ENGL 2003 - A Survey of British Literature I

Abstract

History of British literature and culture focusing on major works from the earliest literature through Donne. 3.000 Credit hours ___ In this survey of the first ten centuries (!) of literature written in English, we will thematically focus on the intersection between sacred and secular love. A common narrative about the years 600–1660 CE is that increased literacy, scientific advancements, the global spread of capitalism, and other developments led to a world emphasizing “secular” pursuits—money, power, romance—beyond traditional religious observance. Though this narrative will guide our tour of the earliest English literature, we will also question it by defining literature as both of this world and not: as displaying love for the world in which it was created while also trying to transcend that world. In this course, “love” will be a capacious term, describing relations between humans and other humans (romantic, familial, friendly), the divine realm, and nature that are not always beneficial. The first half of the course will focus on literature from the medieval period (~600–1400 CE). In this unit, we will read the oldest recorded song of praise in English to the Creator, stories of knightly chivalry, and Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, which satirize religious hypocrisy and forecast gender equity in equal measure. In the second half of the course, we will focus on literature from the Renaissance (~1400–1660). We will look at sonnets written by men and women (for men, women, and God), a play about a doctor who sells his soul to a demon for unlimited knowledge, and the poetry of John Donne, a man with split personalities oriented towards heaven and earth. Throughout the course, we will emphasize both change and continuity between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, through the perspective of each period’s literature. ___ Course Objectives and Goals ENGL 2003 establishes a common knowledge base in English literature up to Donne, and it equips students with the vocabulary and techniques for describing and analyzing literary works, with an emphasis on developing critical writing skills specific to literary analysis. The course develops in students an appreciation and understanding of the aesthetic qualities of various genres and periods of British literature, as well as an awareness that this literature is part of a larger ongoing cultural, social, and historical dialogue.