sir Gawain and the
Green Knight (cont.)
29 Marie de France, Lanval
(126)
Sept. 3 Chaucer,
“General Prologue” (210, lines 1-389)
5 "General
Prologue" (line 390 to end)
10 Chaucer,
The Wife of Bath's Prologue (253)
12 The Wife
of Bath’s Tale (272)
17 Behn, Oroonoko
(2165)
19 Oroonoko,
cont.
24 Haywood,
“Fantomina” (e-reserve)
26 Exam 1
Oct. 1 Exam
postlude
Love: Lyric, Tragedy, Satire
Oct. 3 “Alison” (351), “My Lief is Faren in Londe” (352), “I Sing of a Maiden”
(353)
8 Castiglione’s
The Courtier (353); “Poetic Forms and Literary
Terminology”
(2944-60); Spenser, Amoretti 1, 34, 37, 64, 75, 79 (pp. 864
ff)
10 The
Sonnet Lady (e-reserve); Campion, “There is a garden in her face”
(1199); Shakespeare, sonnets 18,
20, 30, 116, 127 130, 138, 147 (pp. 1031 ff)
15 Fall Break
17 Shakespeare,
Othello, Acts 1-2
22 Othello, Acts
3-5
24 Essay due
29 Wroth,
sonnets 1, 16, 39, 77 (pp. 1428 ff); Donne, “The Flea,” “A
Valediction: Forbidding Mourning,” “Batter my heart”
31 Swift,
“On a Beautiful Young Nymph” (e-reserve), Leapor, “An Essay on
Woman” (2603), Collins’s “Ode to
Evening” (2836)
Nov. 5 Exam 2
Epic Revisions
7 Milton, Paradise
Lost (pp. 1815ff) 1.1-375 [suggested: 2.629-end]
12 Paradise Lost,
3.1-371, 4.1-391
14 Paradise Lost,
Book 9
19 Paradise
Lost, 12.466 to end
21 Pope,
from An Essay on Man (2554); Johnson, The Vanity of Human
Wishes (2660)
Elegy
26 Jonson, “On My First
Son” (1396), Dryden, “To the Memory of Mr.
Oldham” (2106), Gray, “Elegy
Written in a Country Churchyard” (2830),
Cowper, “The Castaway” (2880)
28 Thanksgiving Break
Dec. 3 Review
5 Exam 3
If you
are an English major, please subscribe to our department listserv. From the computer you receive e-mail on,
send the following message to listproc@uncg.edu:
Subscribe
English-l yourfirstnameyourlastname
(with the
lower case L, not the numeral 1 following English)
Objectives:
The purpose of this course is to increase your understanding of British
literature from the medieval period through the eighteenth century, developing
your abilities to appreciate and analyze this literature. Our study will include careful reading of
these texts as well as a concern with their contexts. Ultimately, in this course you should develop your own
independent and nuanced understanding of the works that we read, one based on
thoughtful reading and informed by an awareness of the particular work’s place
in literary history.
Learning
Goals: At the
completion of this course, the student will be able to
·
Identify
and understand varied characteristics of literature
·
Apply
techniques of literary analysis to texts
·
Use
literary study to develop skills in careful reading and clear writing
·
Demonstrate
understanding of the diverse social and historical contexts in which literary
texts have been written and interpreted
Attendance
Policy: Excellent
attendance and thoughtful participation are very important to your success in
this course. You are expected to attend
every class meeting. Arriving late or
leaving early is strongly discouraged. If
you do arrive after the roll is called or after the attendance sheet has
circulated, you are responsible for notifying me at the end of the class
session. Arriving late to class or leaving early is the equivalent of 1/2
absence. Over the course of the semester, you may have two absences without any
penalty or excuses required. If during
the semester you have more than two unexcused absences, your final grade will
be lowered by one third of a letter grade for each additional unexcused
absence. I will only excuse an absence if you have had a serious illness or
problem and if you provide me with documentation for that absence. You are
responsible for providing me with this official documentation. If during the
entire semester you have more than six absences, excused or unexcused, I
reserve the right to drop you from the course. If you have missed three classes
by September 5, I reserve the right to drop you from the course.
Academic
Integrity: Familiarize yourself with the Honor Code of
the university to be sure that you avoid committing plagiarism. If at any time you have questions about
plagiarism—the use of someone else’s ideas or words without indicating their
source—please feel free to discuss the matter with me.
Assignments and responsibilities:
The reading assignments are to be completed before the
beginning of class on the date indicated.
I expect enthusiastic and informed discussion of the material. You are expected to have read carefully and
prepared for the discussion of every work assigned. Take notes as you read and mark significant passages. Look up in the dictionary any word that you
do not know. As you read, consider each
work's similarities with and differences from other works already studied in
the course. Part of your preparation
for class should include answering--in writing--any questions that I ask you to
consider for discussion. Be sure to
read the introductory material to every period and every author that we study. The syllabus is subject to change: you are responsible for keeping up with any
changes to the syllabus announced in class. You will not be allowed to make-up
pop quizzes or homework assignments.
There will be no make-up exams.
Your
final grade:
class
participation 5% exam 1 20%
Essay 20% exam 2 20%
Quizzes
and Homework 10% exam 3 25%