This course provides an introduction to the major periods in English literary history, from the rise of a commercially viable, Modern Vernacular Literature in the sixteenth century, to the broad disillusionment with the reading market in the early Twentieth Century. We will read a broad range of texts from different literary periods and probe critically the terms of the relationship between historical change and cultural production. At the end of this subject, students should be familiar with a range of key texts and literary periods that continue to have a significant influence on shaping the literary imagination in the present day. Students will also develop their skills in literary analysis and work to become better readers with considerable reading stamina, and more confident writers.
Weekly lectures and tutorials. Contact hours will not exceed 3 hours a week. In addition to these contact hours, students should devote at least ONE HOUR PER DAY of self study to get through the readings and assessments for this course.
Assessment is primarily written papers in literary analysis. Students can expect to write up to 3000 words across 3 different papers in this subject.
All required reading will be available on Moodle. Authors studied this semester might include William Shakespeare; Andrew Marvell; John Dryden; Aphra Behn; Alexander Pope; Samuel Johnson; Jane Austen; Charlotte Bronte; Charles Dickens; Sheridan Le Fanu; Henry James; George Bernard Shaw; and T.S. Eliot.