ENGL350A Early Seventeenth Century Literature
Prof. S. Tolmie
Fall Term 2019
Class time: Mon/Wed 1:00-2:20 PAS 1241
Office Hours Mon/Wed 2:30-3:30 HH 266
stolmie@uwaterloo.ca
Course Description: This course gives students an overview of the dramatic events of the 17th century, up to and including the English Civil Wars. Its focus is on the intertwining of politics and religion, and the primary genre under examination will be poetry, both epic (Milton) and lyrical (primarily the metaphysicals), as the most important genre of the premodern period.
Course Objectives: Students will learn appropriate historical and critical terms and perspectives to describe this complex period and its literary works. They will practice their critical writing, reading and speaking skills, both individually and in groups.
Required Textbook: The Norton Anthology of English Literature, volume 1B, The Sixteenth Century and the Early Seventeenth Century, 10th edition
Please use the current edition. Especially for group work, it ascertains that everyone is on the same page.
Assignments and mark breakdown
- Two historical content quizzes 20% (10% each)
- Two tests interpreting literary passages: one on lyric poems, one on Milton 20% (10% each) Poetry imitation assignment 15%
- Group presentation on one book of Milton’s Paradise Lost 15%
- Short essay on Milton, 1500 words, MLA format 15%
- Participation 15%
What Does This Mean?
Each historical content quiz will take 30 minutes of class time. One will be on the Reformation and one on the Civil Wars. They will draw on specific readings from the textbook and information contained within the poems on the syllabus. They are NOT open book but questions will be given in advance.
Each test on literary passages will take one hour of class time. Passages will be identified. No more than 3 passages will need to be analyzed on each test.
The poetry imitation assignment will require students to choose a single short poem from the anthology and to write a close imitation of it, and to explain and justify this imitation in a brief accompanying personal essay (2-3 pages). Poems do not need to be in Early Modern English. Contemporary grammatical English is preferred. Further guidelines will be provided for this assignment well in advance. The poem and the essay component will be equally weighted.
The group presentation on one book of Milton will entail the group creation of a master document of maximum 5 pages, and a group presentation of the document to the class in 15 minutes. This is the only group grade in the course. Online participation will be monitored, and anyone not pulling his or her weight will receive a grade 10% lower than the group and could receive zero if he or she contributes nothing. The purpose of the document is to provide a summary, a thematic overview, and a series of discussion points for the class. All 12 books of the poem will be covered in this way, in reading order, providing a study guide for the entire class. Groups will be randomized and dates set firmly: all members must participate and attend in order to receive the grade. Time limits are strict.
Note: All students are responsible for ascertaining their presentation group and the group’s scheduled presentation date. Missed presentations receive zero. They cannot be rescheduled without a doctor’s note.
The short essay on Milton must be 1500 words (give or take 10%), be formatted correctly throughout in MLA style, contain a word count, and have all sources consulted (whether or not they are cited or quoted) listed in a bibliography at the end. A style sheet will be provided. It must pose and answer a single question about a single book of Paradise Lost. The question must appear at the top of the first page, posed as a question; the essay answers it. First person is preferred. Students may work on the book they worked on for the group presentation, provided the essay does not duplicate any of that work exactly. They must be submitted in PDF only in the LEARN Dropbox by class time on the due date or in hard copy in class.
Participation in this class is extremely important and counts for 15% of the grade. If you do not talk, and do not keep up with the reading (and I only know that you are doing so if you talk) it is impossible to get a A-range grade in this class. Needless to say, this calls for regular attendance, as well.
Lateness Policy
Anything submitted late is subject to an automatic 10% penalty (a letter grade). If it is more than a week late (i.e., seven days, including weekends) it will be given a grade of zero. Tests and presentations cannot be rescheduled without a medical note.
Schedule of Classes
Week 1: Wed Sept 4
- Introduction to the course; a test poem; readings for the next class:
- — “Renaissance Humanism” (NAEL 6-9) — “The Reformation” (NAEL 9-13)
- — “William Shakespeare” (NAEL 718-22) — Shakespeare Sonnets 1, 12, 30, 73, 105
Week 2: Mon Sept 9 and Wed Sept 11
- Reading above sonnets in class; for next class sonnets 126, 129, 135, 144
- Reading sonnets for evidence of Renaissance and Reformation; for next class “The English Bible” (NAEL 1B: 143-48)
Week 3: Mon Sept 16 and Wed Sept 18
- Reading sonnets in class; for next class John Calvin, from The Institution of Christian Religion (NAEL 153)
- Final class on Shakespeare sonnets; review Renaissance and Reformation
Week 4: Mon Sept 23 and Wed Sept 25
- Quiz 1 On The Reformation, 30 minutes; for next class “The Early 17th Century: 1603-1660” (NAEL 891-918) and “John Donne” (NAEL 1B: 920-23)
- Donne poems in class: “The Flea,” “The Sun Rising,” “The Canonization”
Week 5: Mon Sept 30 and Wed Oct 2
- Donne poems in class: “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning,” “Elegy 19. To His Mistress Going to Bed”
- Donne poems in class: Holy Sonnets 7 and 14, “Meditation 4” (NAEL 923-969); for next class “George Herbert” (NAEL 1B: 1255-57)
Week 6: Mon Oct 7 and Wed Oct 9
- Herbert poems in class: “The Altar,” “Easter Wings,” “Church Monuments,” “The Windows” (NAEL 1B: 1707–13); for next class “Robert Herrick" (NAEL 1B: 1306-7)
- Herrick poems in class: “Corinna’s Going A-Maying,” “To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time” (NAEL 1B: 1760–62)
Thanksgiving/study Break October 14-18
Week 7: Mon Oct 21 and Wed Oct 23
- Poetry Imitation Assignment Due; for next class "Andrew Marvell” (NAEL 1399-41)
- Marvell poems in class: “The Mower Against Gardens,” “The Mower,” “The Garden,” “To His Coy Mistress”
Week 8: Mon Oct 28 and Wed Oct 30
- Test 1 On Lyric Poetry, 1 hour: for next class “John Milton” (NAEL 1447-50)
- Starting to read Paradise Lost in class: Group 1 Presentation on Book 1
Week 9: Mon Nov 4 and Wed Nov 6
- Paradise Lost: Groups 2 and 3 Presentations
- Paradise Lost: Groups 4 and 5 Presentations
Week 10: Mon Nov 11 and Wed Nov 13
- Paradise Lost: Groups 6 and 7 Presentations
- Paradise Lost: Groups 8 and 9 Presentations
Week 11: Mon Nov 18 and Wed Nov 20
- 1. Paradise Lost: Groups 10 and 11 Presentations; review “The Early 17th Century: 1603-1660” (NAEL 891-918)
- 2. Quiz 2 On The Civil Wars, 30 minutes; Paradise Lost: Group 12 Presentation
Week 12: Mon Nov 25 and Wed Nov 27
- Paradise Lost: final overview
- Milton Test, 1 hour
Week 13: Mon Dec 2
- Milton Essay Due in class or in Dropbox by class time
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