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d 6English 1129 Summer 2006: Outline & Schedule
Instructor: Jacqueline Weal
jweal@langara.bc.ca
(604) 323-5273
Office A202b
Office Hours: M, T, W, R 11:30 – 12:30 & T 1:30 – 2:30
This course will help you to develop a critical
understanding of poetry, drama and the novel and will build
on the writing and analytical skills that you gained in an
English composition course.
Reading List:
Chekhov, Anton. The Cherry Orchard.
Rhys, Jean. Wide Sargasso Sea.
Stoppard, Tom. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead.
Suri, Manil. The Death of Vishnu.
Touberg, Sarah. The Hudson Book of Poetry: 150 Poems Worth
Reading.
Assignments / Marks Allocation:
Participation:
5%
Poetry Quiz:
5%
Poetry Essay (in class): 15%
Drama seminar:
10% (5% Oral / 5% Written)
Drama Quizzes:
10%
Novel Quizzes:
10%
Novel/Drama Term paper: 20%
Final Exam:
25%
*Students must receive an average grade of C- on the
in-class poetry essay and final exam to pass the course.
Drama seminars will begin in week 6, and continue through
to week 12; they will be held on Thursdays during the
second class hour, at our regular classroom, with five
students presenting each week. Only those five students
presenting on a particular week must attend that seminar;
however, additional audience members are always appreciated.
I will circulate a sign up sheet at the beginning of week 4.
You will be required to give a 5-7 minute oral presentation
on a scene or speech of your choice from one of the course
plays, OR on a specified topic related to one of the plays:
I will hand out topics for each play. Weeks 6 through 8
seminars will cover The Cherry Orchard; 9 through 12 will
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cover Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. Visual aids
are not required, but if you do decide to use them, be sure
to factor in their duration and illustrate their importance
to your presentation. If you focus on a speech or scene in
your presentation, your job is to illustrate, through
analysis, how that scene/speech contributes to the play’s
overall narrative or thematic content. Finally, you will
write a 2 page (double-spaced and typed) essay version of
the presentation to be handed in the Tuesday immediately
following your seminar, thus giving you time to revise and
refine your analysis.
Attendance / Participation
Please come to class on time and prepared. Habitually late
students will be marked absent and may be asked to leave.
If you miss two concurrent weeks of classes, I might ask
you to withdraw from the course. When possible, let me know
in advance if you must miss a class; you are responsible
for all missed material. Participation marks are based on
meaningful contributions during class discussions & efforts
during group work. Remember: you cannot participate if you
are not in class and/or are not prepared.
Due Dates
Late assignments will lose 5%, or half a letter grade, each
day they are late—including weekends. If you miss a quiz or
seminar, you may not make it up. Assignments are due in
class and will not be accepted via email or under my door.
Academic Honesty
Plagiarism is the unacknowledged use of another person’s
ideas and/or words. Plagiarised work will receive an
automatic grade of F or zero; depending on the seriousness
of the offence, I may file an official report with the Dean.
If you are unsure of what constitutes plagiarism, please
see me.
A final note: Although the Poetry section of this course is
“light” reading, the remainder of the course is not. Thus,
I suggest you begin pre-reading the plays & novels as soon
as possible.
Weekly Schedule: What follows is a tentative schedule,
meaning it is subject to change as needed throughout the
term. If you miss a class, you are responsible for knowing
about any changes to the schedule.
Tuesday
Thursday
Week 1
May 8 12
Introductions
Major poetry types
POETRY: How to read a poem
Week 2
May 15 19
Sound effects & devices:
“Reapers”; “Daddy”; “Bells
for John…”
Imagery: “Heat”; “This is
just to say”; “Preludes”
Closed form: Sonnets
Shakespeare 18, 73 & 130
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Week
Week 3
May 22 26
Week 4
May 29 –
June 2
Meter & Prosody:
Brooks & Hughes
Handout on Scansion
Open form: progenitors &
examples
More open form & concrete:
“The Colonel”; “The next…”
Homage to…” “Oranges”
Myth & Allusion
“The Second Coming”
More sonnets: used &
misused
Popular forms: slam, rap,
& song lyrics
Poetry Quiz
Poetry Essay: IN CLASS
Cultural influence:
“Barbie Doll” “Cinderella”
Week 5
June 5 9
Week 6
June 12 16
Week 7
June 19 23
Handout: How to write an
in-class poetry essay
DRAMA:
Theatre background, terms
& components
Introduction to Anton
Chekhov, Stanislavski,
realism, naturalism & The
Cherry Orchard
The Cherry Orchard
Social context: the end of
an era
Introduction to Tom
Stoppard & Rosencrantz and
Guildenstern are Dead
QUIZ: The Cherry Orchard
Tension between narrative
structure & dramatic chaos
or meaninglessness
The Cherry Orchard
Irony, symbolism and other
literary techniques
Drama Seminars: 5
QUIZ: Rosencrantz &
Guildenstern are Dead
Theatre of the Absurd
Revisionism and Hamlet
Week 8
June 26 30
Rosencrantz and
Guildenstern are Dead
Drama Seminars: 5
Rosencrantz and
Guildenstern are Dead
Fate and Determinism
Film adaptation
Drama Seminars: 5
NOVELS:
A brief history of the
novel; Introductions: The
Death of Vishnu, Manil
Suri & the Hindu trimurti.
The Death of Vishnu
Maya & simulacra: the
power of film in the novel
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Week 9
July 3 7
Excerpt: Devdas
(A Bollywood classic)
Drama Seminars: 5
Week 10
July 10 14
Week 11
July 17 21
Week 12
July 24 28
QUIZ: The Death of Vishnu
Political allegory of
post-modern India
The Death of Vishnu
Colour, characters, satire
& other issues for
discussion
QUIZ: Wide Sargasso Sea
The Gothic
The Death of Vishnu:
Religious divide
Drama Seminars: 5
Wide Sargasso Sea: Intro
to Jean Rhys, revisionism
& Jane Eyre, bildungsroman
Drama Seminars: 5
Wide Sargasso Sea:
Emancipation Act &
Colonialism
Drama Seminars: 5
Week 13
July 31 –
August 4
NOVEL/DRAMA PAPERS DUE:
[Note: you may not write
your novel/drama paper on
the same play on which you
do your drama seminar.]
Wide Sargasso Sea
Symbolism & other literary
techniques
Wide Sargasso Sea power
struggles & colonialism
continued
Course wrap up & review
for final exam
Wide Sargasso Sea
Biblical Allusion
Excerpts: film adaptation