This course aims to provide students with an overview of English literature from the Middle Ages to the Restoration and an introduction to fundamental issues in literary theory. Through careful analysis of major works, students will be equipped with the ability to explore and study literary texts by applying a range of methods of and approaches to literary criticism.

1. English Literature

·  What is Literature?

·  English Literature 

·  Literary Criticism

·  Literary Terminology 

2. Middle English Literature in the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries

· Geoffrey Chaucer: The Canterbury Tales (selection: “General Prologue” ll. 1-332; 413-543; 671-785)

· Margery Kempe: The Book of Margery Kempe (selection: “The Birth of Her First Child and Her First Vision”; “Her Pride and Attempts to Start a Business”)

· Mystery plays: The Wakefield Second Shepherds' Play (selection: 1-593, 685-689, 841-983, 1023-1087)

· Morality plays: Everyman (selection: 1-521, 851-921)

3.  The Sixteenth Century (1485-1603) and the Early Seventeenth Century (1603-1660)

· John Skelton: “Mannerly Margery Milk and Ale”; The Tunning of Elinour Rumming (selection: “Secundus Passus”)

· Sir Thomas Wyatt the Elder: "Whoso list to hunt"

· Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey: “Th’Assyrians’ king, in peace with foul desire”

· Queen Elizabeth: "Speech to the Troops at Tilbury"

· Edmund Spenser: The Faerie Queene (selection: ‘A Letter of the Authors’; Book 1, Canto 1, from Stanza 1 to Stanza 5 + from Stanza 13 to Stanza 20); Amoretti (selection: 54, 74, 75)

· Sir Philip Sidney: Astrophil and Stella (selection: 7, 31, 37)

· Christopher Marlowe: Doctor Faustus; “The Passionate Shepherd to His Love”

· William Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet; Coriolanus; Sonnets (selection: 1, 18, 19, 55, 129, 130)

· John Donne: "The Good-Morrow", “The Flea”

· Aemilia Lanyer: “The Description of Cooke-ham”

· Ben Jonson: The Forest (“To Penshurst”)

· Francis Bacon: Essays (“Of Plantations”)

· Robert Herrick: Hesperides ("Upon the Loss of His Mistresses"; "Delight in Disorder")

· Andrew Marvell: Poems (“To His Coy Mistress”)

· John Milton: Paradise Lost ('The verse', ll. 1-33, 105-124, 242-270)

4.  The Restoration and the Early Eighteenth Century

· Aphra Behn: Oroonoko, or The Royal Slave (selection)

· William Congreve: The Way of the World (Dramatis Personae and act IV)

Knowledge and understanding: students will acquire a good knowledge and understanding of major works of English literature from the Middle Ages to the Restoration.

Applying knowledge and understanding: students will acquire the theoretical and methodological tools to understand and interpret literary texts (from the Middle Ages to the Restoration) applying different methods and approaches of literary criticism.

Making judgements: students will acquire the critical thinking skills to examine and discuss aspects of English literature from the Middle Ages to the Restoration.

Communication skills: students will be able to communicate their knowledge and ideas using appropriate specialist language.

Learning skills: students will possess the methodological skills, the critical thinking skills and the ability to apply their theoretical knowledge to continue their studies in the field.

The teaching material prepared by the lecturer in addition to recommended textbooks (such as for instance slides, lecture notes, exercises, bibliography) and communications from the lecturer specific to the course can be found inside the Moodle platform › blended.uniurb.it

• Use of audiovisual aids, group work and group discussions is an integral part of the programme.
• Self-assessment tests.
• Students are invited to visit the Moodle Blended Learning page of the course for further study activities. 

Teaching

• Lectures
• Group work and group discussions
• Audiovisual aids

Innovative teaching methods

Activities on the Moodle course page

Flipped Learning

CLIL

Course books

Geoffrey Chaucer: The Canterbury Tales (selection: “General Prologue” ll. 1-332; 413-543; 671-785)

Margery Kempe: The Book of Margery Kempe (selection: “The Birth of Her First Child and Her First Vision”; “Her Pride and Attempts to Start a Business”)

The Wakefield Second Shepherds' Play (selection: 1-593, 685-689, 841-983, 1023-1087)

Everyman (selection: 1-521, 851-921)

John Skelton: “Mannerly Margery Milk and Ale”; The Tunning of Elinour Rumming (selection: “Secundus Passus”)

Sir Thomas Wyatt the Elder: "Whoso list to hunt"

Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey: “Th’Assyrians’ king, in peace with foul desire”

Queen Elizabeth: "Speech to the Troops at Tilbury"

