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English 321, Fall 2019

Survey of British Literature I

English 321, Fall 2019

Prof. Jack Lynch

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September — October — November — December

Office: (973) 353-5444; 501 Hill Hall.

Hours: By appointment.

E-mail: jlynch@newark.rugers.edu

Course Description and Goals

This Survey of British Literature offers a systematic introduction to the writings of the British Isles from the beginnings to around the year 1800. It focuses especially on the major canonical works from the Old English heroic poem Beowulf to the end of the eighteenth century, and includes poetry, fiction, and nonfictional prose.

By semester’s end, you should be able:

  • To describe the broad contours of English literary history;
  • To discuss the major periods from 500 to 1800 and what’s at stake in the ways we divide literary history into periods;
  • To discuss literary canons and what’s at stake in struggles over what makes it into, or is kept out of, “the canon”;
  • To contextualize literary works against a background of political and social history;
  • To discuss the outlines of the history of the English language;
  • To discuss a number of works that have been considered “important” for centuries; and
  • To write thesis-driven papers about these works from a variety of perspectives.

This course is required of all English majors.

Requirements

Readings

Just one book! It’s available from the Rutgers Bookstore:

  • The Norton Anthology of English Literature: The Major Authors, vol. 1 (W. W. Norton), ISBN 9780393603088

You’re welcome to buy it from any source that suits you, but try to get the right edition so we’re all working with the same text (the ISBNs will point you toward the right versions). Most of the readings will also be available in some electronic form or other, linked from the syllabus. But these E-texts won’t have the same page numbers and notes — and, trust me, you’ll need the notes — so it’s much better to get the hard copy. But if cash is tight, well, I’ll understand.

A heads-up: these readings will be demanding. They’re not especially long, but they’re going to make you work: Middle English is challenging, Milton’s syntax can give you headaches, and you’re going to curse Spenser’s love of old-fashioned spellings. That’s okay: struggling with the older forms of English is part of the experience of studying this stuff. You’re not going to get everything on the first try. Work through it patiently, and understand I’m not going to punish you for struggling.One tool that’s indispensable: a good dictionary. I’ll introduce you to the Oxford English Dictionaryin class, but you’ll want something you can use all the time. The best bet: Merriam Webster’s 11th Collegiate is available for free on your phone or tablet, and it works even when you don’t have an Internet connection. It won’t contain all the obscure words and senses you’ll encounter in this class (for that you’ll need the OED), but it’ll help with a lot of it, and you should get into the habit of looking up unfamiliar words.

Online Quizzes

You’ll take regular short quizzes on Blackboard to show you’re keeping up with the reading. You’ll have fifteen minutes to answer three multiple-choice questions about the most recent readings. All questions will be straightforward factual questions about the readings themselves — nothing about the authors, the historical contexts, and so on. They’re randomly selected from a pool of questions, so you won’t have the same quiz as your classmates. But if you’ve read the book, they should be easy.If you consistently get, say, two out of three questions right, I consider that good enough. Don’t get freaked out if Blackboard sees 2/3 and reports 67%, a D. That’s not the way I work.Each quiz should be available at least one full week before the due date, and will be open until the starting time of the class period on which they’re due. You can do them at any time, but each quiz must be completed in one uninterrupted session of no more than fifteen minutes; you can’t start and stop. You may not consult the readings or cooperate with other students during a quiz. There are no make-up quizzes, so be sure to budget your time.

Written Assignments

This class is primarily for English majors and minors. I’ll expect some degree of familiarity with what goes into college-level English papers, but still we’ll spend a lot of class time discussing what I look for when I grade them. If you’re not certain what a good college English paper looks like, talk to me any time.

In short: a good college-level literature paper makes an argument about a work of literature and supports that argument with close reading. You’ll be working toward an argumentative paper (not a “research paper”) of around 2,500 words (eight-ish pages).

