British Literature Classics: Early Modern English Poetry New Hydraulic Engineering Building, Rm. 307 Wednesdays, 9:50-12:15 Elizabeth Mathie mathie@tsinghua.edu.cn Office: 122 He Er Building Office Hours: Friday, 10am-1pm, and by appt. Course description: In this class, we will survey the major poets of early modern England. Together we will work to read their works closely, to learn about their historical and cultural contexts, and to understand some of the major thematic and generic conventions that shape their work and its interpretation. We will also practice reading and understanding scholarship in English, and students will work to produce their own complex and original arguments about the topic. Class goals: After this course, students will be able to identify many of the major poetic figures of early modern England and will have gained familiarity reading poetic meter. Modern translations and in-class activities will give them increased confidence reading, speaking, and interpreting early modern English. A longer essay assignment, paired with reading, discussing, and summarizing scholarship, will improve students ability to produce complex and coherent arguments and to understand and accurately summarize the arguments of others. These assignments and activities will also afford students increased confidence and aptitude in asking questions about and formulating independent interpretations of literature. Grade Break-down: Short Assignments (modern translations and abstract) 15% Midterm Exam 15% Essay: Critical Analysis (5-7 pages) 20% Final Exam 20% Poetry Project 15% Participation 15% Readings: Poems: Unknown, The Cuckoo Song, Alison, Adam Lay Bound, and I Sing a Maiden John Skelton, Mannerly Margery Milk and Ale and excerpts from The Tunning of Elinour Rumming Sir Thomas Wyatt, The long love that in my thought doth harbor, Whoso list to hunt, My galley, Stand whoso list, and Who list his wealth and ease retain George Gascoigne, Woodmanship Edmund Spenser, from Amoretti, 34, 37, 64, and 67 Walter Ralegh, The Nymph s Reply to the Shepherd Christopher Marlowe, The Passionate Shepherd to his Love William Shakespeare, a Lover s Complaint and Sonnets 1, 18, 20, 42, 103, 126, 130, 135, 136, 138, and 144 John Donne, The Flea, The Good-Morrow, The Sun Rising, The Bait, The Ecstasy, and Elegy 19. To His Mistress Going to Bed Aemilia Lanyer, from Salve Deus Rex Judaeorum, Eve s Apologie
Ben Jonson, from The Forest, Song: To Celia and To Penshurst, and, from Epigrams, On Giles and Joan, On My First Son, and Inviting a Friend to Supper Lady Mary Wroth, from Pamphilia to Amphilanthus, Sonnets 1, 16, and 32 George Herbert, Easter Wings and Love (3) Katherine Philips, Friendship s Mystery, To My Dearest Lucasia and To Mrs. M. A. at Parting Richard Lovelace, To Lucasta, Going to the Wars and To Althea, from Prison Andrew Marvell, To His Coy Mistress and The Garden Margaret Cavendish, The Hunting of the Hare John Milton, Lycidas and When I Consider How My Light Is Spent on Writing: Mike Bunn, How to Read Like a Writer Meg Sweeney, The Art of Close Reading Mark Gaipa, Breaking into the Conversation Scholarship: Selected Essays from Early Modern English, Patrick Cheney, Andrew Hadfield, and Garrett A. Sullivan, Jr., eds. Melissa Sanchez, The Poetics of Feminine Subjectivity in Shakespeare s Sonnets and a Lover s Complaint Valerie Traub, Shakespeare s Sex, chap. 4 in Thinking Sex with the Early Moderns Course Policies and Other Information: Grading Policy: An A signifies exceptional work, a B signifies very good work, and a C signifies adequate work. Grades at the A or B level indicate work that goes well beyond the expectations for the assignment. Attendance Policy: Crucial to our class and your growth as a writer are discussions and in-class workshops. For this reason, the success of the class and your own success depend on your attendance and active participation. You are allowed one absence, but missing even one class is unadvisable, and I will hold you responsible for all material that you miss as a result of any absence. Except in exceptional circumstances and excused absences, your overall grade will decrease 5% for every absence after the first. I will count every three instances of tardiness as one absence. Late Policy: Unless you procure an extension from me before the deadline, I will deduct one-third of a letter grade for every day an assignment is late. For example, a B paper handed in one day late would become a B- paper. If you think that you won t be able to hand in your paper on time and that your situation warrants an extension, please be in touch with me as far in advance before the due date as possible. If you have a personal emergency that will prevent you from completing the paper on time, please let me know as soon as you can. Plagiarism: Plagiarism is submitting a piece of work (for example, an essay, research paper, work of art, assignment, laboratory report) which in part or in whole is not entirely your own work without attributing those same portions to their correct source. In other words, it is when you knowingly (or unknowingly) submit someone else s ideas or words as your own. If you commit an act of academic dishonesty in this course either by plagiarizing someone s work or by allowing your own work to be misused by another, you will fail the assignment and may fail the entire course. Please note that if 2
