The Lorenzo Reading Series

is already underway. Wonderful writers. Come on down.

And, there is a 1-2% bonus for anyone who attends a reading and writes me a brief (one paragraph to one page) review.

Sir Gawain links

Facsimile of Sir Gawain at the Grail Castle (1903), another Gawain story

The Golden Cockeral Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (1952) (beautiful illustrations)

Other Gawain stories, medieval and modern

Sir Gawain page on Luminarium: an excellent resource

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Website: lots of links

Gawain over time: a student project

Sword of the Valiant: The Legend of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (1984): apparently a very bad movie

Sir Gawain paper doll set. Really.

NOTE: There is a lot of material about Sir Gawain online because the poem is so often read in courses. Be careful what you are looking at; lots of pages are student projects or hobby projects. Which is fine, as long as you know what you are reading. Only use scholarly resources for your papers.

Emailing your instructors

A few tips for those of you who are new to this whole university thing:

When emailing an instructor, it is helpful to put the course # in the subject line. Include an informative statement about the topic of your email. For example: "ENGL 2101: Question about second assignment" (drop the quotes). Emails without subject lines often get confused for spam and deleted. If you are not using a university email account, it is all the more important to have a clear subject line.

On that latter point, many professors require email to be from a university account. I am relaxed on this issue. Be aware, though, that an address like sexy_thang@hotmail.com does not create a professional impression.

When addressing your instructor, "Dr. X" or "Professor Y" are preferable to "Hiya" or "Yo!"

Email is generally more relaxed than traditional business or professional correspondence. But, business or professional email still needs to be a lot more formal (i.e. polite; well-written) than text messages to your homies. K?

Make your message clear and explanatory. Your instructor talks to a lot of students in a given day, so "I'm writing about what we were talking about" is not always that helpful.

Please include your full name and student # in the body of your email.

Be aware that some email may trigger spam filters and therefore not get delivered. Check with the instructor if you do not receive a reply.

Addendum (31/10/06): Here is a more detailed discussion (via Terminal Degree).

Course books for sale

Someone is withdrawing from the course and is interested in selling her texts; if anyone has not yet bought a set but were planning to, they may want to contact Ashley at c0x40 at unb dot ca.

Get thee to the Mead Hall

But, you will need some mead. Here are some recipes.

And remember, please don't drink and smite.

More Beowulf links

Hear parts of the poem read in Old English.

The Wikipedia entry, while the content is perhaps not the best, has a lot of great links, in particular to popular culture manifestations of the poem.

Old English Language and Culture

Beowulf links

(Image: The first page of the only manuscript of the poem.)

Here are a few things I ran across, for your reading pleasure:

www.BeowulfTranslations.net: hobbyist Syd Allan's page on various translations of the poem and lots more. His page on comics is particularly fun. (nb. There is an interesting bit here about why you should never buy an essay.) This guy loves the poem.

Resources for Studying Beowulf

More resources for Studying Beowulf

Beowulf in Hypertext

An Introduction to Anglo-Saxon Manuscripts: a short online seminar. Not about Beowulf specifically, but of interest.

Medieval and Renaissance Book Production — Manuscript Books by Richard W. Clement

Beowulf & Grendel: official site for the 2005 film. IMDB page.

There is another film, due for release in 2007, for which fantasist Neil Gaiman has a writing credit. This should be good!

SF adaptation from 1999 with Christopher Lambert.

Beowulf Art

First class

It was good to meet you all; I think we will have an interesting term together. I can't promise any more classics translated into text-message-ese, but we will try to muddle through with the originals.

(Well, okay, here's Hamlet, even ruder than R&J. But this is the last time I will pander).

One important thing that I should have mentioned (it is in the syllabus and here on the weblog, but still ... ): if you have taken English 1200 you cannot take this course. You should not have been allowed to register but at least two of you were, so heads up: if you have passed 1200 you will need to go elsewhere. (For your info., 1200 is no longer offered and the material it covered has now been divided between 2101 and 2102, both of which are required for Majors and Honours in English).

