LIT 445 British Literature

At the end of this course, students will understand the major periods and themes in British literature.  Major works and authors that are representative of British Literature, including Beowulf, Chaucer, Shakespeare, Defoe, Wordsworth, and Eliot, will be read and analyzed.  Students will use thematic analysis (The Pastoral) as well as various critical frameworks (Structuralism, Formalism, Reader-Response, New Historicism, etc.) to understand, analyze and synthesize the literature across genres and periods. Students will engage in close reading: they will be asked to analyze literature inductively, using clues from the surface level of literature (literary devices) to create larger truths they see in the literature. Student analysis of literature will be expressed through essays, presentations, and other activities.