you submit work already completed for another course as original work for this course, I will not consider that assignment complete and you will likely fail it. If you ever have any questions or concerns about referencing materials, please let me know. I am happy to help! Writing Center Thursdays: Separate from my office hours, I will be using my office (122 He Er Building) as an unofficial writing center from 9am-12pm and from 3pm-5:30pm on Thursdays. During these drop-in writing center hours, you are welcome to come and work on any English essay assignment you have for any class here at Tsinghua, with or without an appointment. There are two tables and several chairs in my office, and you will be welcome to work independently, with fellow students, and/or with me. The goal of this unofficial writing center is to create a community where we as a class can continue to work on our writing, to think about writing, and to discuss writing, even outside the confines of our course. Students from other courses, if they are also working on essays in English, are welcome to stop by during these hours. Schedule of Course Meetings: Feb 28: Introductions No reading for today March 7: Middle English Lyrics The Cuckoo Song, Alison, Adam Lay Bound, and I Sing a Maiden March 14: John Skelton Mannerly Margery Milk and Ale and excerpts from The Tunning of Elinour Rumming Mike Bunn, How to Read Like a Writer March 21: Sir Thomas Wyatt The long love that in my thought doth harbor, Whoso list to hunt, My galley, Stand whoso list, and Who list his wealth and ease retain Meg Sweeney, The Art of Close Reading Catherine Bates, Wyatt, Surrey, and the Henrician Court, chap. 4 in Early Modern English Poetry: A Critical Companion Due in class: Short Assignment 1: a modern translation of one of today s poems March 28 No class today, I will be out of town for a conference April 4: George Gascoigne and Edmund Spenser Gascoigne, Woodmanship; Spenser, from Amoretti, 34 ( Lyke as a ship ), 37 ( What guile is this ), 64 ( Coming to kiss her lyps ), and 67 ( Lyke as a huntsman ) Steven May, Early Courtier Verse: Oxford, Dyer, and Gascoigne, chap. 6 in Early Modern English Due in class: Short Assignment 2: a modern translation of one of today s poems 3
Saturday, April 7: Sir Walter Ralegh and Christopher Marlowe (this Saturday class will serve as our make-up class for March 28 th ) Ralegh, The Nymph s Reply to the Shepherd; Marlowe, The Passionate Shepherd to his Love Optional reading: William A. Oram, Raleigh, the Queen, and Elizabethan Court Poetry, chap. 11 in Early Modern English and Alan Sinfield, Marlowe s Erotic Verse, chap. 12 in Early Modern English Due in class: Short Assignment 3: a modern translation of one of today s poems April 11: William Shakespeare/ Reading Scholarship Shakespeare, A Lover s Complaint and Sonnets 1, 18, 20, 42, 103, 126, 130, 135, 136, 138, and 144 Melissa Sanchez, The Poetics of Feminine Subjectivity in Shakespeare s Sonnets and a Lover s Complaint April 18: William Shakespeare/ Reading Scholarship cont. Valerie Traub, Shakespeare s Sex, chap. 4 in Thinking Sex with the Early Moderns Mark Gaipa, Breaking into the Conversation: How Students Can Acquire Authority for Their Writing Midterm Exam (during the first half of class) April 25: John Donne The Flea, The Good-Morrow, The Sun Rising, The Bait, The Ecstasy, and Elegy 19. To His Mistress Going to Bed Andrew Hadfield, Donne s Songs and Sonets and Artistic Identity, chap. 19 in Early Modern English Due in class: Short Assignment 4: an abstract (concise summary) of one of the scholarly works we have read so far in this class. May 2 No class today, Labor Day holiday (April 30- May 4) May 9: Aemilia Lanyer from Salve Deus Rex Judaeorum, Eve s Apologie Helen Wilcox, Lanyer and the Poetry of Land and Devotion, chap. 22 in Early Modern English May 16: Ben Jonson from The Forest, Song: To Celia and To Penshurst, and, from Epigrams, On Giles and Joan, On My First Son, and Inviting a Friend to Supper Julie Sanders, Jonson, King, and Court, chap. 23 in Early Modern English May 23: Lady Mary Wroth and George Herbert Wroth, from Pamphilia to Amphilanthus, Sonnets 1 ( When night s blacke Mantle ), 16 ( Am I thus conquered? ), and 32 ( How fast thou fliest, O Time ); Herbert, Easter Wings and Love (3) Michael Schoenfeldt, George Herbert, God, and King, chap. 24 in Early Modern English Poetry: A Critical Companion 4
May 30: Katherine Philips and Richard Lovelace Phillips, Friendship s Mystery, To My Dearest Lucasia and To Mrs. M. A. at Parting; Lovelace, To Lucasta, Going to the Wars and To Althea, from Prison Naomi J. Miller, Lady Mary Wroth and Women s Love Poetry, chap. 18 in Early Modern English Optional reading: Laura Lunger Knoppers, Cavalier Poetry and Civil War, chap. 26 in Early Modern English Due in class: Essays: Critical analyses of one (or a small group) of the poems we have read this term, using close-reading as evidence. June 6: Andrew Marvell and Margaret Cavendish Marvell, To His Coy Mistress and The Garden; Cavendish, The Hunting of the Hare Thomas Healy, Marvell and Pastoral, chap. 27 in Early Modern English June 13: John Milton Lycidas and When I Consider How My Light Is Spent Lynn Enterline, The Phoenix and the Turtle, Renaissance Elegies, and the Language of Grief, chap. 14 in Early Modern English Review for Final Exam Due in class: Poetry project June 20 Final Exam 5