The course focuses on the main currents and representative figures of the High Renaissance in England and the transition to the Baroque. Offering an outline of the Elizabethan, Jacobean and Caroline ages, it highlights the social, political and cultural characteristics of each. The discussion centers around the key figures of Sidney, Spenser, Marlowe, Shakespeare, Jonson, Donne and Milton. Seminar discussions follow a similar agenda, offering a close reading of exemplary texts, such as The Faerie Queene, The Spanish Tragedy, Doctor Faustus, As You Like It, Macbeth and Paradise Lost.

Instructors: Prof. Dr. E. Pancheva, Dr. A. Asparuhov, Dr. G. Niagolov
6th semester, 3rd year
Teaching: 30 lectures and 30 seminars
ECTS Credits: 5

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Detailed Programme

English Medieval and Renaissance Literature

SYLLABUS

Lectures:

1. Introductory

2. The Elizabethan Age: Social and Cultural Perspectives

3. Elizabethan Poetry and Criticism: Sir Philip Sidney

4. The Elizabethan Epic: Edmund Spenser

5. The Elizabethan Stage: Public and Courtly: John Lyly, Thomas Kyd.

6. The Rise of Drama: Christopher Marlowe.

7. Shakespeare the Elizabethan.

8. Jacobean Shakespeare.

9. The Jacobean Age: Social and Cultural Perspectives

10. Jacobean Drama: Genres and Conventions. Ben Jonson.

11. Metaphysical Poetry: John Donne.

12. The Age of Baroque: Social and Cultural Perspectives. John Milton.

Seminars (Dr. Georgi Niagolov’s version):

1. Introductory

2. The Elizabethan Sonnet Sequence: Sir Philip Sidney, Astrophil and Stella,

3. The Elizabethan Sonnet Sequence: Edmund Spenser, Amoretti

4. Edmund Spenser: The Faerie Queene , Book Two

5. Thomas Kyd, The Spanish Tragedy

6. Thomas Kyd, The Spanish Tragedy

7. Christopher Marlowe, Doctor Faustus

8. Christopher Marlowe, Doctor Faustus

9. William Shakespeare, The Sonnets:

10. William Shakespeare, As You Like It

11. William Shakespeare, As You Like It

12. William Shakespeare, Macbeth

13. William Shakespeare, Macbeth

14.  John Donne, Songs and Sonnets: The Flea, The Sunne Rising, A Valediction: Of Weeping, Holy Sonnet I

15. John Milton, Paradise Lost, Book I

EVALUATION

The final grade for the course is the SUM of the CONTINUOUS ASSESSMENT mark (amounting to 25% of the final grade) and the FINAL EXAMINATION mark (amounting to 75% of the final grade).

FINAL EXAMINATION

The final examination is written and takes place within 4 astronomical hours. The examination paper has two parts: A) theoretical part consisting of three 150-200 word answers to three randomly chosen questions concerning the literary and cultural history of the studied period; and B) a 300-400 word analysis of a given literary text (excerpt or short poem).

Evaluation method

The maximum amount of points awarded for the examination paper is 60. The answer of each of the three questions in part one of the examination paper brings a maximum of 10 points for accuracy and comprehensive coverage of the topic. The analysis in part two brings a maximum of 30 points of which 10 points are awarded for content, 10 points are awarded for organisation, i.e. clarity and cohesion of the text, and 10 points are awarded for original thinking and creativity. There is a pass threshold of 15 points for each part of the examination paper, i.e. no one will successfully pass the examination unless he or she has obtained at least 15 points in each part of the examination paper. The use of any electronic devices during the exam is not allowed.

