English 513W:  Survey of British Literature II -  from the Stuart Monarchy to the Age of Enlightenment:  Rebellion, Restoration and the Rise of Reason

This course offers a generous sampling of British literature from the turn of the seventeenth century to the end of the eighteenth, covering poetry, drama and fiction from these tumultuous two centuries of British history. During this era, Britain moves from marginal status in Europe to a pivotal position on the European stage, from religious division that breeds civil war to an age of reason that leads to scientific and industrial innovation, the first glimmers of the modern era.  It is also the age of the rise of the newspaper and the novel as newly dominant literary forms in British culture, the newfound prominence of women in the literary marketplace, and the popular reading and theater-going publics as major forces in English literary life.  The story of these two centuries of literary history is filled with eccentricity, bawdiness, religious devotion, political intrigue, and, above all, exceptional literary craft and poetic beauty. Our discussion of this period will include such landmarks as John Donne's love poetry, John Webster's dark tragedy The Duchess of Malfi, John Milton's religious epic Paradise Lost, Margaret Cavenish's scientific fantasy The Blazing World, Aphra Behn's novel of slave rebellion Oronooko, William Congreve's exquisite comedy of manners The Way of the World, Jonathan Swift's savage satire Gulliver's Travels, and Alexander Pope's hilarious parody The Rape of the Lock, among many others.  Assignments will include short writing assignments, two explication essays, periodic exams, and a time line.  

In Spring 2023 this course satisfies a Pre-1800 Literature requirement for English Department majors.

English Teaching majors may take this course towards the 'two 600/700 level literature' course requirement for their major.