British Literature. Course Description Aims 1. To provide the learners with a brief outline of the history of British literature up to the first half.

British

Literature

Course Description

　　　　 Aims

1. To provide the learners with a brief outline of the history of British literature up to the first half of the 20th century;

2. To introduce learners to the imaginative use of English and to help them towards an appreciation of literary language and literature;

Course Description

　　　　　　 Aims

3. To consolidate and extend the learners’ knowledge and fluency in English through interaction with literary texts;

Course Description

　　　　　 Aims

4. To further develop the learners’ ability to recognize and express emotional and moral attitudes on a higher level than about daily occurrences so as to facilitate their communication with educated native speakers;

Course Description

　　　　 Aims

5. To prepare the learners for the study of literature in English at a higher level and to help them develop interest in and, hopefully, the habit of ， reading extensively.

　　　 Teaching methods

– lectures on the related historical and cultural background

– textual study – class discussion or presentation– reading assignment before each clas

s– group work – individual research work for the term

paper 　　

　　　　 Textbooks

1. Wang Hong. 2000. English Literature: Reading and Appreciation. Guangzhou :South China Science and Engineering University Press.

2. ---.2006.20th-century British Literature. Wuhan: Wuhan University Press.

3. Frankenstein (provided by the teacher) Jane Eyre

Reference Books

• Baldick, Chris. 2000. Oxford Concise Dictionary of Literary Terms. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press.

• Zhang, Boxiang.1997-98. British Literature, a Coursebook. Vol.1-3. Wuhan: Wuhan Uni. Press.

• 张定铨，吴刚 .2002. 《新编简明英国文学史》 .上海：上海外语教育出版社 .

Assessment

　　　　 Assessment

• General performance (including term paper. Exercises, quiz, pre

sentation) 50%

• Final examination 50%

Term Paper Requirements

　　 Title ： Beginning of English Novel (concise and concrete) Research Question(s): Why did English novel come into being in the 18th century?/ In what way is English novel a middle-class literature? (i.e. the questions the pap

er is supposed to answer)

　　 Tentative Conclusion:

As British middle class became the main stay of the society, it needed a literature of their own to tell of their life and express their concern, a literature which was easy enough for them to read, whose story and heroes were familiar enough for their recognition, and whose language was graceful and content morally sound enough for their education.

　　　　 Outline

I. Historical background: Political, economic, social status quo, in which middle class held a predominant position

II. The need of Enlightenment/education so that the middle class could meet its leading role in the coming years: purpose, means and contents of the education

　 III. Major features of English novel of th

e time: realist, didactic, polished language and graceful style, etc. to model after the classics of the aristocrats

IV. Conclusion (refer to tentative answers: novel was a bourgeois product; prediction of its future development)

Outline

　　　　 Works Cited

e.g.1. Ishiguro, Kazuo. The Remains of the Day. London: Faber and Faber,1989.

• 姓，名 . 出版年份 .书名（斜体） . 出版城市：出版社 .

e.g. 2. Smith, David. “My University Days.” College Composition. John Powell, ed. NY: Harvard University Press, 2003.18-29. [ 说明：一个以上作者：从第二个人起后面姓名不颠倒；主编者：姓名后加 ed (s)]

　　　　 Citatione.g.1 ---“xxx”( Ishiguro 87)

用双引号；第一次原著引用加脚注。 The following quotations of the book

will be thereafter in page number only.

e.g. 2 ---“xxx” (89) • [ 一般来说，引用原文 5 行及以上要另

起一段，前后缩进 5 个字母，除对话外，不用双引号。 ]

　　　　 Requirements

1.write the paper only after the proposal oked;

2.title in size 3, bold; subtitle size 4, bold; body size small 4;

3.1st page the proposal, followed by the paper and Works Cited;

4.word account 1000-1500; printed out;

5. never plagiarize!!!

