English 101, Spring 2014Medieval and Renaissance Literature
Professor [email protected]
South Hall 2708
T 4/1 IntroductionR 4/3 CLASS CANCELLED – Academic Student Employee Union
on strike
T 4/8 Introductory Material on “Anglo-Saxon Literature,” incl. selection from Bede’s History; “Caedmon’s Hymn”; Introductory Material on Beowulf ; Beowulf
R 4/10 Beowulf
T 4/15 Introduction” on “The Fourteenth Century” and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight; Fitt I
R 4/17 Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Fitts II & III
T 4/22 Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Fitt IVR 4/24 Introductory material on Geoffrey Chaucer; Chaucer,
portrait of the Wife of Bath in the “General Prologue” to The Canterbury Tales; The Wife of Bath’s Prologue
T 4/29 Chaucer, The Wife of Bath’s TaleR 5/1 Chaucer, the Miller’s portrait in the “General Prologue”
to The Canterbury Tales; The Miller’s Prologue and Tale
T 5/6 Chaucer, The Miller’s Prologue and TaleR 5/8 OED/CHAUCER Paper Due; “Introduction,” on “The
Fifteenth Century,” “MysteryPlays,“ the Wakefield Second Shepherds’ Play
T 5/13 MIDTERMR 5/15 Introductory Material on Shakespeare, Shakespeare’s Sonnets
T 5/20 Introductory Material on “The Early Seventeenth Century”; Introductory
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Material on John Donne; Donne’s “The Flea,” “The Sun Rising,” “The Canonization,”“Nocturnall on St. Lucies Day,” “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning,” “The Relic,“Holy Sonnets” #10 & #14
R 5/22 Introductory Material on Shakespeare’s King Lear, King Lear, Acts I and II
T 5/27 Shakespeare, King Lear, Act IIIR 5/29 Shakespeare, King Lear, Act IV; OED/SHAKESPEARE PAPER DUE
T 6/3 Introductory Material on Milton; Aereopagitica; Paradise Lost, Book IV
R 6/5 Milton, Paradise Lost, Book IX
W 6/11 FINAL EXAM, 12-3pm
Required Text: The Norton Anthology of English Poetry, Medieval and Renaissance
Class Requirements: Midterm, 25%; Final (not cumulative, 25%) (both exams will be multiple-choice scantron exams); OED paper on Chaucer, 5-7 pages, 25%; OED paper on Shakespeare, 5-7 pages, 25%. By “OED paper” I mean that, for both papers, you will use the Oxford English Dictionary to find out the etymology and meanings of 10 key words in a passage from Chaucer and then from Shakespeare, and build close readings of the passages on your research into the language. This is not a vocabulary exercise but a way for you to conduct original research for a critical interpretation of the poetry. Your TA can raise your final grade by a + or lower it by a – depending on whether you’ve passed or failed their requirements for class attendance and participation.
Class Policies: No laptops or phones in class; zero tolerance on plagiarism; no makeup exams unless you have official written confirmation of medical ailments or family emergencies. By “official” I mean from a doctor, funeral director or court clerk. If you have made travel plans that conflict with the exam dates, you can either unmake them, or take this class at another time.
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