Your grade on the paper will be based on how well you succeed in mastering the course goals. To determine that, I’ll be looking for signs that you can:

  • develop an argument about one or more works of literature and to state it clearly in your thesis;
  • support that argument with evidence from close reading of the texts;
  • read works of literature making appropriate use of historical context;
  • use the proper vocabulary of literary criticism with precision;
  • do it all in clear and precise standard English.

Each paper will be separately marked with category grades for the thesis, the organization, the close reading, the research, and the grammar, style, and mechanics. These category grades are spelled out in my grading rubric; they’re assigned on an A–F scale, and are meant to tell you where to direct your energy in the revision. The overall grade on a paper is assigned holistically, based on how well all the parts come together, and may or may not be a mathematical average of the various category grades. We’ll discuss all of this in class as the papers draw near. My (still-incomplete) guide to my expectations on English papers is available online.

There are also two short written exercises involving the Oxford English Dictionary, which will be explained in class as they get closer.

Note that a significant part of your grade will depend on your writing skills. I always make allowances for English-language learners, but you will need to write argumentative papers. Even though this class is open to everyone, you should probably reconsider taking this class (or any literature class, really) if you haven’t yet passed, or at least started taking, English Composition 101. Talk to me if you have any concerns.

Final Exam

There will be a short final exam, a little more than an hour, featuring identification, close reading, and short essays. If you’ve done the readings and paid attention in class, you should have no trouble. I’ll discuss it as the end of the semester approaches.

Attendance

Once the roster settles down, I’ll pass around a sign-in sheet at the beginning of each class, with names down the side and dates across the top. All you have to do is initial the right box each day. Multiple copies of the sheet will go around to make things go faster; you need to mark only one of them.

University students are grownups, and I understand that life sometimes gets busy. Almost any excuse, therefore, given either in advance or immediately after a class (in person, by phone, or by E-mail), will receive my blessing. Absences not excused in advance will be frowned upon, and I reserve the right to lower your final grade by half a grade (A to B+, B+ to B, and so on) for each unexcused absence. The same policy applies to late assignments: I’ll grant extensions, but only if you talk to me before the due date. After that, they may be docked a half-grade for each class day.

If you have to miss a class, you’re responsible for getting the notes. Assume that in each class I’ll cover exactly what’s on the syllabus; any time I have to depart from it, I’ll announce it on Blackboard.

Class Participation

Regular and active class participation is essential. I’ve worked to keep the readings manageable and affordable, but you have to hold up your end of the bargain by doing the readings every day and participating in the discussions. I also expect the following in all classes:

  • On-time arrival. A few minutes into the class I’ll collect the attendance sheets; late arrivals will sign a separate sheet at the end of class.
  • Careful attention to the readings. I’ve worked to keep the readings manageable, but that means you’re expected to do them, and to do them carefully. Skimming is not good enough. Read attentively with a dictionary at hand. If you don’t understand a word, look it up. That’s a habit you should work hard to acquire, because it will serve you well in all your classes and for life in the “real world.”
  • Maturity. Some of the discussions will touch on controversial material. You’re expected to behave like adults. No topics are off-limits. Don’t be quick to take offense, and when you speak, choose your words with care to avoid offending others.
  • No disruptive talking during class.
  • Electronic devices of whatever sort — laptops, tablets, e-books, and so on — can be used only for class-related purposes. No Snapchat, no Instagram, no nothin’ else.
  • No texting, ever. This does not constitute cruel and unusual punishment under the U.S. Constitution or the Geneva Conventions: I checked. Put your phone away. (And don’t think you’re fooling your professors when you read and send surreptitious texts — we know.)

Plagiarism and Academic Integrity

It should go without saying, but all work in this class must be your own. You’re responsible for knowing and abiding by the Rutgers Academic Integrity Policy. If you haven’t read at least the first four pages of the policy, I encourage you to do it now.