Welcome

to the weblog for English 2101: Literature in English I at UNBSJ. Here you will find links and updates and a copy of the schedule and assignments. More importantly, blogging is interactive — you can leave comments to any post — and so this blog can serve as a venue for continuing the conversations we will have in class.

On systematic deviation

Romeo and Juliet: original (balcony scene) and as text messaging

Schedule

Sept. 7/06 — Introduction to course; discussion of intellectual property and academic honesty

Please note: All readings are from the Broadview Anthology.
BABL = Broadview Anthology of British Literature
**With all readings from the BABL, you are expected to read the introductory material about each author and text.**
Texts listed under "Reading" are required; texts listed under "Additional reading" are optional but recommended.
Videos are subject to availability.
Always check online for any changes or updates to this schedule.

THE MIDDLE AGES

Sept. 12 —; Introduction to the Medieval Period; Beowulf I
Reading: from BABL Vol. I: Beowulf (pp. 36–49, ll.1–836)
See the glossary (80–82), the genealogies (83), and the note on the Geatish-Swedish wars (84). Also, please read "The Medieval Period," xxvii-xli.
Video: Beowulf and Old English literature (Films for the Humanities, 1984. 38 min.)

Sept. 14 — Beowulf II
Reading: from BABL Vol. I: Beowulf (pp. 49–67 ll.837–2220)

Sept. 19 — Beowulf III
Reading: from BABL Vol. I: Beowulf (pp. 67–80 ll.2221–3182)
Video: excerpts from filmed versions of Beowulf

Sept. 21 — "Lanval"
Reading: from BABL Vol. I: Marie de France (158–159), "Lanval" (166–181)
"In Context" (301–304), "The Medieval Period" (xli–lix)
Additional Reading: from BABL Vol. I: from "Love and Marriage in Medieval Britain" (305–323)
Video: Illuminated lives: a brief history of women in the Middle Ages (NFB, 1989. 6 min.)

Sept. 26 — Sir Gawain and the Green Knight I
Reading: from BABL Vol. I: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (pp. 235–265 Pts. 1 & 2)
"In Context" (301–304), "The Medieval Period" (xli–lix)
Additional Reading: from BABL Vol. I: from "The Crises of the Fourteenth Century" (200–212) and "Love and Marriage in Medieval Britain" (305–323)

Sept. 28 — Sir Gawain and the Green Knight II
Reading: from BABL Vol. I: Sir Gawain (pp. 265–300 Pts. 3 & 4)

Oct. 3 — Everyman I
Reading: from BABL Vol. I: Everyman (pp. 664–677)
Video: Everyman (Insight Media, 1991. 50 min.)
Due date: Assignment #1 due

Oct. 5 — Everyman II
Additional Reading: from "Religious and Spiritual Life" (547–584)


THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY / THE EARLY SEVENTEENTH CENTURY

Oct. 10 — Introduction to the Renaissance and early Seventeenth Century; Sonnets I: love sonnets
Reading: from BABL Vol. II: Francesco Petrarch, Rime Sparse 190 (124); Edmund Spenser (139–40), Amoretti 67 (246); Sir Philip Sidney (254–255), Astrophil and Stella 52 (258)
"The Elizabethan Sonnet and Lyric" (122)
Additional Reading: from BABL Vol. II: "The Renaissance and the Early Seventeenth Century" (xxxv–lxxxvi), particularly "Poetry" (lxix–lxxx)

Oct. 12 — Sonnets II: more love sonnets
Reading: from BABL Vol. II: William Shakespeare (450–455), Sonnets 18, 94, and 130 (457, 462, 465)
Additional Reading: from BABL Vol. II: "The Renaissance and the Early Seventeenth Century" (xxxv–lxxxvi), particularly "Poetry" (lxix–lxxx)

