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JOHN CABOT UNIVERSITY

COURSE CODE: "EN 230"
COURSE NAME: "English Literature I: Literary Beginnings to Milton"
SEMESTER & YEAR: Spring 2026
SYLLABUS

INSTRUCTOR: Shannon Russell
EMAIL: [email protected]
 HOURS: TTH 8:30 AM 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 a good historical foundation for more advanced study in these literary periods.
 
TEXTBOOK:
Book TitleAuthorPublisherISBN numberLibrary Call NumberCommentsFormatLocal BookstoreOnline Purchase
Broadview Anthology of English Literature: Volume 2 The Renaissance and the early Seventeenth CenturyBlack et alBroadview PressXXX Any addition of the Broadview Anthology is acceptable. New copies can be found at the Almost Corner Bookshop discounted, and you may also purchase used copies online.Hard CopyAlmost Corner Bookshop 
Broadview Anthology of English LIterature Volume 1: The Medieval Period Black et alBroadview PressXXX Any edition of the Broadview Anthology is acceptable. New copies are available at the Almost Corner Bookshop and you may also purchase used copies online.Hard CopyAlmost Corner Bookshop 
REQUIRED RESERVED READING:
NONE

RECOMMENDED RESERVED READING:
NONE
GRADING POLICY
-ASSESSMENT METHODS:
AssignmentGuidelinesWeight
Two Essays Essays need to be 2,000-2,500 words, conform to MLA style guidelines, and include peer-reviewed research. The first essay will count for 20% and the second essay for 25% of the final grade.45%
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. These responses can take the form of a question or a comment on the reading for the day. 5%
Mid-term examMid-terms will be written in class time.15%
Final Exam 20%
Participation Grades for participation do not include attendance. Attendance is mandatory and grades are not given simply for appearance class. Participation grades are calculated on class contributions which demonstrate intelligent engagement with the assigned readings.5%
Sonnet Presentation and short answer assignmentStudents will present their analysis of an assigned sonnet to the class, and will be asked to hand in their written responses to a set of questions about the sonnet's form and content, a week after their presentation. (500 words)10%

-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. At three absences your overall grade for the course is automatically lowered by a grade point; for example a student with a B average overall will achieve a final grade of B-.
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

 Tuesday

 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 Schama's History of Britain series – Link provided on the Moodle.

 Thursday

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

Tuesday

"The Wife's Lament"

"The Seafarer"

Schedule sign-up for Reader Response/Seminars today.

 

Thursday

Anglo-Norman England: Arthurian Romance and Female Fairy Worlds

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

Additional material is on Moodle.

 

Week 3

Tuesday

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Recommended Reading in addition to "Gawain"

In Context: The Crises of the 14th century

 

Thursday

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

Tuesday

Chaucer

The Wife of Bath's Prologue and Tale

 

Thursday

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

Tuesday FIRST ESSAY DUE

The Plague, Visionary Women, Dream Visions and Religious Allegory

Julian of Norwich fromA Revelation of Love

Margery Kempe fromThe Book of Margery Kempe

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

Thursday

Thomas Mallory: Selections from Morte D'Arthur

 

Week 6

Tuesday 

 Everyman

Thursday

Thomas More's Utopia

 

 

Week 7 

Tuesday

Sidney's Defense of Poetry

Castiglione's The Courtier - The Ladder of Love section

 

Thursday

MID-TERM EXAM

 

 Week 8 SPRING BREAK

 

Week 9

Tuesday

Spenser'sThe Shepherd's Calendar (excerpt provided)

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

Recommended Reading: In Context "Culture"

 

Thursday

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) The Sonnet

1. Shakespeare Sonnet 29

2. Spenser Sonnet 75 and Shakespeare's Sonnet 60 (compare)

3. Sidney Sonnet 52

4. Shakespeare Sonnet 20

5. Shakespeare Sonnet 147

6. Milton's "On His Blindness"

 

 Week 10

 Tuesday

 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"

Thursday

Christopher Marlowe's Dr. Faustus

   

Week 11

Tuesday

Group Sonnet Presentations

Thursday

Shakespeare King Lear

 

Week 12

Tuesday

Shakespeare King Lear

Thursday

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)

 

Week 13

Tuesday

Read Herbert's "Easter Wings"

"The Pulley"

"The Altar"

Donne's "Good Friday, 1613: Riding Westward

 

Thursday SECOND ESSAY DUE

John Donne

"The Flea"

"A Valediction Forbidding Mourning"

"Elegy 19. To His Mistress Going to Bed"


Week 14

Tuesday Sonnet Assignments due in today

John Donne continued

   Thursday

John Milton Paradise Lost 

 

Week 15

Tuesday

John Milton Paradise Lost

Thursday

John Milton Paradise Lost and Review

Final Exam: TBA