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JOHN CABOT UNIVERSITY

COURSE CODE: "EN 230"
COURSE NAME: "English Literature I: Literary Beginnings to Milton"
SEMESTER & YEAR: Spring 2019
SYLLABUS

INSTRUCTOR: Shannon Russell
EMAIL: [email protected]
 HOURS: TTH 8:30-9:45 AM
TOTAL NO. OF CONTACT HOURS: 45
CREDITS: 3
PREREQUISITES: Prerequisite: EN 110 with a grade of C or above
OFFICE HOURS: By appointment
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
: What makes Caedmon's Anglo-saxon dream a miracle, and Eve's dream in Paradise Lost a predictor of the fall of mankind? How are Chaucer and the sonnet connected to Italy? Why are the English so obsessed by the legitimacy of their kings and queens and what does King Lear have to do with it? Why does English literature need inventing and who works to do it? How does John Donne make spirituality sexy and sexuality spiritual? What do medieval visionary women have to tell us about love? What is the importance of the flea to English culture and literature? Is Shakespeare's "dark lady" in his sonnets really a man? Are Eve and Satan the true heroes of Milton's Paradise Lost? These questions and others will be debated in this survey of English literature from the Anglo-saxon period to the seventeenth century. Students are introduced to some of the most inventive writers in these centuries and are encouraged to see how literature emerges from and helps to create dynamic historical and cultural shifts.

This is a reading and writing intensive course. Students in 200-level literature classes are required to produce 4-5,000 words of critical writing.
SUMMARY OF COURSE CONTENT:
This course deals with works by major writers in the English language over a period of nearly one thousand years. Chaucer, Spenser, Shakespeare and Milton are represented in a survey of literature which begins with Anglo-saxon poetry, continues through the writing of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, and concludes with a study of Milton’s Paradise Lost. 
LEARNING OUTCOMES:

In the context of the course, students should develop both their general background knowledge of literary history as well as their ability to appreciate and criticize particular texts. The importance and depiction of women in this literature as well as emerging work by women will also be a special focus of the course. By the end of the course, students should have good historical foundation for more advanced study in these literary periods.
TEXTBOOK:
Book TitleAuthorPublisherISBN numberLibrary Call NumberCommentsFormatLocal BookstoreOnline Purchase
Broadview Anthology of English Literature The Medieval Period Black et al.Broadview Press 9781554812028 / 155481202X     
The Broadview Anthology of English Literature Vol II: The Renaissance and the early Seventeenth CenturyBlack et al.Broadview Press 9781554812905 / 1554812909 Third edition     
REQUIRED RESERVED READING:
NONE

RECOMMENDED RESERVED READING:
NONE
GRADING POLICY
-ASSESSMENT METHODS:
AssignmentGuidelinesWeight
Two Essays 2,000-2,500 words each, typedEssays need to conform to MLA style guidelines. 50% (25% each)
Reader response/Initiation of Class DiscussionStudents will prepare a response to the reading assignment for the day and will be responsible for initiating class discussion. For the second assignment they will be asked to analyze a sonnet and to hand in their work on the poem selected.10% (two times of 5% each)
Mid-term exam 15%
Final Exam 20%
Participation Participation is mandatory.5%

-ASSESSMENT CRITERIA:
AWork of this quality directly addresses the question or problem raised and provides a coherent argument displaying an extensive knowledge of relevant information or content. This type of work demonstrates the ability to critically evaluate concepts and theory and has an element of novelty and originality. There is clear evidence of a significant amount of reading beyond that required for the cours
BThis is highly competent level of performance and directly addresses the question or problem raised.There is a demonstration of some ability to critically evaluatetheory and concepts and relate them to practice. Discussions reflect the student’s own arguments and are not simply a repetition of standard lecture andreference material. The work does not suffer from any major errors or omissions and provides evidence of reading beyond the required assignments.
CThis is an acceptable level of performance and provides answers that are clear but limited, reflecting the information offered in the lectures and reference readings.
DThis level of performances demonstrates that the student lacks a coherent grasp of the material.Important information is omitted and irrelevant points included.In effect, the student has barely done enough to persuade the instructor that s/he should not fail.
FThis work fails to show any knowledge or understanding of the issues raised in the question. Most of the material in the answer is irrelevant.
-ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS:

Attendance is mandatory. Students who miss more than two classes will receive a reduction of the grade by 5% for each additional absence.  Where a third absence involves a meaningful conflict (i.e. religious holidays, illness (documented by doctor's note), funeral attendance, etc.) students will be required to produce an additional five-page essay assignment to be arranged with the instructor and due no later than the last week of class, to avoid . Should absences exceed six, students will receive a failing grade for the class.  It is advisable to notify the professor by the beginning of the second week of classes, if you know you will be absent from class for religious or other reasons. Two late arrivals count as one absence.
ACADEMIC HONESTY
As stated in the university catalog, any student who commits an act of academic dishonesty will receive a failing grade on the work in which the dishonesty occurred. In addition, acts of academic dishonesty, irrespective of the weight of the assignment, may result in the student receiving a failing grade in the course. Instances of academic dishonesty will be reported to the Dean of Academic Affairs. A student who is reported twice for academic dishonesty is subject to summary dismissal from the University. In such a case, the Academic Council will then make a recommendation to the President, who will make the final decision.
STUDENTS WITH LEARNING OR OTHER DISABILITIES
John Cabot University does not discriminate on the basis of disability or handicap. Students with approved accommodations must inform their professors at the beginning of the term. Please see the website for the complete policy.
SCHEDULE

 

Week 1

Tues. Jan 22

Introduction to the course and discussion of requirements

To get a sense of the historical lead up to the period we cover, please view the first episode from Simon Schaa's History of Britain series -- On RESERVE in the library

Thurs. Jan. 24

 Read:

Old English Riddles and Charms in the anthology

Abbess Hild of Whitby: “The Miraculous Poet Caedmon” and "Caedmon's Hymn" that follows.

