Below is the list of all the text, poems and short stories required for the 2 essays.
Module 1:
“The City of Invention” by Fay Weldon
Module 2:
OLD ENGLISH:
The Wanderer”
- Read a translation of the “The Wanderer” textLinks to an external site.
MODERN ENGLISH
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare – Sonnet XXIX “When, in disgrace with fortune and men’s eyes,”
William Shakespeare – Sonnet LXXIII “That time of year thou mayst in me behold”
Module 3:
Rise of the British Empire:
How Did the British Empire Rule the World?
- YouTube Video https://youtu.be/frF33emgn5g
Olaudah Equiano – The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano: Or, Gustavus Vassa, the African
- Author’s Life and ContextLinks to an external site.
- TextLinks to an external site. (Only chapters 1 and 2 are required)
Anna Laetitia Barbauld – “Epistle to William Wilberforce, Esq. on the Rejection of the Bill for Abolishing the Slave Trade”
Fall of the British Empire:
Rudyard Kipling – “The Man Who Would Be King”
Derek Walcott – “Lost Empire”
Module 4:
My Last Duchess”Links to an external site.
“Cinema Eyes”Links to an external site.
Write a 6-paragraph essay on both prompts. (So six paragraphs for each essay/prompts)
Prompt 1:
In Module 1, you read Fay Weldon’s “City of Invention.” In this piece, Weldon makes a distinction between “Literature with a Capital ‘L’” and “just books.” Think about the works you read in Module 2: Old, Middle, and Modern English; Module 3: Rise and Fall of the British Empire; and Module 4: Gender and Sexuality.
- Using your own ideas about “Literature,” choose two works we have read this semester that you feel belong in the category of “Literature” and two that you believe are “just books” (it is OK to use poems, short stories, and plays as well as “books”).
- Why do you think each work you have chosen belongs in that category?
- You answer should contain the following elements:]
- an introduction paragraph (1) explaining your definitions of “Literature” and “just books” (1 paragraph)
- a well-developed paragraph (5-7 sentences) with supporting evidence for each of the four (4) works (4 paragraphs)
- You must use works from at least two (2) of the three (3) modules
- You answer should contain the following elements:]
Prompt 2:
Consider the 3 main modules from this course–think about the works you read in module 2: Old, Middle, and Modern English; module 3: Rise and Fall of the British Empire; and module 4: Gender and Sexuality. What are 2-3 common themes within British literature that you see running through all modules? What are those themes and what are 2-3 texts that you feel best represent those themes? Why do you think each work you have chosen belongs in your discussion? You must use works from at least two (2) of the three (3) modules.
