ENGL 260-01, British Literature Survey I, Fall 2005

Abstract

This course is a survey of British Literature from its earliest years through the Restoration and the eighteenth century. It is intended to provide a broad sense of the history of English literature written in the British Isles from the very first texts which exist until about the year 1800. Because of the span of the material, we will focus on primarily on major texts and authors such as the Beowulf-poet, Chaucer, Spenser, Shakespeare, Donne, Milton and Swift. In our effort to develop an appreciation for the formal and aesthetic qualities of these works we will also focus on mastering the tools necessary for writing literary analysis.