"The Dream of the Rood"

"The Wanderer"

What is litotes?

What are kennings?

Find examples of both in your readings.

Recommended reading in addition to poetry:  

The Medieval Period

Week 2

Tues.  Jan. 29

 "The Wife's Lament"

"The Seafarer"

Schedule sign-up for Reader Response/Seminars today.

Thurs. Jan. 31

Anglo-Norman England: Arthurian Romance and Female Fairy Worlds

Marie de France  "Lanval" and "Bisclavret" (The Werewolf)

Additional material is on Moodle.

Week 3

Tues. Feb. 5

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight 

Recommended Reading in addition to "Gawain"

In Context: The Crises of the 14th century

Thurs. Feb. 7

 Chaucer:  From The Canterbury Tales 

The General Prologue

The Miller's Tale

Recommended Reading in addition to Chaucer selections

In Context: Love and Marriage in Medieval Britain

Week 4

Tues. Feb. 12

Chaucer

The Wife of Bath's Prologue and Tale

Thurs. Feb. 14                 

Piers Plowman 

Recommended Reading for Tuesday.  In Context:  Religious and Spiritual Life 

For Thurs:  View Simon Schama selection on The Plague in the library on reserve

Week 5  Makeup day on Friday (for April 25th)

Tues. Feb. 19       FIRST ESSAY DUE

The Plague, Visionary Women, Dream Visions and Religious Allegory

Julian of Norwich from A Revelation of Love

Margery Kempe from The Book of Margery Kempe

In addition to the reading view Simon Schama's History of Britain series Disc 2 Episode:  King Death

Thurs. Feb. 21

Thomas Mallory: Selections from Morte D'Arthur

Fri. Feb. 22 

Everyman

Week 6

Tues. Feb. 26

Thomas More's Utopia 

Thurs. Feb. 28

Sidney's Defense of Poetry

Castiglione's The Courtier  - The Ladder of Love section (see Moodle)

Week 7

Tues. March 5

Spenser's The Shepherd's Calendar

The Faerie Queen  Book II Canto 12 "The Bower of Bliss"

Recommended Reading:  In Context "Culture"

Thurs. March 7

MID-TERM EXAM

Week 8  SPRING BREAK March 11-17


Week 9

Tues. March 19

Read all of the sonnets in the anthology by:

Sir Thomas Wyatt (detailed discussion on "Whoso List to Hunt" and Spenser's Sonnet 67 in "Amoretti" sequence

Sir Philip Sidney (detailed discussion on 1, 7, and 71)

Shakespeare (detailed discussion of 130, 116, 147)

Thurs. March 21 

Poetic Dialogues on Sex, Marriage Anxiety and The Pastoral Ideal.

Christopher Marlowe “The Passionate Shepherd to His Love”

Sir Walter Ralegh “The Nymphs Reply to the Shepherd”

John Donne “The Bait”

Robert Herrick “To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time”

Andrew Marvell “To His Coy Mistress”

 “Corinna’s Going A-Maying”

Thomas Carew “A Rapture”

Sir John Suckling "A Ballad Upon a Wedding"

Katherine Philips "A Married State"

Week 10

Tues. March 26 regular class as well as Lunchtime Makeup class for April 23rd cancelled class

The Sonnet  Presentations:

1. Shakespeare Sonnet 29
2. Spenser Sonnet 75
3. Shakespeare's Sonnet 60 (compare)
4. Sidney Sonnet 52
5. Shakespeare Sonnet 20
6. Shakespeare Sonnet 147
7. Milton's "On His Blindness"
8. 
9.
10. 
11.
12.
13.
14.
15. 
16.

Thurs. March 28

Christopher Marlowe's Dr. Faustus

Week 11

Tues. April 2

 Shakespeare King Lear

Thurs. April 4

 Shakespeare King Lear

Week 12

Tues. April 9

 Thomas Hobbes Selections from Leviathan

Ben Jonson's "Clerimont's Song" "Song to Celia"

"Inviting a Friend to Supper" and "To Penshurt";

Read Herrick "Delight in Disorder"

Amelia Lanyer's "The Description of Cooke-ham" (the first Country House poem)

Thurs. April 11

George Herbert and John Donne

Read Herbert's "Easter Wings"

 "The Pulley"

 "The Altar"

 Donne's "Good Friday, 1613 Riding Westward"

Week 13

Tues.  April 16  SECOND ESSAY DUE

John Donne

"The Flea"

"A Valediction Forbidding Mourning"

"Elegy 19. To His Mistress Going to Bed"

Thurs. April 18                                    

John Milton Paradise Lost

Week 14

Tues April 23  No Class (makeup Lunchtime Thursday March 21st)
Thurs. April 25 No Class (makeup day Friday Feb. 22)

Week 15

Tues. April 30

John Milton Paradise Lost

Thurs. May 2

John Milton Paradise Lost 
Review