EL 101-2

Part 1: Introduction to British Literature from Beowulf to Milton

Instructor: Dr. Ethan Guagliardo
Office Hours: TBA and by appointment
Email: Ethan.Guagliardo@boun.edu.tr
Time and Place: T 12:00-12:50, EF 102; Th 12:00-12:50, JF 302
F 12:00-12:50, M 3120

Problem Sessions, if necessary ,are on Tuesday, 4:00, JF 124. Stay tuned.

Description

These two courses are designed as a general introduction to English Literature. EL 101 covers the Early and Middle English periods, the English Renaissance and the first half of the 17th Century up to the Restoration (1660). EL 102 continues the survey from the Restoration to the present, covering the Augustan Age, the Romantics, the Age of Victoria and the 20th Century.

The courses are offered in the form of introductory lectures for each literary period followed by the reading and discussion of individual texts. Each course is independent and EL 101 is not a prerequisite for EL 102.

Class Policies:

Attendance is required. Students must attend 75% of all class hours. If you fail to meet this attendance requirement, you will not be admitted to the Final Exam.

There will be one midterm and a final exam each semester. All students are required to take the midterm exam; if a student is legitimately excused from the midterm, a make-up exam will be arranged. There will also be several announced and unannounced quizzes. (There will be no make-up exams for the quizzes.)

The grading distribution is as follows:

Participation 15%
Quizzes/Written assignments 25%
Midterm 25%
Final 35%

The texts are available in a course packet at tba. Assignments will be described in detail and posted to this website. 

You are welcome to see me during my designated office hours and at other times. Please make an appointment before you come in.

HAVE A NICE SEMESTER!

Class Schedule

Week 1

T Introduction: Anglo-Saxon England.
Th Anglo-Saxon England.  Supplemental Readings: Gildas and Nennius.
F Beowulf. Read introduction and prologue and section 1, pp 7-11. Supplemental Readings: The Wife’s Lament and Tolkien, “The Monster and the Critics”.

Week 2

T Beowulf, 2-10.
Th Beowulf, 10-15.
F Beowulf, 16-23. Supplemental Readings: The Finnburg Episode. Summary of the Saga of the Volsungs (Sigemund and Fafnir).

Week 3

T Beowulf, continued, 24-31.

F Beowulf, 36-42.

Week 4

T Intro: The High Middles Ages
Th Intro: continued.
F Intro: continued; Sir Gawain, Fitt 1. Supplemental Readings: browse the wider corpus of Arthurian literature.

Week 5

T Sir Gawain, Fitt 1. PS session: Sir Gawain, Fitt 2.
Th Sir Gawain, Fitt 3.
F Sir Gawain, Fitt 4. 

Week 6

T Chaucer, “The Franklin’s Tale”. / PS: Chaucer, cont.
Th Intro: Tudor English and Renaissance

Week 7

T Intro: continued.
Th Wyatt, Surrey, Sidney, Spenser and others
F “. Supplemental readings: From Petrarch’s Canzoniere; Guardian Analysis of Wyatt’s Whoso List to Hunt

Assignment: Step one: choose one of Wyatt or Surrey’s translations of Petrarch. Step 2: Copy the poem, single-spaced, on the top of the page and scan it. Step 3: closely analyse (single-space) of this sonnets in connection with its Petrarchan original. How does the English poet adapt his material? Total length should be no longer than one single-spaced page. Due Tuesday, Nov. 8.

Week 8

T Wyatt, continued. PS session.
Th Shakespeare (Sonnets)
F “

Week 9

T Shakespeare, Sonnets, continued. Supplemental Reading: Folder Digital Edition of Shakespeare’s Sonnets
Th Shakespeare, Othello, Act 1

***November 17th Midtem Exam 17:00***

F Shakespeare, Othello, Acts 1-2.

Week 10

T     Othello, Acts 2-3.
Th  Othello, Acts 3-4.
F     Othello, Act 5.

Week 11

T Intro: The Stuarts and the Revolutionary Period
Th “
F Cavalier and Metaphysical Poets

Week 12

T “
Th “
F “

Week 13

T Milton

F Wrap-up