If I determine you’ve violated the policy — say, by copying work from the Internet, by working together when you’re supposed to work on your own, by getting someone to do your work for you — you’ll get an F for the class, with no second chance. I’m a pushover in many respects and I used to be similarly laid back about this, but no longer: I will report every violation. If you have even an inkling of a doubt about what’s legitimate or how to cite something, see me before handing in the paper.

Accommodations

I’m committed to being inclusive, and of course I’ll provide all necessary accommodations for students with documented disabilities. Get in touch with Disability Services for details on the procedures; if anything is unclear, talk to me.

Grades

Above I describe the way individual papers are graded. This breakdown shows the starting point for my grading for the semester as a whole:

  • 5 Online Quizzes: 5 × 3% = 15%
  • 2 Written Exercises: 2 × 10% = 20%
  • 2 Papers: 15% + 20% = 35%
  • 1 Exam: 20%
  • Participation: 10%

I don’t believe in penalizing students for not being proficient in writing English papers before they’ve taken an English class, so I’ll evaluate your performance over the course of the whole semester before I submit a final grade. If an early lapse is compensated for by better performance later in the semester, I’m happy to ignore a bad grade on an assignment. My usual approach is to examine all the marks and to ask what is the highest grade I can give in good conscience. After I finish wrestling with my conscience, though, grades are final, and I’ll change a grade only if I made an error in calculation. If you’re worried about your performance — if you “need a B” or some such concern — talk to me before you hand something in, not after you get the grade. I’m always happy to look at provisional theses, rough drafts, and so on.

Summary

Cool:

  • Asking questions, even if that means interrupting me
  • Asking questions you think are too simple
  • Curiosity
  • Taking some intellectual risks
  • Pursuing what interests you
  • Standing up for what you believe in, including disagreeing (politely) with other students and (especially) with me
  • Admitting some of the readings don’t interest you

Not Cool:

  • Being late — especially chronically late — to class
  • Blowing off the readings
  • Telling me what you think I want to hear
  • Dishonesty of any sort — I’m a forgiving guy, and will tolerate pretty much anything so long as you don’t try to deceive me
  • Rudeness directed to other students in the class

Schedule of Class Meetings

Thursday, 6 September
Introduction: We’ll discuss the shape of the course and read through “Cædmon’s Hymn” in class. Terms: canon, periodization.

The Middle Ages:
Old English

Monday, 9 September
“Dream of the Rood” (eighth century?) (pp. 34–37); “The Wanderer” (before 1000) (pp. 110–13). Terms: Middle Ages, medieval, Old English, Anglo-Saxon, alliteration.
Thursday, 12 September
Beowulf (before 1000) (pp. 37–81). Terms: heroic poetry, epic, manuscript.
Monday, 16 September
Beowulf (pp. 81–109). Online Quiz on Beowulf due before class.

The Middle Ages:
Middle English

Thursday, 19 September
Geoffrey Chaucer, General Prologue to The Canterbury Tales (late fourteenth century) (pp. 200–20). Terms: Middle English, rhyme, pilgrimage, frame narrative, genre.

Monday, 23 September

Chaucer, The Miller’s Prologue and Tale (pp. 221–37). Terms: fabliau.
Thursday, 26 September

Chaucer, The Wife of Bath’s Prologue (pp. 257–66). Terms: misogyny, feminism, agency.

Monday, 30 September

Chaucer, The Wife of Bath’s Tale (pp. 257–66). Online quiz on Chaucer due before class.
Thursday, 3 October

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (late fourteenth century) (pp. 140–66). Terms: romance, alliterative revival. First exercise in the Oxford English Dictionary due.

Monday, 7 October

Sir Gawain (pp. 166–95). Online Quiz on Sir Gawain due before class.
Thursday, 10 October
Selections from Julian of Norwich, A Book of Showings (late fourteenth century) (pp. 301–3), and Margery Kempe, The Book of Margery Kempe (early fifteenth century) (pp. 303–7). Terms: mysticism.

