KARABUK UNIVERSITY
Faculty of Letters
English Language and Literature
Undergraduate
Course Syllabus
Semester
: Fall 2012
Course Code
Course Title : Renaissance Prose and
Poetry
: ELIT 219
Course Pre-Requisite(s): There is no strict Prerequisite requirement for this course, yet the
students are supposed to take the following courses
before they take this course in order that they will
easily grasp this course.
Course Level : Second Year, 3rd Semester Course Co-Requisite(s) :
Lecture Time :
ECTS Credit
:4
Academic Staff Specifics
Name
Office Number and
Location
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ali Gunes
Office Hours
E-mail Address
aligunes@karabuk.edu.tr
Prerequisites by topics:
1. Literary Terms
2. Introduction of English Literature I
3. Introduction to English Literature II
Course Description: This course provides an in-depth analysis of English prose and poetry during the
Renaissance period. Students will learn in detail about social, political, historical, philosophical and
cultural characteristics and literary genres and traditions of the period. They will read and analyze
prominent works of prose and poetry, and learn about the major writers of these genres.
Aims of the Course (Course Objectives)


to introduce the students to social, political, historical, philosophical and cultural characteristics
and literary genres and traditions of the period
to study read and analyze prominent works of prose and poetry, and learn about the major
writers of these genres
Course Learning Objectives
After finishing the course successfully, the student in the novel course shall be able to:




understand social, political, historical, philosophical and cultural events which influenced the
renaissance literature
Evaluate major writers and poets, together their individual works
See differences between the medieval literature and Renaissance literature
Analyse individually literary works of the Renaissance literature in comparison with the literary
works written in the Middle Ages
Tentative Weekly Schedule
Week
Basic and support material to be covered
1
Course introduction; review of literary terms and
analytical methods; an overview of authors and
genres
2
Socio-political, cultural and historical overview of the
16th Century (1485-1603)
3
Utopia by Sir Thomas More (1478-1535)
4
Selected poetry of Sir Thomas Wyatt the Elder
(1503-1542) and Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey
(1517-1547); The Faerie Queene by Edmund
Spenser (1552-1599)
5
Selected sonnets from Amoretti and Epithalamion by
Edmund Spenser (1552-1599); selections from
Astrophil and Stella by Sir Philip Sidney (1554-1586)
6
The Tragical History of Dr. Faustus by Christopher
Marlowe (1564-1593)
7
Selected sonnets by William Shakespeare (15641616); Twelfth Night (or What You Will)
8
Twelfth Night (or What You Will) by William
Shakespeare (1564-1616)
9
Mid-Term Exam
10
Socio -political, cultural and historical overview of the
early 17th Century (1603-1660); selections from
Songs and Sonnets by John Donne (1572-1631)
11
Selected poetry of Ben Johnson (1572-1637), Mary
Wroth (1587-1651), and Robert Herrick (1591-1674)
12
Selected poetry of George Herbert (1593-1633),
Richard Lovelace (1618-1657), and Andrew Marvell
(1621-1678)
13
Lycidas and Paradise Lost by John Milton (16081674)
14
Paradise Lost by John Milton (1608-1674)
Homework/reports and their due dates
Secondary Reading
REFERENCES
Abrams, M. H. and Others, eds., The Norton Anthology of English Literature, vol. 1 (New York: W. W.
Norton and Company, 1979)
Daiches, David, A Critical History of English Literature, vol. 1-2 (London: Mandarin, 1994)
Ford, Boris, ed., The Pelican Guide to English Literature, vol. 1-7 (Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1966)
Keenan, Siobhan, Renaissance Literature (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2008)
Legouis, Emile, A History of English Literature: The Middle Ages and The Renaissance, trans. by
Helen Douglas Irvine (London: J. M. Dent and Sons Ltd, 1971)
Poplawski, Paul, ed. English Literature in Context (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008)
Sanders, Andrew, The Short History of English Literature, 2nd ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press,
1999)
Assessment methods:
Presentations and written exams
Grading policy
Classroom participation and
Presentations
Up to 10 %
Mid-Term Exam
Up to 30 %
Final Exam
60 %
*The passing grade is 60 out of 100 at the University of Karabuk. Whatever average a student
has in her/his mid-term exam, she/he has to get 50 out of 100 in the final exam. Please see
relevant regulations at http://www.karabuk.edu.tr/dbsk/oisleri
Expected workload:
On average students need to spend 1 hours of study and preparation for each 50-minute
Lecture/tutorial.
Requirements
Students are expected not only to come to classes regularly and on time with their necessary
documents but also to read beforehand the relevant documents, since this course will be partly in a
form of classroom discussions. The classroom language is English, and the use of any other
languages shall not be allowed. No assigned works such as class activity, homework, term work and
so on will be accepted after the stated deadline.
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is the act of stealing somebody’s work or idea and then of trying to pass it off as
original. This is an offence and crime requiring the punishment not only across the world but also at
IUS. If the student takes or summarizes someone’s written works or ideas, s/he must give the full
citation in her/his assignment.
Attendance policy:
Absence from lectures and tutorials shall not exceed 30%. Students who exceed the limits without a
medical or emergency excuse acceptable to and approved by the Dean of the relevant faculty shall not
be allowed to take the final examination and shall receive a mark of zero for the course. If the excuse
is approved by the Dean and the program coordinator, the student shall be considered to have
withdrawn from the course.