Course Description:

[Catalogue Description—213. British Writers: A concentrated survey of the work of some of the most influential British writers and of the development of British literary traditions; intended to help non-majors become close and informed readers of literature. Focus will vary from semester to semester. Meets general academic requirement L.]

            Literature should give us pleasure. It should entertain and edify. Like the other arts, it reminds us of what it means to be human in the deepest and broadest senses of the word. It spans the deepest pathos in the most intense tragedy and the lightest humor in ridiculous farce and comedy. Literature tells us the truth about existence in human terms. It can reveal how life can feel at its extremes so that we can have a larger understanding of others whose fate we do not share.

            Why should this course matter to you? In your life there are usually few occasions when you will be asked to read some of the greatest literature in British Literature. This is a chance to explore what this literature is and what it can mean to you. I hope many of you will want to read other novels, plays, poems etc. on your own. This course also reviews traditional foundations for the study of literature such as common literary terms. This course is also a great chance to expand your imagination and creativity.

            What is the structure and/or theme of the course? First we will read Shakespeare’s Hamlet and view at least one version of the play. One important theme in this play, which we will return to throughout the course, is how literature is “dialogic,” i.e. how every single work is part of a larger dialogue between one author and other authors (precursors or contemporaries).

            Understanding the “dialogic” nature of literature increases the pleasure and depth of the reading experience. Great authors always engage in a kind of “dialogue” with other great writers.

            There will be a British Romanticism unit, highlighting some of the most popular and great poetry and prose of that period, followed by a few selected works from the Victorians. The modernist unit will feature novels and poetry. The postmodern period will be briefly represented by Tom Stoppard’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, which is a wonderful and funny tragicomedy that rips off Shakespeare’s Hamlet in a kind of poignant “dialogue” with Shakespeare.

            There will be creative alternatives for some assignments in this course for three reasons:

(1) One great way to appreciate literature is to try to write some yourself—even if you fail. When you experience first-hand how hard it is to write something truly great, you gain greater insight into the craft of writing and the art of literature.

(2) Writing creatively and imaginatively puts your mind in the kind of state that makes reading literature far more powerful and productive—even if you are completely unaware that this is happening. (Reading is and should be a profoundly creative experience. To put this into blunt physiological terms, if you aren’t burning as many calories while reading as you are while seriously studying something you care about or watching a film that has you completely mesmerized, you are not completely there as a reader yet.)

(3) Critical and analytical writing is, at its best, a creative process; therefore, creative writing should strengthen your ability to do the thinking required in critical and analytical assignments.

            How classes typically run:

            There will be a great emphasis on discussion and participation based upon questions that I will bring to the class as well as questions that you bring to the class. Many of these questions will become your HW journal assignments. There will be many times when we break up into small groups so that a lot of harder questions can be dealt with more efficiently than by having everyone work through every question all together.

            I will lecture as needed to give you important historical, literary, cultural, social information etc., but there will almost never be a day when a class is mostly lecture. The class works best when everyone reads the assignments and actively participates, so there will be frequent pop quizzes on the readings. Attendance and participation are 20% of your final grade (this includes some kind of presentation to the class, usually based upon your short paper project or a collaborative creative project). If you are a quieter student in the class, you can compensate for not talking much by writing more.

            There will be film versions of Hamlet and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, which you will be required to see. No film version is the same as the text, so please remember that when you write about either of these plays that you need to refer to the texts.

Course Requirements:

1 midterm       (essay and objective)                            20% [LETTER GRADE]

1 final exam (essay and objective)                               20% [LETTER GRADE]

6-7 HW Logs & 6-7 Pop Quizzes                                20% [10 point logs & quizzes]

Participation & presentation                                        20% [LETTER GRADE]

1 short paper (4-6 typed double-spaced pages)           20% [LETTER GRADE]

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Advisories:

* Attendance policy: Five (5) or more unexcused absences will result in an automatic F. If you are physically present but totally unprepared, this can also count as an absence! Latenesses can also add up to absences.

* LATE HW IS NEVER ACCEPTED unless you have a valid excuse that you tell me about in advance and which we agree upon, or there are truly dire circumstances that you tell me about later.

* ALWAYS finish the reading before we discuss it in class! Being unready to participate hurts your participation grade.

