ENGL 2111: English Literature from Chaucer to Milton
Students continue to develop skills in close critical reading comprehension and written composition through investigation and evaluation of the development of the English language, key genres, influential authors, and important literary movements that emerged from approximately 700 C.E. to the late 1600s. Through reading representative genres, including epic, romance, sonnets, and comedy, and through analysis of these genres in their historical and cultural contexts, students learn to critically and creatively interpret and articulate complexities of various perspectives, techniques, rhetorical strategies, and assumptions employed by writers. They also consider the far-reaching influence of Chaucer, Shakespeare, and Milton, as well as the contributions of other writers of the period, through the practice of critical reflection and scholarly writing that illustrates grammatically-correct style and appropriate documentation skills.
Learning outcomes
- Perform close critical readings of English literature circa 700-1700 CE, demonstrating fluent comprehension of course texts.
- Critically and creatively evaluate a variety of literary genres, literary movements, and influential writers, making thematic and stylistic comparisons.
- Critically and creatively interpret literary texts, applying literary terminology, techniques, and rhetorical strategies appropriately.
- Critically reflect on and articulate the complexities and assumptions of various historical perspectives and cultural assumptions employed by writers.
- Compose analytical essays that investigate a topic, using an articulate thesis, scholarly argument, and academic citations.
- Write with proficiency at a university-level, grammatical style.
Course topics
- Unit 1: Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales and English Literature in the Fourteenth Century
- Unit 2: Elizabethan Literature: The Verse Exchange, the Epic Romance, and the English Sonnet
- Unit 3: William Shakespeare's The Tempest: Text, Criticism, Performance, and Appropriation
- Unit 4: Four English Poets of the Seventeenth Century: John Donne, Aemilia Lanyer, Katherine Philips, and John Milton
Required text and materials
Students require the following e-textbook, which can be purchased directly from the link at: https://tru-store.vitalsource.com/products/the-tempest-a-norton-critical-edition-second-william-shakespeare-v9780393270389
- Hulme, Peter and William H. Sherman, eds. (2019). The Tempest: William Shakespeare. (2nd Norton Critical Edition). W.W. Norton.
Type: E-Textbook. ISBN: 978-0-393-26542-2 / 9780393270389
Assessments
Please be aware that should your course have a final exam, you are responsible for the fee to the online proctoring service, ProctorU, or to the in-person approved Testing Centre. Please contact exams@tru.ca with any questions about this.
To successfully complete this course, students must achieve a passing grade of 50% or higher on the overall course, and 50% or higher on the final mandatory exam.
| Assignment 1: Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales and English Literature in the Fourteenth Century | 15% |
| Assignment 2: Elizabethan Literature: The Verse Exchange and the English Sonnet | 15% |
| Assignment 3: William Shakespeare’s Tempest: Text, Criticism, Performance, and Appropriation | 15% |
| Assignment 4: Four English Poets of the Seventeenth Century: John Donne, Aemilia Lanyer, Katherine Philips, and John Milton | 15% |
| Mandatory Final Exam | 40% |
| Total | 100% |
Open Learning Faculty Member Information
An Open Learning Faculty Member is available to assist students. Students will receive the necessary contact information at the start of the course.
