English 211

English 211/Survey of British Literature II

John William Waterhouse’s 1888 painting _The Lady of Shallot_

English 211 is a survey or overview of some of the more significant texts produced in Britain from the Romantic period to the present. During our semester together, we will read, analyze, and discuss a variety of texts (both canonical and non-canonical) in order to sketch out a basic understanding of some of the key authors, texts, trends, and historical and cultural contexts that have shaped British literature.

The class will be organized around the various movements within British literary history — Romanticism, Victorianism, Modernism, and Post-Modernism — so we can attempt to understand the historical shifts and cultural conditions that surround the works of literature that we will read.

Some of the questions we will be asking include:

  • What are some of the key characteristics of the British Romantic, Victorian, Modernism, and Post-Modernism periods?
  • Who were some of the major authors in each of these periods?
  • What historical, cultural, and social conditions and concerns influenced writers in each period?

Writers that we’ll be studying include Mary Wollstonecraft, William Blake, William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Lord Byron, John Keats, Percy Shelley, Christina Rosetti (Pre-Raphaelites), World War I poets, James Joyce, Virginia Woolf, and Salmon Rushdie.  The longer texts we will be reading include the 1818 edition of Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, and Oscar Wilde’s play The Importance of Being Earnest.

Our books for Spring 2022 will be the following:

  •  Norton Anthology of English Literature (Volumes D, E, and F)
  • Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein (1818 edition)
  • Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula
  • Course Lecture Notes (available only at the Palomar College bookstore)

You can use either the 9th or 10th edition of the Norton Anthology, but be sure to get the three-volume edition since some of the things we’ll be reading aren’t included in the shorter, combined editions.

Here are images of what the three volumes of the 10th edition of the Norton Anthology look like:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are what the three volumes of the 9th edition of the Norton Anthology look like:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For a copy of our course syllabus, please visit our class Canvas website.

Here are some links to resources related to our class:

First-Generation Romanticism:

  • Images of the French Revolution
  • Article about statue in honor of Mary Wollstonecraft:  https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/nov/10/mary-wollstonecraft-finally-honoured-with-statue-after-200-years

 

  • Jonathan Bate, a leading Romanticism scholar, has put out a series of lectures on YouTube about Romanticism; here is a link to the first one, entitled “The Origins of Romanticism”

 

Second-Generation Romanticism:

 

Victorianism:

 

The Pre-Raphaelites:

 

 

Modernism and Post-Modernism:

 

World War I Poetry: