English 212
Tue /Thurs. 3:30-4:45
location: TBA 3 hours credit
Sample Fall
Syllabus
Dr. Dorothy M. Sutton
dorothy.sutton@eku.edu Office Hours: TBA
Phone: 623-6071
Phones and/or email addresses two other
students:_______________________________ ; ________________________________
COURSE OBJECTIVES: To become familiar with the great works of world
literature and learn why it is great,
to think about ourselves and our relationship to
the people and the world around us; UNDERSTANDING. (Also see below)
ATTENDANCE POLICY: More than 3 absences is automatic failure for classes
meeting once a week.
TEXT:
Norton Anthology of World Literature Volumes D, E, and F
Handouts (not in book) will be marked with
this sign * on syllabus. GRADES: The three
one-hour tests count equally. Final grade is
average of these three tests. I do not assign projects for extra
points. See below for information on my tests,
how they are formatted and how to study for them.
GRADES:
The three one-hour tests count equally; final grade is average of these tests.
There is no cummulative final. I do not assign
projects for extra points. A = 94-100; B
=83--93; C = 73-82; D= 64-72; F= 63 and
below. Always be prepared for pop quiz, which could
make a difference on borderline grades. Return of first test gives standing
before mid-term. NOTE: If you need
disability accommodations, please register in
WEEK 1 Getting started: ABSENCE AND GRADING POLICIES, COURSE
OBJECTIVES, TEXT, etc.
NOTE: Always read biographical
material on each author. Read rest of material in the order below:
____________________________________
WEEK
2 Introduction
to Neo-Classicism ["Enlightenment"](p. 289).
Discussion of major tenets of Neo-Classicism and Romanticism. (See
below);
3 SWIFT
Bio. & Intro. (read
carefully)
|
La ROCHEFOUCAULD, Maxims (Not in book)
4 Alexander POPE, An Essay on
Man, Epistle I
Intro. to Romanticism (book) and my lecture on Romanticism
5 ROUSSEAU,
Confessions; GOETHE, Faust (Prologue); BLAKE, "The Lamb"
"Little Black Boy"
"The Chimney Sweeper,"
"The Tyger," "The Book of Thel" (not in book)
6 TEST 1 (incl. African); WORDSWORTH,
"Tintern Abbey," "Immortality Ode," "World is Too Much
With Us"
7 KEATS, "Ode to a
Nightingale," "Ode on a Grecian Urn"
8 Bring paragraph on sections 55, 56 before
discussion of TENNYSON, "In Memoriam."
9 HINDUISM; BUDDHISM (not in book); THOREAU* (not
in book); WHITMAN, "Song of Myself"
10 EMILY
DICKINSON, poems 258, 435, 465, 585, 657, 712 and 1129 (use first line for
title); Introduction
to Realism and Naturalism (incl. DARWIN)
11 TEST II [incl. Realism &
Naturalism]; TOLSTOY, The Death of Ivan Ilyich
Week 12 No class 7 Nov. (election day) Introduction
to The Modern Period; Biography of FREUD; begin YEATS, Poem # 1[When You Are
Old]
WEEK 13 YEATS poems # 2[Easter]; 3[Second];
4[Sailing]; 8[Circus]; STEVENS "Sunday Morning"; JOYCE Portrait of the Artist
WEEK 14 Thanksgiving holiday; no classes
Week 15 continue "Portrait" if necess; KAFKA, Metamorphosis
Week 16 ELIOT, "Prufrock" ;
ELIOT The Waste Land.
TEST III (1 hour): Through Modern period. Be prepared to write a two page
essay on how the course was relevant to your life. You also should know MAJOR
IDEAS and AUTHORS OF EACH PERIOD. I do NOT POST GRADES (will be online within a
week).
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SOME FACTS ON MAJOR TESTS. Dorothy
Sutton English 212
WHAT KIND OF TEST DO YOU GIVE?
I give the kind of test that calls for the
student to have a complete and thorough knowledge of the works covered.
If you know the subject well enough (not just factually, but with
understanding), then the "type" of question is not important:
you should be able to answer them all with equal facility:
1) Approximately
1/3 Identify quotations (important lines) by title and author, genre (poetry or
prose) and time
period. The purpose is not memorization, but to
know the characters and works well enough to perceive the author by the form
and content of the quote (an excellent way of judging a student's knowledge of
the subject because it goes beyond memorizing of facts).
