Welcome to British Literature

“This royal throne of kings,

this scepter’d isle,...

This blessed plot, this earth,

This realm, this England.”

--from Richard II by William Shakespeare

Course Description: This one quarter course offers a broad overview of the development of English literature and history from Beowulf to the early 20th century. Basic critical and interpretive concepts are studied through the reading of poetry, essays, short fiction, and a Shakespeare play. This course is an essential introductory study for students planning on attending college. Evaluation of progress will be through tests, written assignments, and active, constructive participation in classroom discussion.

Course Objectives: In a 9-week course it would be impossible to cover British literature. Thus the emphasis will be to experience pieces of literature from a number of key time periods in British history and literature. This overview will emphasize the literature and a close reading of the text with a number of reading strategies added to the student reader’s repertoire.

Course Outline (open to slight modification depending on quarter)

  1. Anglo-Saxon Period—Beowulf (1 ½ weeks)
  1. The Epic Hero
  2. Close-reading a text
  3. “Life in 999”
  4. Map work
  1. The Middle Ages—The Canterbury Tales (1 ½ weeks)
  1. The Prologue
  2. The Pardoner’s Tale
  3. The Wife of Bath’s Tale
  1. The Renaissance (3 weeks)
  1. Poetry of love, death, and time
  1. Shakespearean sonnets
  1. Paraphrasing
  2. scanning
  1. Marlowe and Raleigh
  2. Marvell
  3. Donne
B.The Tragedy of Macbeth
  1. The sting of satire
  1. Excerpts from Gulliver’s Travels
  2. “A Modest Proposal”
  1. The Romantic Period and Victorian Period (time spend depending on progress)
  1. BlakeF. Tennyson
  2. WordsworthG. Browning
  3. Lord ByronH. Matthew Arnold
  4. ShelleyI. A.E. Housman
  5. KeatsJ. Eliot
  1. The Twentieth Century
  1. The poetry of Sassoon and Owen
  2. British Raj—“On Shooting an Elephant

Additional Helpful Information:

  1. This is a rigorous, reading-intensive course. Students are expected to prepare to the best of their abilities with enthusiasm and demonstrate their preparation in class discussions. Expect daily quizzes.
  2. This class will adhere to the Eastview policies on attendance and tardies.
  3. This class will adhere to the Eastview Academic Honesty and Integrity Policy.
  4. Your final grade will be determined by the points you have earned divided by the points possible.

A93-100%C73-76%

A-90-92%C-70-72%

B+87-89%D+67-69%

B83-86%D63-66%

B-80-82%D-60-62%

C+77-79%F (no credit) 59% and below

5. Students are highly encouraged to take advantage of extra credit opportunities (see separate policy) as grades are NOT rounded up. Extra credit will not be counted if a student has ANY missing assignments.