1
British Literature Survey English 201
Winter Quarter 2007
Instructor: Dr. Celia Lewis Office: GTM 232
My office hours: MW: 8-9:30, 10:45-11:45; 3:50-4:30; F: 8-9:30, 10:45-11:45, 2:00-3:30; TR 10-12 by appt.
My e-mail: clewis@latech.edu My office phone: 257-3678 Blackboard: www.blackboard.latech.edu
Objectives of this course: The main objective of this course is to introduce you to some of the major writers and texts of
British literature, and to expose you to different ways of interpreting those works. Additionally, this course will (re)familiarize
you with literary terms and equip you to read, analyze, and write about literature critically; the course will enable you to
develop interpretative arguments supported with textual evidence, and hopefully will foster in you an appreciation for the
universal in literature. By the end of this quarter, you should 1) be familiar with some of the better-known texts and authors of
British literature, 2) have some thoughts on how literature, history, and culture interact with each other, and 3) be a better close
reader of texts.
Prerequisite: English 102 (or the equivalent)
Required Books and Materials:
The Norton Anthology of English Literature, 8th Edition. Ed. M. H. Abrams and Stephen Greenblatt. New York: W. W.
Norton, 2006.
Pen, paper, writing tools, and disks as needed to store your writing
Access to the Internet, email, and Word or WordPerfect
Evaluation:
Journals, Quizzes, Peer Review
5-6 page Argumentative Research Essay (due Fr. 2/9)
Mid-term Exam (Fri. 1/12)
Final Exam (Fri. 2/23)
2 Enrichment Activities (25 pts each)
TOTAL possible points
200 pts
250 pts
250 pts
250 pts
50 pts
1000 points
** Your final score converts to a grade by this formula: 900-1000=A; 800-899=B; 700-799=C; 600-699=D; 500-599=F.
**Any student registered with DSS must let me know at the beginning of the quarter if he or she requires any accommodations
for the work in this course.
**In the event of a question regarding a final grade, it will be the responsibility of the student to retain and present graded
materials that have been returned for student possession during the quarter.
Plagiarism:
Like you, I regard scholastic dishonesty as a stupid and dishonorable act. A student who claims someone else’s work as his or
her own not only shows disrespect towards classmates, me, and (worst of all) his/her own intelligence, the act of cheating
defeats the purpose of education, which in this class is to encourage you to develop, express, and support your own unique
ideas on significant topics. At minimum plagiarized work on any assignment will receive a ZERO, and the student’s overall
class grade may be lowered by 20%. Be advised that lifting work from the Internet or forgetting to document sources
constitutes plagiarism as much as does copying pages from a published book.
I fully support the new Louisiana Tech University Honor Code. I would advise you to obtain a copy of the student handbook
and familiarize yourself with the code, but above all, know that cheating in this class will be dealt with severely. This means
that transgressions will be reported to the university, which could result in severe penalties, including expulsion from school.
Attendance:
Good a ttendance and class participation are both mandatory if you want to pass this course. “Excused” and “unexcused”
absences count in the same way. You have two (2) absences before your grade average will begin to suffer seriously; more than
three absences may fail you for the entire course. Doctor’s appointments, court appointments, meetings with other faculty
members should be made for times that do not conflict with our class. It is your responsibility to keep track of your absences.
Missed in-class work cannot be made up in most cases; essays will lose 5 points for each day they are late. I do not give makeup quizzes. Any time a student is not present when class roll is being called, the student will be counted absent for that class
period.
PLEASE KEEP CELL PHONES TURNED OFF DURING CLASS!!
2
Enrichment Activities (50 points; 25 points each):
The purpose of enrichment projects is to enhance your understanding of English literature, and to give you some options about
how that enrichment happens. Although EAs are not required in order to pass the course, please note that it would be very
difficult to earn an “A” in the course without submitting them. Obviously, students who are concerned about their grade point
average should undertake two enrichment projects. Although more than two projects are listed, you may receive credit for no
more than TWO (2) EAs. (In other words, the purpose of these projects is not to prop up a low or failing average.) NOTE
BENE: Enrichment Activities have deadlines; choose the two you wish to do in advance, for you will not be allowed to hand
one in once its deadline has passed. Revise and edit your EAs for substance and clarity. No jibble-jabble, please. Especially
successful activities may be presented to the class with the student’s permission.