RECOMMENDED BIBLIOGRAPHY

Author/Editor Title BASRC Class
General Guidebooks
Mincoff , Marco A History of English Literature SV 820.9 MIN
Shurbanov , Alexander Poetics of the English Renaissance SV 820.9 SHU
Pancheva, Evgenia Dispersing Semblances: An Essay on Renaissance Culture SV 940.2 PAN
Wallace, David et al. (eds.) The Cambridge History of Medieval English Literature SVR 820.9001 CAM
Loewenstein, David et al. (ed.) The Cambridge History of Early Modern English Literature SVR 820.9003 CAM
Ford, Boris (ed.) The New Pelican Guide to English Literature SV 820.9 FOR
Bolton, W. F. et al. (eds.) The Sphere History of English Literature Professor Mincoff Memorial Library
Sanders, Andrew The Short Oxford History of English Literature SVR 820.9 SAN
Head, Dominic The Cambridge Guide to Literature in English SVR 820.3
Hollander , JohnKermode , Frank The Literature of Renaissance England SV 820.9 HOL
Godden, Malcolm The Cambridge Companion to Old English Literature SV 829.0920
Pulsanio, Philip et al. (eds.) A Companion to Anglo-Saxon Literature SV 829.0922
Brown, Peter (ed.) A Companion to Medieval English Literature and Culture SVR 820.9001 COM
Hattaway , Michael A Companion to English Renaissance Literature and Culture SV 820.9003 HAT
Veldhoen, N. H. G. E. Companion to Early Middle English Literature SV 820.900120 VEL
Trapp , J. B. Medieval English Literature SV 820.8001 TRA
Beadle, Richard The Cambridge Companion to Medieval English Theatre SV 792.0942
Mitchell , Bruce An Invitation to Old English and Anglo-Saxon England
Myers , A. R. England in the Late Middle Ages 3SV 942.2 MYE
Critical Literature on specific topics
Achim Bednorz The Art of Gothic: Architecture, Sculpture, Painting SVR 700 TOM
Allport, Gordon W. Studies in Medieval English Romances SV 820.9001
Beadle Richard The Cambridge Companion to Medieval English Theatre SV 792.0942
Bindoff , S. T. , Stanley Thomas Tudor England SV 942.05 BIN
Boitani, Pietro et al. (eds.) The Cambridge Companion to Chaucer SV 821.1 CAM
Brewer, Derek A New Introduction to Chaucer SV 821.1 BRE
Brown, Peter (ed.) A Companion to Chaucer SV 821.1 COM
Chambers , E. K. English Literature at the Close of the Middle Ages SV 820.8 CHA
Chute, Marchette Goeffrey Chaucer of England SV 821.17 CHU
Donoghue, Daniel Old English Literature: A Short Introduction SV 829.0922 DON
Ford , Boris Chaucer and the Alliterative Tradition SV 820.9 FOR
Gransden , Antonia Legends, Traditions and History in Medieval England SV 942.03 GRA
Hamilton, Donna B. (ed.) A Concise Companion to English Renaissance Literature SV 820.9003
Harris , John Wesley Medieval Theatre in Context: An Introduction SV 792.09 HAR
Hattaway , Michael Renaissance and Reformations: An Introduction to Early Modern English Literature SV 820.9003 HAT
Hussey , S. Chaucer: An Introduction SV 821.1 HUS
Klein, Lisa M. The Exemplary Sidney and the Elizabethan Sonneteer SVS 821.321 KLE
Lever, J. W. The Elizabethan Love Sonnet Professor Mincoff Memorial Library
McGrade, A. S. The Cambridge Companion to Medieval Philosophy 3SV 189.22
McGrath , Alister E. , Alister Edgar The Intellectual Origins of the European Reformation SV 274.06 MCG
Pearsall, Derek Albert Arthurian Romance: A Short Introduction SV 809.93351 PEA
Pincombe, Michael Elizabethan Humanism SV 820.9003 PIN
Plumb, J. H. The Italian Renaissance 3SV 945.05 PLU
Richardson, C. Medieval Drama SV 822.109
Ruggiero, Guido (ed.) A Companion to the Worlds of the Renaissance SVR 940.21 COM
Rutherford, Donald The Cambridge Companion to Early Modern Philosophy 3SV 190.9032
Stenton, Doris Mary English Society in the Early Middle Ages (1066-1307) SV 942.02 STE
Vasta, E. Interpretations of Piers Plowman Professor Mincoff Memorial Library
Wickham , Glynne The Medieval Theatre SV 792.094 WIC
ONLINE RESOURCES
http://www.luminarium.org/http://omacl.org/http://quod.lib.umich.edu/c/cme/browse.htmlhttp://www.luminarium.org/renascence-editions/ren.htm