ENGLISH 2120: Survey of British Literature
SUMMER 2006
Instructor: Jennifer West
Newnan Campus Phone: 770.254.7280
Office Hours: T/TH 10:30-11:00 and by appointment
Email: jwest@westga.edu

 

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

This class is a survey of the important works of British literature.  Prerequisites for this course are  ENGL 1101 and ENGL 1102. 
 

REQUIRED TEXT:

The Norton Anthology of English Literature, The Major Authors, Eighth Edition

William Shakespeare's The Tempest

Handouts

Online Resources

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
Attendance, preparation, and participation
2 critical essays
Final Exam
COURSE OBJECTIVES:
   ***  Recognize and discuss significant works in British literature.
   ***  Understand the relevant social and historical contexts of these literary works.
   ***  Think and respond critically to literature. 
   ***  Demonstrate solid composition skills.

GRADING:
20% Final Exam
20% Essay 1
20% Essay 2

20% Reader's Responses
20% Attendance, Participation, and Daily Exercises/Quizzes

ESSAY FORMAT:
The essays in this class should make you think and respond analytically to the works you have read and discussed in class.  Each essay should be 5-6 pages in length.  Use MLA format (New Times Roman, 12 point font).
PLAGIARISM AND ACADEMIC DISHONESTY:
The Department of English and Philosophy defines plagiarism as taking personal credit for the words and ideas of others as they are presented in electronic, print, and verbal sources.  The Department expects that students will accurately credit sources in all assignments.  An equally dishonest practice is fabricating sources or facts; it is another form of misrepresenting the truth.  Plagiarism will result in a grade of zero for the assignment and is grounds for failing the course.
LATE WORK:
All assignments are due at the beginning of class on the date assigned.  If you are absent on a due date, make the necessary arrangements to deliver the assignment on time.  I will accept late essays, but essay will lose one letter grade for each class day that passes after the due date.
ATTENDANCE:
Since this class meets only twice a week, your attendance is absolutely essential.  Reading the assignments is only part of the experience.  Your discussion of the selected works in class will enable you to better understand what you have read.  Choose your absences carefully as only two are permitted.  Absences beyond the allowed two will affect your grade.  I do not differentiate between excused and unexcused absences.  Remember, absences from class do not excuse you from reading the selections.  No make-up work is allowed.
PARTICIPATION:
While I appreciate your attendance in class, it is only part of the equation.  The direction of the class is often set by you and the discussions you bring to the table.  Therefore, you need to read each selection carefully and thoughtfully before coming to class so that you can comment on the works in an insightful and informative manner. 
SPECIAL NEEDS:  If you have a registered disability that will require accommodation, please see me at the beginning of the semester.  If you have a disability that you have not yet registered through the Disabled Student Services Office, please contact Dr. Ann Phillips in Parker Hall.

IMPORTANT DATES

PAPER #1 DUE July 11
LAST DAY TO WITHDRAWAL WITH A "W" June 28
PAPER #2 DUE July 27
FINAL EXAM July 27

ENGLISH 2120
SURVEY OF BRITISH LITERATURE
READING SCHEDULE
 

June
T 6 Course Introduction
Overview of English Literature, Anglo-Saxon history
TH 8

"Introduction to the Middle Ages," pages 1-14

Anglo-Saxon Literature

"Dream of the Rood," pages 24-26

"The Wife's Lament," handout

The Epic Hero: Beowulf, pages 26-60

T 13

The Epic Hero: Beowulf, pages 61-97
Overview of Anglo-Norman England

The History of the Kings of Britain, handout

TH 15

Anglo-Norman England Literature

Medieval Romance and the Troubador -

Chrétien de Troyes' Knight of the Cart, handouts

The Romance of Abelard and Heloise, handouts
Marie de France's "Lanval," pages 98-111

T 20

Middle English Literature and the Arthurian Romance

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, pages 112-165

Assign Essay #1

TH 22

Middle English Literature

The Canterbury Tales
"The General Prologue," pages 165-190 ;"The Wife of Bath's Prologue and Tale," pages 207-234

T 27

Middle English Literature and the Mystics -

Julian of Norwich, pages 282-285

From The Book of Margery Kempe, pages 285-289

Arthurian Legend

Morte d'Arthur, pages 296-313

TH 29
July

The Renaissance

The English Bible, pages 354-357

Elizabeth I, pages 357-365

Sir Walter Raleigh's "The Nymph's Reply to the Shepherd" and From The History of the World, pages 447-449

Christopher Marlowe's "The Passionate Shepherd to His Love," pages 455-460

Shakespeare's Sonnets 3, 18, 19, 29, 30, 71, 87, 116, 130, and 144; pages 493-510

Ben Jonson's "To the Memory of My Beloved, The Author, Mr. William Shakespeare," pages 648-650

T 4 Fourth of July Holiday

 

TH 6 William Shakespeare's The Tempest, Acts I and II
T 11

Essay #1 Due

William Shakespeare's The Tempest, Acts III, IV, and V

TH 13

Carpe Diem and The Metaphysical Poets 
Robert Herrick's "To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time," page 669

John Donne's Poetry - 

"The Flea,"page 603; "Air and Angels," page 609; "The Funeral," page 615; "The Relic," page 615; "To His Mistress Going to Bed," pages 618; sonnet 10, page 623
Andrew Marvell's "To His Coy Mistress," page 675-678

 

 

T 18 John Milton's Paradise Lost, Books 1, 3, 4, and 5(pages 725-743, 765-778, 778-794, 794-801)

TH 20

The Restoration and the Eighteenth Century

Jonathan Swift's "A Modest Proposal," page 1114-1119

 

The Romantics
William Blake's Poetry, pages 1410-1420
William Wordsworth's "Tintern Abbey," page 1491

Samuel Taylor Coleridge's "Kubla Kahn," page 1632

Lord Byron's "She Walks in Beauty," page 1676

John Keats' "La Belle Dame sans Merci: A Ballad," page 1840; "Ode to a Nightingale," page 1845; "Ode to a Grecian Urn, page 1847

T 25

Last Day of Class

Essay #2 Due

 

The Victorians
Alfred, Lord Tennyson's "The Lady of Shalott," page 1953 and "Ulysses," page 1962Robert

 

Browning's "My Last Duchess," page 2058; "The Bishop Orders His Tomb," page 2059; and "Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came," page 2064

 

Matthew Arnold's "Dover Beach," page 2090

 

The Twentieth Century

Thomas Hardy's "Ah, Are You Diggning on My Grave?," page 2324

William Bulter Yeats' "No Second Troy," page 2395

 

TH 27 Final Exam