This course is an introduction to British literature from the 16th to the 19th century. Throughout the semester, we shall focus on two different genres of writing: poetry and prose fiction. At the beginning of the semester, we shall engage in a study of 17th century poetry with John Donne (1572-1631) to continue the course with a different genre as well as historical period with Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus (1818). The poems were written at the troubled Baroque period and reflect insecurity as well as epistemological uncertainty, whereas Mary Shelley’s Gothic novel draws upon the tenets of Romanticism.
Objectives
This is an introduction to English literature, and, in view of the different genres, students will be expected to learn how to use the basic tools of literary criticism and to acquire some degree of expertise in narrative technique.
Each lesson will focus on a specific poem by Donne until the midterm, then on an excerpt from Frankenstein. In both cases, the students will be given questions about the poem or the excerpt one week in advance and will be expected to have prepared their answers for the lesson.
Assessment and Final Grade
Two written tests: one midterm, one final exam. Both consist in a few questions regarding a poem by Donne (midterm) and a short excerpt from Frankenstein (final exam).
Libraries
Practical information
