English 220
Literature in English to the 18th Century
Nu sculon herian heofonrices weard,/ Metodes meahta
[Now we should praise Heaven-kingdom’s guardian, the Maker’s might]
The opening lines of the Old English poem know as Caedmon’s Hymn depict Caedmon’s God as a “Maker,” and for much of the period covered by this course, the idea of “making” of all kinds was central to the understanding of the world, the place of human beings in that world, the role of the literary artist, and the connection between all these things. This is a survey of the early centuries of the English literary tradition, and we will take the idea of “making” as a lens through which to read a range of works.
Course text
The Broadview Anthology of British Literature, Concise Edition, Volume A
Note that two of the course readings are found in the online supplement to the Broadview Anthology: when you purchase the text, you will receive a code that allows you to access these texts. If for some reason you cannot do so, I can direct you to alternate online sources for these readings.
Assignments and Weighting
Close reading assignment (25%): Monday, October 21 NOTE CHANGE FROM PRINTED VERSION OF SYLLABUS
This is a prepared in-class essay. For this assignment, you will receive the question a week in advance. You will choose from one of several passages from texts we are studying, and you will be asked to prepare an essay that focuses on close, careful reading of the passage, paying particular attention to formal as well as thematic details (and to how these things work together). On the day of the assignment, you will be asked to write your essay in class; you may bring one single-spaced page of notes. More detailed instructions will be included on the assignment sheet; you can download a PDF here.
Take-home essay (30%): due Friday, November 29
This will be a 4 – 6 page essay, written on one of a selection of topics that I will provide. More detailed instructions will be provided when the topics are distributed; you can download a PDF here.
Mashup days (10%)
This course has a thematic organization (rather than a simply chronological one). Each time we shift themes, we will begin with a class that puts together three texts from various periods, texts I have selected because they touch in some way on the new theme.
The first such day is Friday, September 6; on that day, we’ll use in-class group work to explore how these kinds of combinations might kick-start your thinking about the texts in that thematic unit. Then, for the classes on September 27, October 25, and November 6, your task is to read the assigned texts looking for themes, words, phrases, questions – anything that suggests why I might have combined these texts, and how these might frame or guide our discussion of the new thematic cluster.
Come to class on the day in question with a single word written on a slip of paper that also has your name written on it: this should be a word that you’ve picked out of one of the texts, because it seems to you to be interesting, important, or to exemplify an important theme. We’ll use these slips to organize class discussion on that day.
This is effectively a participation grade: while I hope that everyone will regularly participate in class discussions, I recognize that some people speak more often than others. The purpose of the mashup days is threefold: to provide questions that will guide your reading; to spark classroom discussion; and to offer a way that everyone can participate, even without talking frequently in class.
Consistent attendance, conscientious reading, and a willingness to ask or answer questions are all important for success, both in this assignment and in the course as a whole.
Final Examination (35%)
Office hours
M 1:00-2:00; W 11:00-12:00; F 3:00 - 4:00; or by appointment
As we move through the term, links to background material and other things of interest will appear in the syllabus below; remember to check back regularly to see what has been added.
Reading Schedule: September
W 4 Introduction: Making Canons
Caedmon’s Hymn, pp. 49 - 50Visit the 220 Timeline page
F 6 Making Contact: Sacred and Secular
MASHUP: Geoffrey Chaucer, To Rosemounde, pp. 232-33
Edmund Spenser, Amoretti 22, pp. 644-45
John Donne, Holy Sonnets 14, p. 848
M 9
Song of Songs (download as PDF here)
Sumer is icumen in, p. 129
I sing of a maiden, p. 132
Bring us in good ale, p. 133
My lefe is faren in lond, p. 134
You can see Harley 978, the manuscript that contains Sumer is icumen in, on the British Library website, here. The link takes you to a complete digital facsimile of the whole manuscript. Sumer is icumen in can be found on folio 11v.
W 11
Julian of Norwich, from A Revelation of Love, pp. 348-64
Margery Kempe, from The Book of Margery Kempe, pp. 365-80
I have posted a page with some of the quotations we discussed, about medieval ideas about textual interpretation, here.
