English 45A

Other Readings and Media

Norton Anthology of English Literature: Medieval; Norton Anthology of English Literature: Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries; Shakespeare, W.: Hamlet

Description

"We will study the changing nature of creative writing ""through"" Milton, Spenser and Chaucer, but the point is to introduce many voices rather than studying just three authors. This will not be a strict chronological ""survey"" but more a sampling of key themes, as they are constructed in different genres and in different periods across a thousand years of turbulent history. What makes a hero or heroine (epic)? what makes us fall in love (desire and the lyric)? what makes us laugh (satire and comedy)? The syllabus will highlight important episodes from Paradise Lost, The Faerie Queene, The Canterbury Tales and Beowulf, often difficult, but short enough that all students can keep up with the reading; interpretation will be focused by selected passages from Shakespeare's Hamlet and Sidney 's Defense of Poetry. Though this is a lecture course your attendance and participation as a live audience is required; there is no substitute for hearing the work read out loud. Occasionally, instead of the lecture I will schedule a close reading exercise. Two quizzes, two papers (one from prompts, one free-choice), and a final exam. "