9:30a-10:45a TR (30) 3 cr.
OPEN TO MAJORS ONLY. DECLARED MINORS OBTAIN AUTHORIZATION FROM
BH442.
This course surveys the representative literature from the Old English
period into the
Elizabethan age. Our readings will include Beowulf, Sir
Gawain and the Green
Knight, some medieval drama, and selections from Chaucer and his
contemporaries, Wyatt,
Sidney, Spenser, Marlowe and Shakespeare. Except for the longer
medieval works, the texts
will be read in the original form of the language (which is, however,
well glossed in the
textbook we will use). Special attention will be paid to the social,
intellectual, and
historical contexts of the literature, as well as to the features of
the language that
differ from our contemporary English and therefore can cause confusion
or misreadings. The
course will be a combination of lecture and discussion, both of which
will require your
regular attendance and active participation. You will write three or
four papers, 4-6 pages
in length, one or two intermediate examinations, and a comprehensive
final
examination.
Text: The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Vol. 1,
Seventh Edition.