2) Approximately 1/3 factual questions
(objective)
3) Approximately
1/3 essay to judge your overall knowledge of major themes and ideas; your
grammar,
punctuation, and overall writing ability and effectiveness.
HOW SHOULD I STUDY FOR YOUR TESTS?
1) BEFORE CLASS, read all of the material
assigned, including Introductions and footnotes. Reading a summary
is not enough, would not help with quotations or
with material I add in lectures. Think as you read. Look up terms you don't
know. Be able to put ideas together. Carry ideas in your mind from one
literary period to the next, even if we do not do so specifically in class.
2) DURING CLASS, taking good lecture notes
is essential. Ask questions during or after class if you don't
understand something.
3) AFTER CLASS, look back over your
textbook (esp. what you marked and the notes you added during class) and
lecture notes. Keep a list of every 1) title, 2) author, 3) genre, 4) plot
(what happens), and 5) theme (meaning). Test yourself on each by covering over
one segment.
MY PHILOSOPHY OF GRADING
Trying hard is admirable, but is not
enough to bring you credit. Your answers must be the MOST accurate,
appropriate responses to the question asked,
showing that you know and understand the material and have the ability to write
in conventionally acceptable English.
I have great compassion for your troubles,
but my grade book must reflect only what you do on a test. Only in this way can
I be fair to all equally. (You might be surprised to know that all of the
students here have problems of various kinds, many very serious and some that
would stagger you.)
WHAT ABOUT MAKE-UP TESTS?
Quite often a student misses a test simply
because that student was not prepared. The burden of proof is on you. On those
rare occasions of extreme illness or a death in the family, you do not need to
call me at that time (drop me a postcard if you like). See me when you get
back. YOU MUST BRING ME THE OBITUARY NOTICE, or in the case of illness, A
WRITTEN NOTICE FROM YOUR DOCTOR (BE WARNED THAT I PHONE THE DOCTOR TO CONFIRM
THESE) IN ORDER TO MAKE UP THE TEST. You must take the test as soon as you
return to campus, not at your "convenience." Under no
circumstance can you take the test more than a week after its original
date. YOU WILL BE BETTER OFF TO TAKE THE TEST ON THE DAY IT IS SCHEDULED
THAN TO START LOOKING FOR EXCUSES. The original test covers the heart of the
material, whereas make-up tests are harder because the material is not as
obvious.
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A greatly over-simplified contrast between
Neo-classical and Romantic value systems:
NEO-CLASSICAL
static mechanism (everything
stays the same); symbol: watch
1. conformity--everything
conforms to a pattern
2. Perceived “imperfection” is
simply misunderstanding on your part. The world is as it should be.
3. Everything judged by its ability
to submit to the world and fit into a pre-conceived pattern,
wants to fit into
society and be accepted.
4. Values: perfection,
changelessness, uniformity, rationalism, order, safety, security.
5. Intellectual, moral, social,
religious structures (conventions) for most
people.
6. Being: world is complete.
Literature as finished product--final answers are known.
7. World as perfect machine.
8. Absolutes.
9. Glorification of reason--the
mind; Excessive passion is bad.
10. Answers outside ourselves.
(Externals) Priest, Rabbi,
Pastor, Pope. Ways to
salvation in books, plans and laws.
11. Style of writing: set forms (poems
usually heroic couplet);
Literature as PRODUCT (see #
6); moralistic, preaching, propaganda (with all the answers).
ROMANTIC
Dynamic organism (everything
changes); symbol: tree
1. Nonconformity–ignore pre-existing
patterns
2. Imperfections exist and should be corrected.
3. Everything judged on an
individual basis. Continuous adaptation to the world;
or refusal to
submit or adapt.
Alienation--the romantic as a rebel.
4. Values: imperfection,
growth, change, diversity.
Each person and
work of art [such as literature] is unique;
Creative imagination,
unconscious, striving, yearning, reaching. Disorder
painful but
sometimes necessary.
5. "Finer minds" above
conventions; tear down structures because they are arbitrary anyway.
