Module Code and Title:       LIT104 The Social and Literary Context: Anglo-Saxon to Restoration Period

Programme:                          BA in English Studies

Credit Value:                         12

Module Tutor:                       Vanlallawmkimi, Sonam Deki, Yesodha Chauhan

Module Coordinator:             Vanlallawmkimi

General objective: The module aims to provide students with an accurate survey of the development of Literature in Britain from the Anglo Saxon period to the Restoration period. Further, the module offers to introduce students to the diverse socio-political, cultural, linguistic and historical events that have shaped not only the different eras but also the various literary genres that emerged during these periods, such as Epics, Mock Epics, Sonnets, Metaphysical poetry, Elizabethan drama, Comedy of Humours and Comedy of Manners. Students will read closely few representational texts of these genres.

Learning outcomes – On completion of this module, learners should be able to:

1. Connect major historical events to the literary periods.
2. Distinguish the different periods of literature according to stylistic features.
3. Write a short response on the prescribed texts.
4. Explain the literary movements and their importance.
5. Discuss the works and styles of the major authors of the prescribed texts.
6. Make intertextual connections among the prescribed texts.
7. Outline the socio-political and cultural developments from the Anglo-Saxon to Restoration period.

Learning and Teaching Approach:

Assessment Approach:

A. Written assignment: Portion of Final Marks: 20%

A short personal response of 300 – 500 words on a specific topic on The Merchant of Venice. The first draft will be marked out of 5%, and the final submission out of 15%, of which 5% percent will be allotted to specific improvements made on the feedback received on the first draft. Assessment will be based on the ‘Analytical Writing’ rubric.

B. Presentation: Portion of Final Mark: 20%

Students will be assigned topics on the literary periods in groups of approximately 4 members on literary periods. Each individual student will present a part of the work. Each group will be assigned a group mark (10%) and an individual mark (10%). The duration of each individual presentation will be 5-7 minutes. Assessment will be based on the ‘Oral Tasks’ rubric.

C. Class Test: Portion of Final Marks: 10%

A written test will be conducted, worth 10% will be for 45 min duration and cover 2-3 weeks of material.

D. Class participation and preparedness: Portion of Final Mark: 10%

Students will be expected to participate substantially in class discussions, with contributions reflecting adequate preparation for topics under discussion. 5% of class participation and preparedness will be assessed before mid-term, and the remaining 5% post midterm. Assessment will be based on the ‘Participation and Preparedness’ rubric.

E. Midterm Examination: Portion of Final Mark: 10%

Students will take a written exam of 1.5 hr duration covering topics up to the mid-point of the semester.

Pre-requisites: 

Subject matter:

1. The Anglo Saxon Period to the Anglo Norman Period

• An overview of the Anglo Saxon Periods
  • The origin of the Anglo-Saxons
  • The Anglo Saxon society and religion
  • The Anglo Saxon Literary tradition
  • Discuss heroic poems with brief references to Beowulf
• An overview of Anglo Norman Period
  • The Norman Conquest
  • Advent and impact of Christianity on Anglo Norman literature
  • Major authors of the period and their work: Caedmon and Cynewulf
  • Chivalric Romance as the prevalent literary genre of the Age

1. The Age of Chaucer (1350-1400)

• Historical and Social aspects of the period
• Important writers and Literature of the period
• Narrative Poetry: features and themes
• Close reading and analysis of the Prologue to The Canterbury Tales by Chaucer (lines 1 – 42); Prologue to The Canterbury Tales as representational of the 14th century English society

1. Elizabethan Age (1553-1603)

• Characteristics of the Elizabethan Age
  • Historical and social aspects of the period
  • Brief overview of the development of Drama in Britain
• Elizabethan Drama
  • The Elizabethan Stage
  • Close reading and analysis of The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare
  • Features of Comedy of Humours: with brief examples from Ben Jonson’s Everyman in his Humours
• Comparative study of Petrarchan, Spenserian, and Shakespearean sonnets
  • Close reading and analysis of Whoso List to Hunt by Sir Thomas Wyatt
  • Close reading and analysis of Amoretti LXXV: One Day I Wrote her Name by Edmund Spenser
  • Close reading and analysis of Sonnet XVIII: Shall I compare thee by William Shakespeare
  • Comparison of structure and themes in the three sonnets

1. The Puritan Age (1620-1660)

• Commonwealth Period under the Cromwell government (1649-1660)
• Epic: Epic Conventions – brief examples from John Milton's Paradise Lost Book 1
• The Metaphysical Poets
  • Close reading and analysis of The Good Morrow by John Donne
  • Characteristics of Metaphysical Poetry

1. The Restoration Period (1660-1700)
   • Political and social background of the period.
   • Literature of the period
     • Features of Satire
     • Features of Mock Epic
     • Development and characteristics of Comedy of Manners

Reading List:

1. Essential Reading (A compiled coursepack of the shorter reading materials will be made available to students)
   • Abrams, M.H. (2012). Glossary of Literary Terms. Delhi: Cengage Learning.
   • Chaucer, G. (2013). The Prologue to the Canterbury Tales.
   • Retrieved from http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/CT-prolog-para.html
   • Donne, J. (2015). The Good-Morrow. Retrieved from http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/173360
   • Evans, I. (1990). A Short History of English Literature. Retrieved from https://archive.org/details/AShortHistoryOfEnglishLiteratureIforEvans
   • Long, W.J. (2015). English Literature: Its History and Its Significance for the Life of the English Speaking World. Calcutta: Radha Publishing House.
   • Shakespeare, W. (2005 ed.). The Merchant of Venice. Ed. Turner, W. New York, Pearson Longmen.
   • Shakespeare, W. (2015 ed.) Sonnet Retrieved from http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/174354
   • Spenser, E. Amoretti LXXV: I Wrote her Name. Retrieved from http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/174456
   • Wyatt, T. (n.d.). Whoso List to Hunt. Retrieved from http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/174862
2. Additional Reading
   • Alexander, M. [ed.] (2003). Penguin Publishing Group
   • Compton-Rickett, A. (2008). A History of English literature: From earliest times to 1916. New Delhi: UBS Publishers
   • Jonson, B. (2013). Everyman in His Humours. Hardpress Publishing
   • Milton, J. (2009). Paradise Lost Book I. Anmol Publications

Date: December 20, 2015