This class presents a survey of English literature from the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries. It is no accident that the tumultuous political changes of these centuries—the English Civil War, the Glorious Revolution, and eventually the Enlightenment and the American Revolution—occurred in the wake of and alongside significant religious upheaval, including the English Reformation (and its continental cousin, the Protestant Reformation) in the sixteenth century, the Puritan movement of the seventeenth, and the emergence of methodism in the eighteenth. At the same time, others began to live without religion altogether by experimenting with a form of secular humanism. These large-scale changes reflect a shifting perspective of what it meant to be an individual subject, no longer under the authority of Church or State.

Our reading and discussion will focus on texts that attempt to come to terms with these changes—texts that ask questions such as: What does it mean for the writer to truly “know” him– or herself? What responsibility does the writer have to his readers? To tradition? To authority? To God? Our major texts will be a play (Hamlet) and two works of fiction, Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress and Henry Fielding’s comic novel Joseph Andrews. Other texts will include essays, devotional writing, short– and long-form poetry.

The class will be a combination of lecture and discussion. You should expect quite a bit of reading, including a good deal of poetry, fiction and nonfiction prose—also, be aware that the dates of our texts mean that our reading will be, in some ways, substantially different from the kind of writing with which most of us are familiar and will thus pose difficulties for some. You should also be prepared to participate regularly in discussion. Please expect a midterm and a final exam, and short paper (5 pp.).

Note for current and prospective English majors: this class will satisfy your pre-1900 requirement. Please keep in mind, however, that as a 200-level class it will be geared primarily toward non-majors.

Course Readings (please try to get the editions listed, as we will also be using the supplementary readings in the editions):
Shakespeare. Hamlet, (Norton). 978-0393929584
John Bunyan. The Pilgrim’s Progress, (Norton). 978-0393927719
Henry Fielding. Joseph Andrews, (Broadview). 978-1551112206
Course pack, including shorter readings and critical texts (available the first week of the quarter at Ave Copy, 4141 University Way)