Timothy L Pagaard: British literature I & II, English 221 & 222
Using course pages
English 098
English fundamentals
English 120
College compositiion
and reading
English 122
Introduction to literature
English 124
Advanced composition
English 135-138
Newspaper production
English 221 & 222
British literature I & II
English 231 & 232
American literature I & II
Class policies
"I am inclined to believe that the best poetry, whatever its intentions, is a kind of theology, while theology generally is bad poetry."
----Harold Bloom
Fall 2008, Spring 2009
Course overview
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In English 221 you'll develop a broad and deep understanding of the literature of the British Isles--England, Scotland, Wales, and English-speaking Ireland--from earliest times through 1800. In English 222 you'll become similarly conversant with British literature from 1800 to the present.
English is the primary language of the United States. It is indeed true that significant elements of our culture are rooted in other linguistic and cultural traditions--European, Asian, and African. Further, an American literature has evolved that is plainly distinct from its British foundations. Nevertheless, we can't ignore the fact that a substantial proportion of our language and culture stands unshakably upon British shoulders. Thus, to understand who we are we must first understand British literature. Besides, we're talking here about some of the greatest stuff that has ever been written anywhere by anybody.
Look at a map: Britain is a very small place. Yet the world looks to the British Isles as impossibly fertile ground for the literary imagination. Shakespeare, for instance, is universally regarded--from Berlin to Beijing--as the best writer ever in any language. But there are many, many more Brits in the first rank of world writers. We Americans can be proud of our Emily Dickinsons, Ernest Hemingways, and Langston Hugheses, but we can also be proud that they write in the language and extend the tradition of Geoffrey Chaucer, John Milton, and Jane Austen.
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Syllabus
Syllabus
Schedule: English 221
Schedule: English 222
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Materials
Presentations
Presentation topics and schedule, English 221
Presentation topics and schedule, English 222
Questions for the analysis of poetry
Specialized critical approaches to literature
Copyright Jef Mallet 2002. All rights reserved.
