SYLLABUS
COURSE TITLE
BRITISH LITERATURE (FROM THE OLD ENGLISH
PERIOD TO THE 17TH C.)
INSTITUTE OF ENGLISH STUDIES
FACULTY/INSTITUTE
COURSE CODE
DEGREE PROGRAMME
FIELD OF STUDY
DEGREE LEVEL
ENGLISH STUDIES
FORMA
MODE
STUDIÓW/STUDY
BA STUDIES
FULL-TIME STUDIES
BASIC CONTENT
YEAR 1, SUMMER SEMESTER
DR SŁAWOMIR KOZIOŁ
COURSE FORMAT
YEAR AND SEMESTER
NAME OF THE TEACHER
COURSE OBJECTIVES
The aim of the course is to make students familiar with the characteristics of particular
epochs in the history of British literature and with the works of the most important British
writers (from the Old English period to the 17th cent.). The objective of lectures is to present
historical, social and literary backgrounds, characterisation of the main trends in the British
literature of the period and presentation of the most important writers and their works. The
objective of classes is a literary analysis of chosen literary works against a wider background
presented during lectures. The course is supposed to arouse students’ interest in the British
literature, and to help them formulate critical opinions about analysed texts.
PREREQUISITES
KNOWLEDGE OF ENGLISH AT AN ADVANCED LEVEL
KNOWLEDGE:
LEARNING OUTCOMES
BY THE END OF THE COURSE THE STUDENT:
- LISTS THE MAIN EPOCHS IN THE HISTORY OF THE BRITISH
LITERATURE AND PROVIDES THEIR TIME LIMITS
- DESCRIBES THE MAIN CHARACTERISTICS OF PARTICULAR
LITERARY EPOCHS
- NAMES THE MAIN WRITERS OF THE TIME AND THEIR MOST
IMPORTANT WORKS, DESCRIBES THE SUBJECT MATTER AND
THE THEMES OF THESE WORKS
- HAS READ THE WORKS LISTED IN THE READING LIST
SKILLS:
BY THE END OF THE COURSE THE STUDENT CAN:
- EXPLAIN GENERAL CHANGES IN THE HISTORY OF BRITISH
LITERATURE
- INTERPRET CHOSEN WORKS OF BRITISH LITERATURE
- COMPARE CHOSEN WORKS BELONGING TO THE SAME OR
DIFFERENT LITERARY EPOCHS
FINAL COURSE OUTPUT - SOCIAL COMPETENCES
THE STUDENT:
- IS ABLE TO COMMUNICATE COHERENTLY HIS CRITICAL OPINIONS
- IS AWARE OF THE CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THE MOST
IMPORTANT WORKS OF LITERATURE
COURSE ORGANISATION –LEARNING FORMAT AND NUMBER OF HOURS
LECTURES – 15 HOURS
CLASSES – 30 HOURS
COURSE DESCRIPTION
CLASSES
HOURS
Old English Literature: ‘The Ruin’, ‘Deor’, ‘The Wanderer’
Old English Literature: ‘The Dream of the Rood’
Old English Literature: Beowulf (selected passages)
Middle English Literature: G. Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales (selected passages)
Middle English Literature: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
Renaissance: Christopher Marlowe’s Dr Faustus
Renaissance: William Shakespeare’s selected sonnets
Renaissance: William Shakespeare’s Hamlet
Metaphysical Poetry: J. Donne’s ‘Valediction: Forbidding Mourning’, J. Donne’s
‘The Flea’ G. Herbert’s ‘The Pulley’, A. Marvel ‘To His Coy Mistress’
John Milton Paradise Lost (selected Books)
Final Test
2
2
2
4
4
2
2
4
2
4
2
LECTURES
Old English literature: the beginnings, religious poetry
1
Old English literature: heroic poetry, Beowulf
1
Old English literature: elegies, riddles
1
Middle English literature: chivalric romance, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
2
Middle English literature: W. Langland, G. Chaucer
2
Renaissance: the sonnet
1
Renaissance: the beginnings of drama and early Elizabethan playwrights
1
Renaissance: W. Shakespeare
2
17th cent.: Ben Jonson and his followers
1
17th cent.: metaphysical poetry
1
17th cent.: J. Milton
1
17th cent.: religious allegories of J. Bunyan
1
METHODS OF INSTRUCTION
LECTURES
ASSISTED ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF TEXTS
FROM THE READING LIST
REQUIREMENTS AND ASSESSMENTS ACTIVE PARTICIPATION IN THE CLASSES, PARTICIPATION
IN LECTURES, READING OF TEXTS FROM THE READING
GRADING SYSTEM
TOTAL STUDENT WORKLOAD
NEEDED TO ACHIEVE EXPECTED
LEARNING OUTCOMES EXPRESSED
IN TIME AND ECTS CREDIT POINTS
LANGUAGE OF INSTRUCTION
INTERNSHIP
MATERIALS
LIST, WRITTEN TESTS.
The final grade is assigned on the basis of a positive
outcome of final tests; the pass level is 60% for each
test; the final grade may be improved by active
participation in the classes
LECTURES: 15 HOURS
CLASSES: 30 HOURS
PREPARATION FOR THE CLASSES AND TESTS: 15
HOURS
TOTAL WORKLOAD: 60 HOURS
ECTS POINTS: 2
ENGLISH
NOT APPLICABLE
PRIMARY OR REQUIRED BOOKS/READINGS:
CLASSES READING LIST
SUPPLEMENTAL OR OPTIONAL BOOKS/READINGS:
Abrams, M. H. (ed) (1993) The Norton Anthology of English
Literature, Sixth Edition New York and London: Norton &
Company
Carter R., McRae, J. (2001) The Routledge History of
Literature in English: Britain and Ireland London and New
York: Routledge
Fordoński, K. (ed) (2010) English Literature. An Anthology for
Students Warszawa: Rebis
Rogers P. (ed) (1987) The Oxford Illustrated History of English
Literature Oxford: Oxford University Press
Sanders A. (2004) The Short Oxford History of English
Literature, Third Edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press
Sikorska, L. (2007) A Short History of English Literature,
Poznań: Wydaw. Poznańskie