Quizzes, Reading Assignments, Peer Review, etc. (100 points):
Complete all assignments and reading for each class before entering the classroom. Not only should you read and think about
each literary work, you should arrive prepared to participate in class discussion. Taking notes and annotating your text while
you are reading are good habits to cultivate. Frequent reading quizzes (5-10 in a quarter) and daily discussion will determine
and evaluate the quality of your preparation. Readings are to be done before class on the day where they are listed. The Peer
Review that you will do the class day before your research essay is due will count as a quiz grade.
Journals (100 points):
Journals serve four purposes: they give you writing practice on the course topics, they provide you with a regular forum where
you can develop thoughts on the readings without worrying about grammar and such, they inspire (or encourage) you to
express (in writing) ideas which may develop into essay topics, and they prime your brain for class discussion. If your journals
are 1) handed in on time—which means at the beginning of class on the day they’re due, 2) written on the assigned topic, and
3) of sufficient length (at least one double-spaced typed page with 1” margins on all sides, and no excessive spacing, or two (2)
full handwritten pages with no lines skipped), they will receive full credit. If a journal does not meet any of the above criteria,
it will receive no credit. Expect me to be a stickler for these standards. Journals are an easy high grade—but only if you do
them. Only under very exceptional cases will a late journal be accepted for partial credit the class day after it is due.
Argumentative Research Essay (250 points):
Your research essay will be a 5-6 page argumentative paper on a topic that I have pre-approved. The paper will contain an
arguable thesis sentence in the first paragraph, be in MLA format, and can only contain and make reference to established and
credible academic sources. It will contain a Works Cited page, and at least one earlier revised draft (this draft may be your
peer-reviewed typed draft). You will be receiving more information about this essay, and a list of suggested topics, as the
quarter proceeds.
Mid-term (250 points) and Final Exam (250 points):
Your Mid-term and Final exams will be part objective, part short answer, and part essay. The objective sections of the final will
not be cumulative, but the final exam may have an essay topic choice that makes reference to or includes all course material.
Essay Format:
 All research essays are to be typed, double-spaced, with 1” margins on all sides, and printed in 12 pt. font, in black ink.
Times New Roman or Times fonts are preferred. Please do not include a cover page.
 You are required to hand in all revised drafts, all workshop copies, and your disk with your research essay.
 You should hand in labeled photocopies of the sources you reference or quote, so that I can verify them.
 I will accept a few minor hand-written corrections on your final copy.
 When you begin to write your essay, you’ll find more information on the assignment sheet in your Blackboard
“Assignments” file, and in “Lewis’ Brief Guide to Writing Essays on Literature” (also on Blackboard).
 Essays must be on one of the assigned topics, in MLA format (come see me if you do not know what that is) and should
have the following heading in the top left-hand corner of the first page:
Your Name
English 201.00?
Date
Research Essay
Original Title for Your Essay
3
Emergency/Contingency Plan: If for some reason we are unable to meet as a class, we will continue our course work,
lectures, and discussion through our Blackboard website. You should check Blackboard regularly for announcements and
changes to the schedule.
General Schedule:
The following schedule is subject to revision by the instructor; students are responsible for noting any changes made
in class or posted on Blackboard. A complete schedule for the quarter can be found at Blackboard.latech.edu.
Each day’s reading (pages are listed after dates) is to be done before class. Always expect a quiz. As long as you’ve
done the reading and homework attentively, you’ll be ready.
