EN2B5-30 Seventeenth-Century Literature
Introductory description
EN2B5-30 Seventeenth-Century Literature
Module aims
This module covers one of the most exciting periods of literary history. The period from 1603 to 1688 saw two revolutions, constitutional upheavals, the widening of political and literary classes, and the gradual increase in women’s authorship. The module aims to leave students with: an understanding of why people wrote in the seventeenth century and who read their work; a knowledge of canonical and non-canonical seventeenth-century literature; the ability to understand the particular genres and codes used by seventeenth-century writers; and the ability to read and interpret seventeenth-century literature that has rarely been read or analysed.
Outline syllabus
This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.
Autumn Term
Week 1: Introduction and John Donne
- Donne’s religious poetry, including ‘Satire III’ and a selection of Holy Sonnets.
Week 2: George Herbert
- Selections of Herbert’s religious verse
Week 3: Country House Poems
- Ben Jonson, 'To Penshurst'; Aemelia Lanyer, 'The Description of Cookham' to be read alongside Francis Bacon's essays 'Of Gardens' and 'Of Building'
Week 4: Jacobean Court Masques
- Ben Jonson, ‘The Masque of Blackness’ and ‘The Masque of Queens’
Week 5: John Webster, The White Devil
READING WEEK: prepare 1500-word formative essay for submission in Week 7
Week 7: James Shirley, The Bird in a Cage
Week 8: Cavalier Poets:
- Selections of poems by Robert Herrick, Thomas Carew and Richard Lovelace.
Week 9: Early Milton
- Poems from the 1645 collection, principally ‘L’Allegro’, ‘Il Penseroso’, ‘Lycidas’ and ‘A Maske Presented at Ludlow Castle’
Week 10: Andrew Marvell
- Selections of Marvell’s early lyric poetry, plus ‘An Horatian Ode’
Spring Term
Week 1: The Renaissance Essay
- Essays by Francis Bacon and Michel Montaigne
Week 2: Spiritual Autobiography
- Agnes Beaumont, The Narrative of the Persecution of Agnes Beaumont and Lawrence Clarkson, The Lost Sheep Found
Week 3: Katherine Philips and Hester Pulter
- Selections of the manuscript poetry by Philips and Pulter
Week 4: Later Milton
- Paradise Regained and Samson Agonistes
Week 5: John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester
- Poetry by Rochester
READING WEEK
Week 7: Restoration Drama (I)
- William Wycherley, The Country Wife and George Etherege, The Man of Mode
Week 8: Restoration Drama (II)
- Aphra Behn, The Rover
Week 9: John Dryden, Absalom and Achitophel
Week 10: Aphra Behn, Oroonoko
Learning outcomes
By the end of the module, students should be able to:
- Show a broad knowledge of the main issues in the study of seventeenth-century literature across a variety of genres (e.g. masque, verse satire, essays).
- Understand the relevance to the period’s literature of the different written mediums used by writers in the period (i.e. print and manuscript) and the different locations (e.g. the court, country, the playhouse) where their work was seen or read.
- Understand some of the critical debates around how different seventeenth-century writers engaged with their historical (e.g. political, religious and theological, social or literary) contexts.
- Review and apply their knowledge and understanding via early modern primary sources (via e.g. EEBO) which are not set texts on the module.
Indicative reading list
Reading lists can be found in Talis
Subject specific skills
No subject specific skills defined for this module.
Transferable skills
No transferable skills defined for this module.
Study time
| Type | Required |
|---|---|
| Lectures | 18 sessions of 1 hour (6%) |
| Seminars | 18 sessions of 1 hour (6%) |
| Private study | 264 hours (88%) |
| Total | 300 hours |
Private study description
Reading & research
Costs
No further costs have been identified for this module.
You do not need to pass all assessment components to pass the module.
Assessment group A1
| Weighting | Study time | Eligible for self-certification | |
|---|---|---|---|
Assessment component |
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| Assessed essay 1 | 50% | Yes (extension) | |
|
3500-word essay in response to titles published by the module convenor. |
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Reassessment component is the same |
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Assessment component |
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| Assessed Essay 2 | 50% | Yes (extension) | |
|
3500-word essay in response to titles published by the module convenor. Research-led essay on a text from Early English Books Online. |
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Reassessment component is the same |
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Feedback on assessment
Written feedback uploaded to Tabula and individual meetings with tutor.
Courses
This module is Core optional for:
- Year 2 of UENA-Q300 Undergraduate English Literature
- Year 2 of UCXA-QQ39 Undergraduate English and Classical Civilisation
- Year 2 of UENA-VQ32 Undergraduate English and History
This module is Optional for:
- Year 2 of UENA-Q300 Undergraduate English Literature
- Year 2 of UENA-QP36 Undergraduate English Literature and Creative Writing
- Year 2 of UENA-VQ32 Undergraduate English and History
- Year 2 of UENA-VQ34 Undergraduate English and History (with a term in Venice)
- Year 2 of UTHA-QW34 Undergraduate English and Theatre Studies
- Year 2 of UFIA-QW25 Undergraduate Film and Literature
- Year 4 of UFIA-QW26 Undergraduate Film and Literature (with Study Abroad)
- Year 2 of UPHA-VQ52 Undergraduate Philosophy, Literature and Classics
This module is Option list B for:
- Year 2 of UCXA-QQ37 Undergraduate Classics and English
This module is Option list C for:
- Year 2 of UCXA-QQ37 Undergraduate Classics and English
This module is Option list D for:
- Year 2 of UPHA-VQ72 Undergraduate Philosophy and Literature