Oct. 17 — Doctor Faustus I
Reading: from BABL Vol. II: Christopher Marlowe (402–403), The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus (416–445)
"In Context" (445–449)
Additional Reading: from BABL Vol. II: "The Renaissance and the Early Seventeenth Century" (xxxv–lxxxvi), particularly "The Drama" (lxxx–lxxxvi)

Oct. 19 — Doctor Faustus II
Additional Reading: from BABL Vol. II: from "Religion and Devotional Life" (87–106); "The Supernatural and the Miraculous" (311–314)

Oct. 24 — Sonnets III: sonnets revised
Reading: from BABL Vol. II: Mary Wroth (744–745), Pamphilia to Amphilanthus 35 (747); Katherine Philips (785–786), "A Married State" (786–787); John Donne (649–650), Holy Sonnet 18 (673); John Milton (819–821), Sonnet 18: "On the Late Massacre in Piedmont" (831)
"In Context" (748–749)

Oct. 26 — Debates about women
Reading: from BABL Vol. II: "'Unconstant Women,' 'Excellent Women': A Seventeenth-Century Debate" (556–568); Aemilia Lanyer (327), "Eve's Apology in Defense of Women" (329–330)

Oct. 31 — Metaphysical poets I
Reading: from BABL Vol. II: Christopher Marlowe (402–403), "The Passionate Shepherd to His Love" (415); John Donne (649–650), "The Bait" (657)
Due date: Assignment #2 due

Nov. 2 — Metaphysical poets II
Reading: from BABL Vol. II: John Donne (649–650), "The Flea" (656); Andrew Marvell (772–773), "To His Coy Mistress" (777–778)


THE RESTORATION AND THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY

Nov. 7 — Introduction to the Long Eighteenth Century; Restoration Bawdy
Reading: from BABL Vol. III: Aphra Behn (139–140), "The Disappointment" (140–142); John Wilmot (231–232), "The Imperfect Enjoyment" (240–241)
Additional Reading: from BABL Vol. III: from "Introduction to the Restoration and the Eighteenth Century" (xxix–lxiv), in particular "Poetry" (xlix–liii)
Video: excerpts from The Libertine (Dir. Laurence Dunmore, 2004)

Nov. 9 — Reading day: no class

Nov. 14 — Amatory Fiction
Reading: from BABL Vol. III: Eliza Haywood (513–514), "Fantomina" (514–529)
"In Context" (529–532)

Nov. 16 — Popular Ballads
Reading: from BABL Vol. III: "Popular Ballads" (610); "Tam Lin" (614–617); "Mary Hamilton" (620-621)

Nov. 21 — Gulliver's Travels I
Reading: from BABL Vol. III: Jonathan Swift (302–304), Gulliver's Travels Parts I & II (317–378)
Video: Gulliver's Travels (Films for the Humanities & Sciences, 1996. 53 min.)

Nov. 23 — Gulliver's Travels II
Reading: from BABL Vol. III: Gulliver's Travels Part IV (378–413)
"In Context" (413–417)

Nov. 28 — Periodical Essays
Reading: from BABL Vol. III: Samuel Johnson (558–560), The Rambler No. 4 [On Fiction] (565–568); The Rambler No. 155 [On Becoming Acquainted with Our Real Characters] (573–575); The Idler No. 49 [Will Marvel] (580–581); The Idler No. 81 [On Native Americans] (581–582)
"Print Culture" (xlv–xlix)
Due date: Assignment #3 due

Nov. 30 — Battle of the Sexes
Reading: from BABL Vol. III: Jonathan Swift (302–304), "The Lady's Dressing Room" (307–309); Lady Mary Wortley Montagu (485–486), "The Reasons That Induced Dr. Swift to Write a Poem Called the Lady's Dressing Room" (488–489)

Written Assignment #3: Narrative Voice

Due: Nov. 28, 2006.

Choose one of the following two options and write 4–5 pages.