WEEK ONE: Anglo-Saxon and Anglo-Norman Medieval Literature
Wed, 11/29
Introduction to Course; Reading and Analyzing Literature; Anglo-Saxon England pp. 1-15
[Optional Enrichment Activity (due Wed, 12/6): Go to http://labyrinth.georgetown.edu (the Resources for Medieval
Studies website). Scroll down the page until you get to “Choose a Category.” Find one that interests you (say
Cookery (which will lead you to Medieval and Anglo-Saxon recipes), Manuscripts (where you can access the Digital
Beowulf Project) or DScriptorium (where you can find manuscript images) and wander around. Not all the links will
work, so you may have to try several. Or, you may go to www.harpercollege.edu/~kneumann/grendel/links.htm. Take
notes on what you find. Then type up a 2-page (double-spaced) reaction to and evaluation of what you found. What
most surprises you about Anglo-Saxon art and culture? Any reflections on Anglo-Saxon literature, art, and culture are
welcome.]
Fri, 12/1
If you haven’t already, you should read the Introduction to your book, pp. 1-15.
“The Dream of the Rood” 24-26; Beowulf 30-37; 44-50
Journal # 1: Compare and/or contrast the two works you read for today. How are they different? Are there any similarities?
What values do each of the works reflect, and what images, or events, or language depict those values? How might the
objectives of the storyteller/s or poets have differed? What can we guess about the audiences of the works?
WEEK TWO:
Mon, 12/4 Anglo-Norman Medieval Literature
Marie de France (c.1170), “Lanval” 98-111
[Courtly Love Handout: posted on Blackboard in the Course Documents file. Print out a copy & bring it with you to class. ]
Discussion: Ways of looking at Literature (thematic, structural, socio-historical, feminist, etc.)
Wed, 12/6 Medieval English Literature (ca. 1375-1485)
Chaucer (c. 1343-1400) the Canterbury Tales 168-190 “The General Prologue”
Fri, 12/8
Chaucer (c. 1343-1400) Summary of “The Knight’s Tale,” and “The Miller’s Prologue and Tale” 190-207
WEEK THREE:
Mon, 12/11
Chaucer (c. 1343-1400) the Canterbury Tales: “The Wife of Bath’s Prologue and Tale” 207-34
Journal # 2: Contrast the roles played by women in “The Wife of Bath’s Tale” and in Marie’s “Lanval.” What do the works
suggest about power and authority in male/female relationships? What do they suggest about nobility? Which (if any) of the
values represented in these medieval stories/poems about love are true today?
Wed, 12/13 “High” Medieval Literature
[Optional Enrichment Activity (due Mon, 12/18): See a film influenced by Malory’s Morte Darthur (such as The Fisher King,
Excalibur, Monte Python and the Holy Grail, or another film which you have approved by me). In a two-page (double-spaced)
typed essay, analyze the extent to which the modern rendition of the King Arthur tale remains true to the same values,
concerns, and relationships reflected in the specific passages we are reading for class.]
Sir Thomas Malory (1405-1471) Morte Darthur 299-318
Fri, 12/15 The Sixteenth Century (1485-1603)
Introduction to the Sixteenth Century 319-345
[Optional Enrichment Activity (due Wed, Jan 3): Write an alternative (perhaps contemporary) reply to Marlowe’s Passionate
Shepherd. Your rendition can be free verse (it doesn’t have to rhyme), but should be a minimum of 18 lines.]
Christopher Marlowe (1564-1595) “The Passionate Shepherd to His Love” 459
4
Sir Walter Raleigh (1552-1618) “The Nymph’s Reply to the Shepherd” 448
Sir Thomas Wyatt the Elder (1503-15 42) “The long love that in my thought doth harbor”; “Whoso list” 349-51
Henry Howard, Earl of Surry (1517-1547) 353 “Love that doth reign and live within my thought” 354
Journal # 3: Why do you think that Raleigh would bother to write a poem in reply to Marlowe’s “Passionate Shepherd”? Is his
poem different in tone? Is it different in meter and rhyme? How so? Thomas Wyatt and Henry Howard were close friends
(indeed, Surry saved Wyatt’s life by pulling strings to get him released from the Tower of London), and they both translated a
poem by the 14th century Italian poet, Petrarch. Compare and contrast their translations (pages 349 and 354). Which translation
do you prefer? Why?
Begin work on your research essay!
WEEK FOUR:
Mon, 12/18
The English Bible 354-57
[Christmas Break is from December 19 (at end of classes) to January 3. Happy Holidays!]
Wed, 1/3
The Sixteenth Century (cont’d.)
