Survey of English Literature I

This course surveys British literature from the earliest examples of the Middle Ages through the 16th and 17th centuries. It will consider selected works from this broadperiod in the context of the political, scientific, and religious changes that Britain experiences over the course of those centuries. It will also study some of themajor contributions made by English dramatists— Shakespeare as well as other figures—to this tradition. Students will have the opportunity to explore shiftingdefinitions of race, gender, sexuality, and national identity. We will also examine literary developments And transformations in genre, from Beowulf through chivalric romance to Milton’s grand epic Paradise Lost, which shapes and influences much of subsequent literature in English.

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