课程教学计划

周次

教学内容教学手段作业 / 测试

1

2 Intro. to the course lecture reading assignment

3 Medieval Age lecture and discussion

the same

4 Renaissance (1)

Introduction

lecture and discussion

5 Renaissance (2) Drama: Shakespeare


周次


6 Renaissance (3) Poetry & Prose: Sonnet 18 & “Of Studies”

discussion National holiday[1]

7 Revo. & Restoration: Milton’s

Paradise Lost


8 Enlightenment (1) Jonathan Swift


9 Enlightenment (2)

Pope & Thomas Gray

discussion [1].If canceled, this week’s class should accordingly go to the next week

周次


10 Romanticism (1)

William Wordsworth


11 Romanticism (2) Keats & Shelley

discussion

12 Victorian Age: Novels and Poetry

lecture

13 Workshop

on Novels (1)

discussion and presentation

14 Workshop

on Novels (2)

discussion and presentation

term paper due by Nov.28

周次教学内容教学手段作业 / 测试

15 20th century Introduction

term paper due by December 2

16 Short fiction discussion

17 Revision

18 Final exam

Recommended Novels for Reading (British)

　　　 18th-century

• Gulliver’s Travels: Jonathan Swift; social satire/fantasy/; Part I, II, and IV interesting; language difficulty ***.

• Robinson Crusoe: Daniel Defoe; an account of the process of the building of the British Empire in the 18th century; diary-like detailed description and narration; language difficulty **.


　　　 19th-century • Frankenstein: Mary Shelley; the 1st scien

ce-fiction; exploring the formation of human nature and relation between human life and science; important literary resource to today’s filming industry; language difficulty **, small.



• Pride and Prejudice:Jane Austen; about women’s life (marriage) in late 18th century; very good writing, esp. the dialogues; language difficulty **.

• David Copperfield: Charles Dickens; semi-autographical; good description of child’s inner world and the character portrait; language Difficulty **.



• Great Expectations: Charles Dickens; about moral corruption and loss of innocence and honesty in growing up; the Cinderella pattern in structure; language Dif ***; a bit too long.

• Jane Eyre: Charlotte Bronte; a poor, plain governess struggling for self-dignity and personal happiness; language dif **.



• Wuthering Heights: Emily Bronte; one of the best novels in the world; a presentation of the most primitive, natural, powerful, touching as well as the most destructive love human beings are capable of; language dif **.


　　　 19th-century • Silas Marner: George Eliot; a religious fa

ble about religion of humanity; language dif **; small.

• Tess of D’Urbervilles: Thomas Hardy; tragic fate of a “pure” young peasant woman at the time of capitalist invasion into the country in the 19th-century England; language dif ***.



• Sons and Lovers: D.H. Lawrence; Oedipus Complex; the study of man-woman relations; language dif ***.

• The Fifth Child: Doris Lessing; about distortion or horror of human nature/ a human-born monster; Language dif **, small.

Homework

Reference Questions for Unit 1

1. Who were the earliest settlers of Britton/England? What do you know about them (home, language, belief, life style)?

2. What are the 3 conquests? What effects they had upon the nation?

3. Ideologically what is the most significant change in people’s spiritual life?

Homework


4. How was the nation developed politically or what changes were there in the form of the social structure?

5. In terms of literature, what influence had the French upon England?

Homework


6. How many languages were spoken during the French reign? How do you understand modern English as a language?

7. What was the essence of Christian doctrine preached at the time? Was there any ignoble reason behind it?

Homework


8. Why was the Middle Ages known as the Dark

Ages?

9. What was the form of literature at the time? What features does it have?

Homework


10. What are the 3 periods/stages of Chaucer’s literary career?

11. In what way do we call Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales the first work of English literature?

12. What is image of the nun? Is she favorably and admirably or satirically portrayed? What figures of speech are used?

British Literature. Course Description Aims 1. To provide the learners with a brief outline of the history of British literature up to the first half.

Documents

british literature slide

english literature

education slide

term paper slide

literary texts slide

study of literature

middleclass literature

history of british literature