1. a) Choose an object or situation, not necessarily sexual (bonus points for making something boring sound steamy), and describe it first as Aphra Behn, and then as John Wilmot, might have done. Verse would obviously be nice here, but the emphasis should be on the differences in the writers' voices (1–2 pages).
b) Write an explanation of your choices in section a), with proper references to all sources (lectures, the text, editor's notes in the anthology, &tc.).

2. Is Gulliver "gullible"? How does Swift indicate how we are to think of Gulliver, given that the narrative is written in the first person (i.e. in Gulliver's own voice). Does Gulliver change over the course of the books? If so, how is this indicated?

These assignments will be evaluated based on

• the understanding they display of authorial/narrative voice
• originality and thoughtfulness
• skill and correctness of writing
• whether they fulfill the criteria set out in the assignment
• whether they adhere to MLA format

Written Assignment #2: Renaissance sonnets

Due: Oct. 31, 2006.

Choose one of the following two options and write 4–5 pages.

1. a) Write a sonnet about a contemporary situation (love is still an option, of course; but contemporary love). Obviously you are not all skilled poets; evaluation will be based on the display of knowledge about the sonnet form and tradition.
b) Write an explanation of your choices in section a), with proper references to all sources (lectures, the text, editor's notes in the anthology, &tc.).

2. Chose one of the following short poems from the Restoration/18thc:

Margaret Cavendish, "A Woman Drest by Age" (1653; BABL III p.3)
Anne Finch, "A Letter to Daphnis, April 2, 1685" (1713; BABL III p.286)
Thomas Gray, "Sonnet on the Death of Mr. Richard West" (1742; BABL III p.606)

Explain how it adheres to, and/or distinguishes itself from, sonnets of the Renaissance. Your emphasis should be on the Renaissance traditions. You are encouraged to refer to sonnets read in class.

These assignments will be evaluated based on

• the understanding they display of the sonnet form in the Renaissance
• originality and thoughtfulness
• skill and correctness of writing
• whether they fulfill the criteria set out in the assignment
• whether they adhere to MLA format

Written Assignment #1: Medieval genres and tropes

Due: Oct. 3, 2006.

Choose one of the following two options and write 4–5 pages, aprox. 2 pages for the first part, and 2-3 pages for the second.

1. a) Describe an everyday activity (grocery shopping; waiting for the bus; playing a game) as the Beowulf poet might have described it, had s/he been miraculously transported to the 21st century with his/her mediaeval sensibility intact. All the intricacies of Old English verse are not strictly necessary, though any gestures in that direction will get considerable credit.
b) Write an explanation of your choices in section a), with proper references to all sources (lectures, the text, editor's notes in the anthology, &tc.).

2. a) Write an Ekphrasis (covered in first class on Sir Gawain and the Green Knight) of a contemporary object, in keeping with the tone, ethos, and sensibility of the Gawain poet.
b) Write an explanation of your choices in section a), with proper references to all sources (lectures, the text, editor's notes in the anthology, &tc.).

These assignments will be evaluated based on

• the understanding they display of the chosen literary period
• originality and thoughtfulness
• skill and correctness of writing
• whether they fulfill the criteria set out in the assignment
• whether they adhere to MLA format

Course Requirements

(Note: Students must complete all requirements to pass the course.)

Short written assignments (60%) — There will be a short (4–5 pp.) written assignment in each of the three sections of the course.

Written Assignment #1 (20%)
Written Assignment #2 (20%)
Written Assignment #3 (20%)

Participation (10%) — Each student will be expected to participate in discussion and group-work in the classroom, and in discussion online in comments at this web site. Attendance will be taken.

Final exam (30%) — The final exam will cover material from all term. It will be closed book and take place during the exam period.

Updates

The Syllabus is finished and is available for download as a PDF file, ready to print out. Always check this weblog, however, for any updates and changes. An online schedule will be has been posted soon, as well as descriptions of the course assignments.

WebCT has been enabled. There you will find your marks as well as class notes.