* Some of the readings for this course include mature themes such as adultery, murder, alcoholism, promiscuity, sex, sexual situations, regicide, and violence. It is possible that some students may have moral/religious difficulties with the actual contents of these works of literature. If you have troubles of this sort, please talk to me ASAP. It may be possible to arrange for an alternate reading.

* Plagiarism policy: If you ever knowingly use someone else’s writing and try to pass it off as your own, you are guilty of plagiarism, which warrants an automatic F on at least the assignment. An F may also be given for the whole course. Other penalties may be given by the Dean of Students Office, e.g. Academic Probation etc. Plagiarism does not include acknowledged collaborations or other approved learning situations.

* Cheating policy: penalties are similar to those above for plagiarism.

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Schedule: (Please note that this schedule may change. Assignments may be added and subtracted and updated as the term progresses.)

1. January 14, 16, 18

M        Introduction to the class. Ice breaker exercise. Cover syllabus.

W        Read ACT I for Wednesday’s class.

Introduction to the course. Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Aristotle on tragedy, and the archetypal structure—the Orestes parallel. Review how to paraphrase and terms: imagery, paradox, irony, dramatic irony, cosmic irony, situational irony and counterpoint. Understanding ACT I. Your questions & my questions for discussion.

F         Read ACT II for Friday’s class. Discuss examples of irony and counterpoint and related questions.

2. January 21, 23, 25

M        Read ACTS III & IV. Discuss tragic hero, tragic flaw, and counterpoint in the play.

W        Finish the play. See the DVD on reserve. Questions for discussion.

F         Discuss catharsis and the tragic effect and related questions. HW Journal #1 due (300-500 words).

Secondary source readings in your book for Monday: pages xiv-xxiii, xxiv-xxviii, xl-xli, and pages 307-322.

            3. January 28....

M        Helen Maria Williams online excerpts TBA. Lecture on the Age of Revolutions.

            W & F classes cancelled due to AWP conference in NYC.

4. February 4, 6, 8

            MWF  Dorothy & William Wordsworth readings in DWAJ & LB... HW Journal #2 due (300-500 words).

5. February 11, 13, 15

            MWF  Dorothy Wordsworth AJ & William Wordsworth & Samuel Taylor Coleridge readings in LB.

6. February 18, 20

M        William Wordsworth’s poetry in LB (through “Tintern Abbey”)& Dorothy Wordsworth’s Alfoxden Journal & Grasmere Journal (pp. 1-94)

W        Finish DWGJ & discussion of LB. Identifications QUIZ!

F           Class cancelled due to readings in Syracuse, NY.

7. February 25, 27, 29

M       Last discussion of W Wordsworth and Dorothy Wordsworth &  LB

W          Rosetti, selected lyrics online. Midterm review day.

              HW Journal #3 due (300-500 words).

F           Midterm in class!

...................................SPRING BREAK!.............................................

8. March 10, 12, 14

Finish Rosetti & start Yeats. A short selection of Yeats poems is here as a PDF.

Identifications Quiz Friday. 5 passages, 2 points each.

Here are some free online resources that should help you to understand the poetry:

Short Bio note: http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1923/yeats-bio.html

A note on the phases of his career: http://www.yeats-sligo.com/html/wbyeats/poetry.html

His influences: http://www.yeats-sligo.com/html/wbyeats/influences.html

HW Journal #4 due Mon. the 17th (300-500 words). Pick any one poem (or two short poems) from the readings that you like and discuss the poetic devices (imagery, symbols, metaphors, rhythms, etc.) in relation to either (1) his themes and his influences, or (2) his exploration of history as myth or myth as history.

9. March 17, 19 [Easter Recess 03/20— ]

Finish Yeats Monday& start Joyce’s Portrait of the Artist, Preface (ix-xii) and Parts I-II  (pages 3-89)

10. March 26, 28

Finish Portrait Wednesday. Start T. S. Eliot’s selected greater lyrics online and The Waste Land (beginning). HW Journal #5 due (300-500 words).

11. March 31, April 2 [April 4 class cancelled, but you have to see Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead outside of our class.]

Finish The Waste Land. Start Woolf.

12. April 7, 9, 11:

Woolf. HW Journal #6 due (300-500 words).

13. April 14, 16, 18:

Woolf.

Weeks14-15. April 21, 23, 25, 28, 30, May 2

Stoppard. HW Journal #7 due (300-500 words) and Short papers due.

Final Exam TBA.