Edmund Spenser: The Faerie Queene (selection: ‘A Letter of the Authors’; Book 1, Canto 1, from Stanza 1 to Stanza 5 + from Stanza 13 to Stanza 20); Amoretti (selection: 54, 74, 75)

Sir Philip Sidney: Astrophil and Stella (selection: 7, 31, 37)

Christopher Marlowe: Doctor Faustus; “The Passionate Shepherd to His Love

William Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet*; Coriolanus*; Sonnets (selection: 1, 18, 19, 55, 129, 130)                             *(The Arden Shakespeare Third Series)

John Donne: "The Good-Morrow", “The Flea”

Aemilia Lanyer: “The Description of Cooke-ham”

Ben Jonson: The Forest (“To Penshurst”)

Francis Bacon: Essays (“Of Plantations”)

Robert Herrick: Hesperides ("Upon the Loss of His Mistresses"; "Delight in Disorder")

Andrew Marvell: Poems (“To His Coy Mistress”)

John Milton: Paradise Lost ('The verse', ll. 1-33, 105-124, 242-270)

Aphra Behn: Oroonoko, or The Royal Slave (selection)

William Congreve: The Way of the World (Dramatis Personae and act IV)

Norton Anthology of English Literature Vol. 1. (Recommended reading)

All text (apart from Shakespeare’s plays) and secondary literature will be made available on the Moodle Blended Learning page of the course. 

Assessment

Written exam. Students are given 6 open questions, of which they should answer 5 (6 points per answer). At least three should be answered in English. Time allowed: 50 minutes.

• Relevance: 1/6
• Clarity, coherence and completeness of the content: 2/6
• Critical skills: 2/6
• Proper use of language (specific terminology): 1/6

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.

Teaching

Extensive self-study (detailed textual and contextual analyses of the texts) using the study material provided on Moodle and, if necessary, authoritative sources available in the web. Students who perceive gaps in their understanding should contact the lecturer for further explanation as soon as possible.

Course books

Geoffrey Chaucer: The Canterbury Tales (selection: “General Prologue” ll. 1-332; 413-543; 671-785)

Margery Kempe: The Book of Margery Kempe (selection: “The Birth of Her First Child and Her First Vision”; “Her Pride and Attempts to Start a Business”)

The Wakefield Second Shepherds' Play (selection: 1-593, 685-689, 841-983, 1023-1087)

Everyman (selection: 1-521, 851-921)

John Skelton: “Mannerly Margery Milk and Ale”; The Tunning of Elinour Rumming (selection: “Secundus Passus”)

Sir Thomas Wyatt the Elder: "Whoso list to hunt"

Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey: “Th’Assyrians’ king, in peace with foul desire”

Queen Elizabeth: "Speech to the Troops at Tilbury"

Edmund Spenser: The Faerie Queene (selection: ‘A Letter of the Authors’; Book 1, Canto 1, from Stanza 1 to Stanza 5 + from Stanza 13 to Stanza 20); Amoretti (selection: 54, 74, 75)

Sir Philip Sidney: Astrophil and Stella (selection: 7, 31, 37)

Christopher Marlowe: Doctor Faustus; “The Passionate Shepherd to His Love

William Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet*; Coriolanus*; Sonnets (selection: 1, 18, 19, 55, 129, 130)                             *(The Arden Shakespeare Third Series)

John Donne: "The Good-Morrow", “The Flea”

Aemilia Lanyer: “The Description of Cooke-ham”

Ben Jonson: The Forest (“To Penshurst”)

Francis Bacon: Essays (“Of Plantations”)

Robert Herrick: Hesperides ("Upon the Loss of His Mistresses"; "Delight in Disorder")

Andrew Marvell: Poems (“To His Coy Mistress”)

John Milton: Paradise Lost ('The verse', ll. 1-33, 105-124, 242-270)

Aphra Behn: Oroonoko, or The Royal Slave (selection)

William Congreve: The Way of the World (Dramatis Personae and act IV)

Norton Anthology of English Literature Vol. 1. (Recommended reading)

Rocco Coronato, Letteratura inglese da Beowulf a Brexit, Le Monnier università, 2022. (Recommended reading)

All text (apart from Shakespeare’s plays) and secondary literature will be made available on the Moodle Blended Learning page of the course. 

Assessment

Written exam. Students are given 6 open questions, of which they should answer 5 (6 points per answer). At least three should be answered in English. Time allowed: 50 minutes.

• Relevance: 1/6
• Clarity, coherence and completeness of the content: 2/6
• Critical skills: 2/6
• Proper use of language (specific terminology): 1/6

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.