Every decision based on
new and different set of standards; humans must be FREE.
6. BECOMING: world is still being made.
Literature as process--search for answers.
7. World is alive, can never be
perfect.
8. Relativism; no such thing as
absolute or "The Truth" or "Only
One Right way"
9. Intuition, imagination,
spontaneity; knowledge is from the subconscious, emphasis on the
emotions, feelings and
the senses. Passion is good.
10. Answers within ourselves.
(Internal) Must work out our
own
salvation. People are a religion unto themselves, a
law unto themselves.
11. For
literature & the other arts: Experiment: fit form to content; many
different forms;
Literature as PROCESS
(open-minded searches, but no final answers).
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(Political, industrial, economic, religious) BACKGROUND
OF ROMANTIC PERIOD (greatly oversimplified)
Refer
to Rom/Neo Dichotomy sheet to see contrast between 18th and 19th centuries. How
did the turmoil and conflict of the 19th century
CAUSE the literature we're studying to be written, how does the literature
REFLECT this background?
Two of the main
ideas of Romanticism are REFORM AND REVOLUTION. A background phenomena
that gave birth to Romantic reform and revolution was the rise of the Middle
Class, partly a result of insistence on THE INHERENT VALUE OF THE INDIVIDUAL.
I. REFORM
2 REFORM BILLS 1. Reform Bill
of 1832. First important reform bill. It had to
do with politics: for first time, common people could have a voice in
government. It eliminated "pocket" and "rotten"
boroughs. (pocket-patron designated) (rotten-number of votes for a region set by Medieval
population pattern.
2. Reform Bill of 1833 shows how badly reform
was needed and why revolution were taking place.
It had to do with working conditions and education. Part of it called The
Factory Act (applied only to textile trade):--Children under 9 not allowed to
work; --ages 9-13 work only 12 hours a day; --2 hours of schooling a day
required for children under 13 (beginning of universal education)
II. REVOLUTION
Two kinds of revolution: POLITICAL AND
INDUSTRIAL
1. POLITICAL: 1762 Rousseau published The
Social Contract stating that the only power a ruler has is given by the people.
Two POLITICAL
revolutions: American 1776, French 1789
2. INDUSTRIAL: began in late 18th cent.,
culminated in 19th
Definition: Transformation of most of
--locomotive, Stevenson, early 19th (1814)
--telegraph, mid 19th century (1844)
III. ECONOMIC BACKGROUND: Adam Smith pub
Wealth of Nations 1776, propounds idea of Laissez-faire individualism (free
enterprise); Gov. hands off
IV. RELIGIOUS BACKGROUND: Minorities in
18th cent., Pantheism (God in all things) and Deism (God as nature) grow.
Science questions earlier beliefs in myths, miracles, and superstitions.
Gradual shift FROM EXTERNAL PERSONAL GOD (Absolute Authority who cares about
individuals personally) to INTERNAL PERSONAL GOD (Sacredness of self and all
other people; every person a law, religion to him/her self) and humanism
(emphasis on human).
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Four Blake Quotes from “Marriage of Heaven and Hell”
1. Jesus was all virtue and acted from impulse,
not rules.
2. One law for the lion and ox is oppression.
3. Energy is eternal delight.
4. Without contraries is no progression.
Quote from his notebook: 1. “I must
create a system or be enslaved by another man’s.”
Blake believed all people must pass from original innocence through experience to what he called “organized innocence.”
Blake’s “Book of Thel”
She is not born yet, but exists in “Vales of Har.”
1. Lily (gives
beauty to the world)
2. Cloud: Thel says “Why live if life is so
brief?” Cloud answers, “I am necessary to life, give my
life so that others live.”
3. Clod of Clay: lowest of the low. I am called “mother.”
Wordsworth
1. Definition of poetry: “spontaneous overflow of
powerful emotion . . . ”
2. Says he intends to use the “language really spoken
by people.”
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From Tennyson's In Memoriam: [This quote
not in text] "You tell me doubt is Devil-born / I know not . . . /
Perplexed in faith, but pure in
deeds, / At last he beat his music out. / There lives
more faith in honest doubt / Believe me, than in half the creeds."