The Renaissance

Monday, 14 October
Spenser, selections from The Faerie Queene (1590), book 1, cantos 1–5 (pp. 415–46). Terms: Renaissance, early modern, stanza, rhyme scheme, movable type.
Thursday, 17 October
Spenser, selections from The Faerie Queene, book 1, cantos 6–12 (pp. 447–75). Terms: allegory, foot, iamb, pentameter. First paper due.

Monday, 21 October

William Shakespeare, Othello (c. 1603), acts 1–3 (pp. 567–624). Terms: tragedy, adaptation.
Thursday, 24 October
Shakespeare, Othello, acts 4–5 (pp. 625–53). Online Quiz on Othello due before class.

Monday, 28 October

Shakespeare, Sonnets 1, 18, 29, 55 (published 1609); Christopher Marlowe, “The Passionate Shepherd to His Love” (published 1599) (p. 513); “The Nymph’s Reply to the Shepherd” (1600). Terms: sonnet, octave, sestet, lyric poem.
Thursday, 31 October
John Donne, “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning” (c. 1611) (pp. 697–98) and Holy Sonnets (published 1631) No. 7 (p. 709) and No. 14 (pp. 710–11); George Herbert, “The Altar” (1633) (p. 751) and “The Collar” (1633) (pp. 755–56); Robert Herrick, “To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time” (1648) and “Upon the Nipples of Julia’s Breast” (1648) (p. 764); Richard Lovelace, “To Lucasta, Going to the Wars” (1649) (p. 765). Terms: Metaphysical poetry, conceit, carpe diem.

Monday, 4 November

Margaret Cavendish, selection from The Blazing World (1666) (pp. 783–88); Thomas Hobbes, selection from Leviathan (1651) (pp. 744–48); John Milton, selection from Areopagitica (1644) (pp. 807–17).
Thursday, 7 November
Milton, “Lycidas” (1645) (pp. 793–801). Terms: pastoral, elegy.

Monday, 11 November

Milton, Paradise Lost (1667), book 1 (pp. 822–41). Terms: blank verse, theodicy.
Thursday, 14 November
Milton, Paradise Lost, book 4 (pp. 877–93).

Monday, 18 November

Milton, Paradise Lost, book 9 (pp. 911–36). Online Quiz on Paradise Lost due before class.

The Restoration and Eighteenth Century

Thursday, 21 November
Mary Wroth, selections from Pamphilia to Amphilanthus (1621) (pp. 741–44); Katherine Philips, “A Married State” (pp. 767–68) and “Friendship’s Mystery” (pp. 769–70); John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester, “The Disabled Debauchee” (pp. 1024–25) and “The Imperfect Enjoyment” (pp. 1025–27); Aphra Behn, “The Disappointment” (pp. 1029–32). Terms: Restoration, libertinism.

Monday, 25 November

Aphra Behn, Oroonoko (1688) (pp. 1033–66). Terms: novel, realism. Second exercise in the Oxford English Dictionary due.
Tuesday, 26 November
Aphra Behn, Oroonoko (pp. 1066–80). Note Rutgers is on a Thursday schedule today!

Monday, 2 December

Alexander Pope, An Epistle to Arbuthnot (1735) (pp. 1313–24); Thomas Gray, “An Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard” (1751) (pp. 1466–69). Terms: eighteenth century, Augustan, Enlightenment, satire.
Thursday, 5 December
Samuel Johnson, Rambler No. 4 and and No. 60 (1750) (pp. 1388–95); selections from the Dictionary (1755) (pp. 1395–1401); selections from The Preface to Shakespeare (1765) (pp. 1401–10). Terms: lexicography, periodical essay.

Monday, 9 December

Selections Frances Burney, Journal and Letters (pp. 1436–48), and Olaudah Equiano, The Interesting Narrative (1789) (pp. 1448–64). Second Paper Due. This is the last day I’ll accept any assignments.