English 300
Reading Major Texts
This course will introduce you to the literary culture of the early eighteenth-century. We’ll read exemplary works of poetry, drama, and prose fiction, studying how major writers responded to the social and intellectual challenges of early modernity, interacted with tradition, and invented new styles and genres. Texts and Recommended Editions: Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe (Oxford World’s Classics); Jonathan Swift, Gulliver’s Travels (Oxford World’s Classics); Alexander Pope, The Rape of the Lock (Dover Thrift); John Gay, The Beggar’s Opera (Dover Thrift); Samuel Johnson, Rasselas (Oxford World’s Classics); Laurence Sterne, A Sentimental Journey (Dover Thrift), and a Course Pack. (You can use any other new/used edition. Most of the literature we’ll read is available online at Gutenberg.org and other websites.) Midterm and final.