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Henry David Thoreau 19th Century American
Thoreau wrote Civil Disobedience, a
non-fiction prose work about passive resistance, which greatly influenced
Gandhi in India and Martin Luther King in the civil rights movement, USA.
Below are excerpts from Walden, autobiographical prose work written in
the two years [1843-44] he spent at Walden Pond near
"I went to the woods BECAUSE I WISHED TO
LIVE DELIBERATELY, to front only the essential
facts of life, and see if I could not learn what
it had to teach, AND NOT, WHEN I CAME TO DIE,
DISCOVER THAT I HAD NOT LIVED. I did not
wish to live what was not life, living is so dear.
I wanted to live deep and suck out all the
marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put
to rout all that was not life.
. . to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms, and, if it
proved to be mean, why then to get the whole and
genuine meanness of it. . . . or if it were sublime,
to know it by experience. . . ."
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"If a man does not keep pace with his
companions, perhaps it is because he marches to the beat of a different
drummer. Let
every man keep step to the music that he hears,
however measured or far away."
"The cost of a thing is the amount of life
you spend to get it."
"A man is rich in proportion to the number
of things he can afford -- to leave alone."
"Simplify, simplify, simplify."
"Keep your accounts on your
thumbnail."
"I'd rather be all alone on a pumpkin than
crowded on a velvet cushion."
"The head monkey in Paris puts on a
traveler's cap, and all the monkeys in America do the same."
"It may not be you that has got the house,
but rather the house that has got you."
"Most men lead lives of quiet
desperation."
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I. Realism is a literary method (a method of
writing) that truthfully describes daily life in the
author’s own time and country. Four basic traits are
seen in most realistic literature:
1. Concrete, specific details of contemporary
life.
2. Reaction against
sentimental literature. Sentimental literature was not accurate and
honest.
The characters,
dialogue and plot (especially the happy ending) were not like real life.
3. More inclusive than before;
included matter thought too “trivial” or too “low” to be written
about in earlier
literature.
4.objective, scientific view of the subject
II. Naturalism (or naturalistic
determinism) is a scientific theory seen in some literature, that
people are victims of heredity and environment,
just organisms responding to a stimulus, with
very little will of their own.
In more detail, all people (such as Ivan Ilyich
in our text) are influenced by 1) internal and 2)
external forces. Internal influences include (in
addition to heredity traits): body chemistry such as
disease (example: cancer) and hormones (such as
sexual attraction). The main external
influence in our environment is peer pressure
(social pressure).
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BRIEF BACKGROUND TO TWENTIETH CENTURY IN
LITERATURE
Victorian era had been
quiet, stable. Death of Queen
Two of the main INFLUENCES on 20th Century
Literature:
I. LEGACY OF DARWIN (INCLUDING LYELL on geology)
Darwin was influenced
by LYELL's Principles of Geology (1830-33) and which
upset a literal
interpretation of the Bible: Exposed
rock strata of earth showed it to be much older than originally thought, not
created in seven days, and fossils found there revealed that some species had
become extinct.
sacred”; loss of CERTAINTY found in the
Absolutes of earlier belief systems; turn to “humanism,”
humans are able to care for each other, their value increased dramatically by
fact that our time here is so brief.
II. WORLD WAR I [originally called
"The Great War" ] 1914-1918 true date for
ending of old world cultures and values. Began Aug. 4, 1914.
In 1916, 1/10 of young men of
THREE
PEOPLE IN EARLY 20TH CENTURY WHO INFLUENCED LITERATURE
1899- FREUD published Interpretation of Dreams, in some ways his
fundamental work. Father of psychoanalysis [association].
Introduced idea of subconscious, which led to stream of
consciousness in writing. Instead of external details and description
[as realism/naturalism period] and characters speaking dialogue aloud, we read
thoughts as they flow through a character's mind. (Freud against repression as
harmful to psyche) Examples: Joyce's Portrait of Artist, Eliot's
"Prufrock" and
SIX
CHARACTERISTICS OF 20TH CENTURY LITERATURE
1. Redefining the words “RELIGION,” “God,”
“Sacred”:
Loss of TRADITIONAL belief systems:
Legacy of Darwin [See other side]. Science now explaining
religion's earlier mysteries. Search for a substitute for a
supernatural that no longer seemed viable [Nietzsche's "God is Dead"
meant old concepts of God were dead]. Attempt to establish a sense of values,
meaning in a world with no absolutes. Humanism [shifted emphasis from
supernatural to humans & their relationships].