Queen Elizabeth (1533-1603) “The Doubt of Future Foes,” “On Monsieur’s Departure,” Letters & Speeches 357-365
[Optional Enrichment Activity (due Wed 1/10): Read carefully the introduction on Shakespeare’s sonnets on page 496 of your
Norton Anthology. Then read choose three-four of his sonnets to write about. The Norton Anthology notes, “Often the main
idea of the poem may be grasped quickly, but the precise movement of thought and feeling, the links among the shifting
images, the syntax, tone, and rhetorical structure prove immensely challenging” (497). Once you have pinpointed the main idea
of the poem, note one or two places where there is a shift in the sonnet. You must write a minimum of 1 and a half typed pages,
or 2 full written pages to receive credit for this assignment. To receive full credit, you must pinpoint the poem’s main idea, and
note places where each sonnet “shifts.” Revise and edit your analysis as necessary.]
Fri, 1/5
William Shakespeare (1564-1616): Twelfth Night Acts I-III
Journal # 4: As the editors of the Norton Anthology point out, Twelfth Night “[allows] characters to explore emotional
territory that a culture officially hostile to same-sex desire and cross-class marriage would ordinarily have ruled out of bounds.
In Twelfth Night conventional expectations repeatedly give way to a different mode of perceiving the world” (510). What point
or points does the play make about desire, marriage, and class? Which characters are most sympathetically represented, and
why? How does the portrayal or representation of those characters affect our response to the issues of cross-class marriage and
same-sex desire?
WEEK FIVE:
Mon, 1/8
Twelfth Night Acts IV-V
Wed, 1/10 The Early Seventeenth Century (1603-1660)
John Donne 603, 606, 611-12, 617-18, 621-623 (Sonnets 1, 5, 14)
Ben Jonson 638-41 (“To My Book,” “On My First Daughter,” “On My First Son” )
Robert Herrick “To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time” 669
Katherine Philips 672-75 “A Married State” 672-3;“Upon the Double Murder of King Charles” 673,
Andrew Marvell 675-78 “To His Coy Mistress” 677
John Milton 721-23
Journal # 5: Write about four of the poems assigned for today. Which do you prefer? Which don’t you like? Why or why not?
Fri, 1/12
Midterm Exam
WEEK SIX:
Mon, 1/15: University closed in observance of Martin Luther King Jr., Holiday
Wed, 1/17 The Restoration and the Eighteenth Century (1660-1785) 853-76
[Optional Enrichment Activity (due Mon, 10/23): Go to www.lit-arts.net/Behn/begin-ab.htm, which is the Aphra Behn Page.
Read about Aphra Behn, her life, her novels and poetry. Find some of her work through this web site, and write on the themes,
concerns, or imagery you find in it. How is what you learn similar to—or different from—her romance narrative Oroonoko?
One and 1/2 page minimum.]
Aphra Behn (1640?-1689) Oroonoko 922-24; 927-71
5
Fri, 1/19
[Optional Enrichment Activity (due 10/25): Taking Swift’s “Modest Proposal” as inspiration, write your own satirical “Modest
Proposal” to address a contemporary social problem faced by the United States. Your proposal should be a minimum of 2 full
typed pages (double-spaced)]
Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) 971-73. Read “A Modest Proposal” 1114-19.
WEEK SEVEN:
Mon, 1/22
Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, (1689-1762) “Epistle from Mrs Yonge to Her Husband” 1200-1201
Eliza Haywood (1693?-1756) “Fantomina; or, Love in a Maze” 1178-97
Journal # 6: Why do you think inspired Lady Mary (who had a happy marriage) was inspired to take on the “voice” of Mrs.
Yonge? What issues or concerns are raised by “Fantomina”? In what way are those issues relevant to our contemporary lives?
Wed, 1/24 The Romantic Period (1785-1830) Intro pp. 1363-84
William Blake: 1406-09, “from Songs of Innocence and Experience” poems, pp 1410-26.
Fri, 1/26
[Optional Enrichment Activity (due Mon, 2/5): Towards the end of “Lines Composed a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey . . .”
