History of British literature before 1900 15-HLBP1-OG-12

(First semester of a two semester course. Continues as 15-HLBP1-OG-22 in the second semester. Course for the general academic specialization - includes both lectures and classes.)

The course is devoted to the presentation of the texts and contexts of the history of English literature from medieval to late Victorian period. The course commences with Old English poetry and prose, continues through the Middle English period with Geoffrey Chaucer’s medieval encyclopedia of genres The Canterbury Tales, and looks at religious (the mystics, religious poetry) and secular (romance and fabliau) literary traditions. Next, we study the history of drama and the theater in the Late medieval and Renaissance period, as well as renaissance humanism in poetry. The literary works written during the Puritan Period and the Restoration offer two difference approaches to reality, religious and secular, thus they offer an insight into the seventeenth century culture. The Age of Reason, or Augustan literature, Romantic and finally Victorian literature are presented through the works of their major representatives writing poetry, prose and drama. In order to strengthen the analysis of the texts discussed each literary epoch is introduced through the main trends in culture, philosophy and science.

This general academic specialization course includes both classes and a lecture series.