Great British Authors I
Instructor: Mr. Brian Gastle Office Hours: T 1:30-2:30
Memorial 319 (X6597) By Appt.

Required Texts

The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Vol. 1, ed. Abrams, et al., 5th ed. (Norton).
M. H. Abrams. A Glossary of Literary Terms, 5th ed. (Holt, Rinehart, & Winston).
William Shakespeare. King Lear.
Midsummer Night's Dream

REQUIREMENTS AND GRADING POLICY

Midterm 25%
Term Paper (6-9 pages) 25%
Final Exam 30%
Quizzes 10%
Recitation⁽¹⁾ 10%

GOALS of the course:

to read and become familiar with important writings of the Middle Ages and Renaissance
to become familiar with techniques of reading, interpreting, analyzing, and discussing literature, especially significant literature from the past
to become comfortable with historical and cultural issues of England from about A. D. 800 - 1700
to improve reading, writing, and speaking skills.

Readings

Feb

T 9 Course Introduction. Medieval and Renaissance Historical Settings.
Glossary: Genre (72)

R 11 EPIC
EPIC AND THE TRANSMISSION OF HISTORY
THE FOLK EPIC
Read: Beowulf (31-78)
Glossary: Alliteration (7); Epic (51+)

T 16 THE ART EPIC
Read: Milton Paradise Lost From Books 1-8 (1445-1542)

R 18 HEROS AND VILLAINS!
Read: Paradise Lost From Books 9-12 (1543-1589)

T 23 ROMANCE AND EPIC
The Arthurian Tradition
Read: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (231-288)
Glossary: Romance (24); Courtly Love (37); Chivalric Romance

R 25 SGGK cont.

MAR.

T 2 Epics and the Fictions of Gender
Read:From Spenser's The Faerie Queene Book 3: Canto 1-2 (688-717)
Glossary: Allegorical Interpretation (89)

R 4 Be Bold, Be Bold, Be Bold, Be not TOO Bold!
FQ cont: 11-12(743-766)

T 9 NARRATIVE
Read: From Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales the General Prologue (92-116)
Glossary: Frame Story (173)

R 11 STORYTELLING TECHNIQUES
Read: The Miller's Tale (116-132)
Glossary: Fabliau (60)

T 16 Morality, Immorality, and Narrative
Read: The Pardoner's Tale (185-200)
Glossary: Exemplum

R 18 DREAM VISION
Read: From Bede The Story of Caedmon (19-21)
The Dream of the Rood (22-24)
From Piers Plowman The Prologue (291-94)
More's Utopia From Books 1 & 2 (435-454)
Glossary: Dream Vision (46); Autobiography (15); Utopia (195)

T 23 ARTHURIANA
Read: The Wife of Bath's Tale (133-162)
From Malory's Morte Darthur (392-412)
REVIEW SGGK and FQ

R 25 MIDTERM EXAMINATION

T 30 Spring Break

APRIL

R 1 Spring Break

T 6 DRAMA
Read: Midsummer Night's Dream
Glossary: Drama (45)

R 8 THE COMIC VISION
MND

T 13 Comic vs Humorous
Read: Second Shepherd's Play

R 15 HEROS AND VILLAINS? (yet again)
Read: Everyman (346-368)
Glossary: Morality Play (107)

T 20 Three Weddings and a Funeral
Read: Shakespeare King Lear
Glossary: Tragedy (189+)

R 22
Lear

T 27 DRAMA AND THE CONFLICTS OF GENRE
Read: Shakespeare 1 Henry IV (887-957)
PAPER DUE

R 29 1HIV

MAY

T 4
Read: Marlowe Dr. Faustus (814-864)

R 6
Faustus

T 11 LYRICS
Explication
Read: Medieval Lyrics (309-315)
Donne "Song"; "Canonization"; "Break of Day"; "A Valediction: Of Weeping"; "The Flea"; "The Apparition"; "The Relic";
Wyatt "They Flee from Me"; "Blame Not My Lute"

R 13 SONNETS
Read: Wyatt "The Long Love. . ."; "Whoso List to Hunt";
Surrey "Love, That Doth Reign and Live. . ."
Sidney From Astrophel and Stella 1, 18, 53, 72
Spenser Sonnets 54, 64, 79
Donne From Holy Sonnets 1, 5, 10, 14
T 18 Shakespeare Sonnets 18, 30, 55, 60, 73, 116, 129, 130, 135, 138, 147

R 20 Review

1. Review Article of PTTP production; In-Class scene presentation within a group; Middle English passage memorization and recital.