Wordsworth addresses “My dear, dear Sister!” (line 121). Should we assume that Dorothy has been a silent and patient
audience the whole time? Write Dorothy’s reply to “Lines” (and to her brother William). Your (her) poem should be a
minimum of 20 lines.]
Anna Letitia Barbauld “To a Little Invisible Being . . . “ 1394
William Wordsworth (1770-1850) “Lines” 1491-95, “Expostulation and Reply” “The Tables Turned” 1489-91
“The Solitary Reaper” 1546
*** Draft of Research Essay due—Draft Review Sheet
WEEK EIGHT:
Mon, 1/29
Research Day/Student Conferences
Wed, 1/31
Dorothy Wordsworth “Thoughts on My Sick-Bed” 1608-09
Samuel Taylor Coleridge “This Lime-Tree Bower My Prison”1613-15
George Gorden, Lord Byron “She Walks in Beauty,” “They Say That Hope is Happiness,” 1676-77
Percy Bysshe Shelley “Mutability” 1734; “England in 1819”
Keats: “La Belle Dame Sans Merci” 1840-42, “Ode to a Nightingale” 1845-47; “Ode on Melancholy” 1848-50
Journal # 7: Write on today’s readings. Choose at least three of the poems, and identify lines, themes, or images that make the
poems identifiable as British “Romantic Period” poetry.
[Optional Enrichment Activity (due Wednesday, 2/7): Write a 21st century companion poem to Shelley’s “England in 1819,” a
poem that articulates some of the dilemmas and crises of our historical moment. Your poem must be a minimum of 14 lines.]
Fri, 2/2
****Peer Review of Research Essays—Bring typed, semi-final draft with you to class
WEEK NINE:
Mon, 2/5 The Victorian Age (1830-1901) Intro pp. 1885-1905
[Optional Enrichment Activity (due Mon, 2/12): Keats was a “Romantic Period” poet, and Tennyson a Victorian poet. Write
on Tennyson’s “In Memoriam” (composed from 1833-1850) and on Keats’ “Ode to a Nightingale” (composed in 1819). Which
of the two poems do you prefer, and why? How are the poems different in the way they treat the theme (and reality) of loss?
Type up a minimum of two (2) pages of your responses to those questions]
Alfred, Lord Tennyson “In Memoriam A. H. H.” (selections)
Wed, 2/7
Robert Browning “Porphyria’s Lover” 2054-55, “My Last Duchess” 2058-59 [the dramatic monologue]
Christina Rossetti “Goblin Market” 2143-55
Journal #8: Write on today’s readings.
Fri, 2/9
Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) “The Importance of Being Earnest” 2221-63
6
RESEARCH ESSAY DUE (250 points)
WEEK TEN:
Mon, 2/12
The Twentieth Century Intro, pp. 2293-2313
Kipling “If—“ 2290-91
Thomas Hardy “Hap” 2318-19, “The Ruined Maid” 2321 “The Darkling Thrush” 2320
Journal # 9: Self-Evaluation of your work in this class (the questions for this journal are posted on Blackboard. Do not retype
the questions; simply answer them, in paragraph form, as you write your self-evaluation. NB: the same length requirements
apply to this journal as to previous journals.)
Wed, 2/14
TBA
Virginia Woolf “The Mark on the Wall” 2423-29; “Professions for Women” 2494-98
James Joyce “Araby” 2503-07
William Butler Yeats “The Stolen Child” 2389-90, “The Lake Isle of Innisfree” 2391, “Easter, 1916” 2397-99, “September
1913” 2396, “The Second Coming” 2402-03, “Leda and the Swan” 2405
Fri, 2/16
Seamus Heaney (b. 1939) “Digging” 2789-90, “Punishment” 2792-93
Nadine Gordimer (b. 1923) “The Moment Before the Gun Went Off” 2718-21
Salmon Rushdie (b. 1947) “The Prophet’s Hair” 2813-24
Journal # 10: Write on today’s readings
WEEK ELEVEN:
[University closed for Mardi Gras Holiday on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, Feb. 19-21]
Fri, 2/23
FINAL EXAM
WEEK TWELVE:
Mon, 2/26
Last Day of Classes