2. Modern writer's DESIRE TO STARTLE,
SHOCK THE READERS. Why? To wake them out of their lethargy,
to force them to recognize their involvement. [Example: Kafka's
Metamorphosis]
3. SUBJECT MATTER OF LITERATURE ENLARGED
EVEN MORE, beyond what realists and naturalists had done, became MORE HONEST
& ACCURATE [to real life], EXPLICIT, MORE INCLUSIVE: abortion,
homosexuality in The Waste Land, Yeats's "Crazy
Jane" poems (sex and
excrement).
4. CONTINUED SHIFT FROM RURAL TO URBAN ENVIRONMENT (had begun with
Industrial Revolution). Urban now in majority for first time
in history. Problems of technology.
Example: The
5. STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS LITERARY
TECHNIQUE: record of a person's thoughts as they "flow" through the
mind. Joyce's A Portrait of the Artist; Eliot's
"Prufrock," The
6. FRAGMENTED, INCOHERENT POETRY AND PROSE (because the
writers saw a fragmented, incoherent world) and USE OF FREE VERSE instead of
traditional meters and forms (freedom from the old boundaries, restraints,
rules). Joyce's A Portrait of the Artist; Eliot's "Prufrock"
and The
* * * * * * *
Towards the end of the 20th century FEMINISM is ADDED AS A CRITICAL APPROACH: new
awareness of women: an attempt to see the world and literature from female
point of view. Please keep this approach in mind as you read ALL the material.
EXISTENTIALISM,
Simplified: (1) an important philosophy in
modern literature which is a reaction against
Naturalism (which implies that there are NO choices)
EXISTENTIALISM: It's obvious we are
victims of heredity and environment to a certain extent BUT people are what
they make themselves to a certain extent also. Existentialism says: There
is no INHERENT meaning in the universe, but PEOPLE ARE PERFECTLY CAPABLE OF
CREATING THEIR OWN MEANING. We have large brains, can think and reason. We can
EMPATHIZE, and are therefore capable of sympathizing with, caring for (loving)
other people, and of controlling our actions. We don’t
always have to do what nature urges us to do. Neo-Classicism had said
there are choices but others make many of them for us. Naturalism said life is
predestined, pre-determined for the most part. Existentialism says that
people do have some freedoms and choices, and that people are what they make of
themselves. For example, all people choose their own values to live
by. Constant choices must be made (life is made up of decisive
moments" EVERY moment a "moment of truth.") Example: Eliot's
"The Love Song of J. Alfred Proofrock"
(refuses to make a choice, to act). The past does not completely
determine the present or the future. By our small everyday choices, as
well as by our momentous ones, (such as choosing a philosophy of life to live
by, life work or life mate) we BUILD CHARACTER and by every act we REVEAL
CHARACTER. WE MUST ASSUME THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THOSE CHOICES--OUR CHOICES.
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ENGLISH 211 AND 212
COURSE OBJECTIVES
This sequence of courses fulfills a part of the humanities requirement through the study of the literature produced by the major cultures of the world. The sequence is designed so that students, after studying the literature, will be able to demonstrate: (1) an awareness of the nature of moral, ethical, and aesthetic values and the rationales underlying differing values held by other individuals and cultures; (2) the ability to examine and further develop their own moral, ethical, and aesthetic values; (3) an appreciation of the process by which these values are developed in themselves and in others.
In these courses, students will study
representative literary works from Africa, Asia, Europe, and the
ENGLISH 211 includes selected literature ranging from ancient times through the 1600’s.
ENGLISH 212 includes selected literature ranging from the 1600’s to the present.
Through studying these representative literatures for the purposes stated above, the students should derive the following personal benefits:
A recognition that certain universal human concerns appear in all times and places and that an understanding of the past and the unfamiliar is a necessary part of a valid concept of what it means to be human.
An aesthetic appreciation of the forms and styles of literature that are the products of diverse cultures.
An ability to communicate
their perceptions effectively and creatively.
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END OF SYLLABUS FOR FALL SEMESTER