F 13 - W 18
Geoffrey Chaucer, General Prologue to the Canterbury Tales, pp. 233-53
UBC Senate has announced the suspension of all classes on September 18, in connection with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. You can read more about it here.
F 20
Note change: General Prologue continues on this date
M 23
George Herbert, The Altar, p. 868
Easter Wings, p. 869
The Collar, pp. 874-75
John Donne, The Good Morrow, pp. 826-27
The Sun Rising, pp. 827-28;
The Canonization, pp. 828-29
W 25
John Donne, The Flea, 831-32
Good Friday, 1613. Riding Westward, p. 849
F 27 Making Out: Love, Poetry, Power
MASHUP: William Shakespeare, Sonnet 135, p. 806
John Donne, A Hymn to God the Father, p. 849
John Milton, Sonnet 19, p. 909
M 30
No class (I am giving an Arts One lecture)
October
W 2
Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, Love that Doth Reign and Live, p. 542
Edmund Spenser, Amoretti 1, p. 644
Amoretti 54, p. 645
Amoretti 64, p. 645-46
Amoretti 67, p. 646
F 4
Sir Philip Sidney, Astrophil and Stella 1, p. 656
Astrophil and Stella 7, p. 656
Astrophil and Stella 41, p. 659
Astrophil and Stella 52, p. 660
Astrophil and Stella 55, p. 661
Astrophil and Stella 71, pp. 661-62
M 7
William Shakespeare, Sonnet 15, pp. 797-87
Sonnet 19, p. 798
Sonnet 33, pp. 799-800
Sonnet 55, p. 800
Sonnet 60, pp. 800-1
Sonnet 65, p. 801
W 9
William Shakespeare, Sonnet 93, p. 802
Sonnet 129, pp. 805-6
Sonnet 130, p. 806
Sonnet 138, p. 806
Sonnet 144, p. 807
Sonnet 147, pp. 807-8
F 11
Robert Herrick, Delight in Disorder, pp. 862-63
Corinna’s Going A-Maying, pp. 864-65
To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time, p. 865
Upon Julia’s Clothes, p. 866
M 14 - F 18
No classes: Thanksgiving is Monday, and I will be in Toronto on Wednesday and Friday
F 18
In Class Essay: MOVED to M 21
M 21
NOTE CHANGE: In Class Essay this day; download a copy of the assignment in PDF format here
W 23
Christopher Marlowe, The Passionate Shepherd to His Love, p. 756
Sir Walter Ralegh, The Nymph’s Reply to the Shepherd, p. 726
John Donne, The Bait, pp. 832-33
Andrew Marvell, To His Coy Mistress, p. 883
John Donne, Elegy 19: To His Mistress Going to Bed, p. 837
F 25 Making Like God
MASHUP: John Donne, Holy Sonnets 18, p. 848
John Milton, Paradise Lost: I.1-26, pp. 920-21; I.84-124, p. 922; I.242-63, p. 924
John Dryden, A Song for St Cecilia’s Day, pp. 1061-62
M 28 - F 1
Christopher Marlowe,The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus, pp. 757-90
Click here to see a stage production, through Films on Demand (if you are off campus, you will need to use your campus-wide login).
November
M 4
John Milton, Paradise Lost III.Argument-371, pp. 946-951; IV.Argument-113, pp. 951-52
W 6 Making Up: Disguises
MASHUP: William Shakespeare, Sonnet 20, pp. 798-99
Elizabeth I, To the Troops at Tilbury, p. 688
Ben Jonson, Clerimont’s Song, p. 823
F 8, W 13
Sir Thomas Malory, The Tale of Gareth, online supplement to BABL
M 11
REMEMBRANCE DAY
F 15 - M 25
William Shakespeare, Twelfth Night, online supplement to BABL
W 27
Eliza Haywood, Fantomina: or, Love in a Maze, pp. 1431-47
F 29
Flex/ review; TAKE-HOME ESSAY DUE; download copy of the assignment in PDF format here
©Siân Echard. Not to be copied, used, or revised without explicit written permission from the copyright owner.