The School of Arts and Humanities Presents the

Syllabus for
ENG 2013

Credit: 3 Hours / MO 203
Fall 2007 Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays
Time: 12:40pm 1:40pm

Dr. Rearick's Office: Founders Hall 219C
(Within 219: Lit., Lang., & Comm. Dept.)
Office Hours: Daily 9:00-10:20, M-W-F 1:50-2:50, T-Th 12:40 -2:50 or by appointment
Office Ext. 3508
Home Phone 392-3738
(but please do not call after 8:00--Andy and Laura are hopefully in Bed)
email: anderson.rearick@mvnu.edu
(checked twice, daily)

Course Index:

• Course Description

• [procedure] [purpose] [tools] [A Note About the Texts] [texts] [grading] [grading scale] [attendance] [participation] [quizzes] [midterm] [final] [extra credit] [Disability Needs] [Lit. on the Web]

• Class Schedule

• [Week One] [Week Two] [Week Three] [Week Four] [Week Five] [Week Six] [Week Seven] [Week Eight] [Week Nine] [Week Ten] [Week Eleven] [Week Twelve] [Week Thirteen] [Week Fourteen] [Week Fifteen: Finals Week]

• Example One: Discussion Table of Contents
• Example Two: Discussion Entry
• First Handout: "Literature. . .Now What Do You Suppose They Mean by That?"

Course Description:

The purpose of ENG2013, Introduction to Literature, is--as described by the Online Catalogue-- "A study of literary genres through representative readings. It's Prerequisite: ENG1053G." This class meets three times a week for fourteen weeks to discuss the nature of literature using as raw material the readings listed as well as a series of handouts to be dispersed during the semester. Furthermore, discussions will center on some of the common themes of life that have haunted the human mind and heart throughout western history..

Class Procedure:

ENG2013 Introduction to Literature:  This class meets on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays to discuss the nature of literature using the below reading list as raw material as well as a series of handouts to be dispersed during the semester. Furthermore this class exists on the Blackboard platform on which can be found extra credit threaded discussions, links to notes for further study and study guides. Also announcements will be posted regularly on the Blackboard platform as well as sent out in emails. Discussions in class, meanwhile, will center on the big ideas about the human condition, such as isolation, gender differences, cultural injustice, war, and the universal experience of loss.

The following reading list is not exclusive and, in fact, many important works (including, probably, some of your favorites) have been excluded. This class can only function as an introduction, not an exhaustive study. I encourage you to think of the texts for this class not as a single resource but a series of inexhaustible treasure chests, capable of refreshment and inspiration time and time again.

Students will be evaluated by a series of ten tests (out of thirteen), three discussion collections, a midterm and a final.  Also the option for extra credit will made available for those who are willing to do extra work.

The purpose of this course is. . .

1. to expose the student to a wide range of literary genres: poetry, drama, novel and short story

2. to introduce the student to a wide ranger of authors of different cultures, genders and ages.

3. to encourage the student to consider what makes a work of literature worthy--how should the cannon be formed?

4. to introduce some of the important common issues which authors--in spite of their different backgrounds, cultures, and mediums--often examine.

Tools:

You must purchase a Loose-leaf Notebook divided into three (3) parts

A-Handouts, B- Class-notes, C-Discussion

Actual Reading Texts: I know at times you may feel like this fellow below but stay with it.

A Note on the texts:  The central purpose of this class is to enrich your life.  This is not a vocational training session in which the question of what information is actually applicable to one's present or future job is central to the class's worth.  In point of fact most companies have programs to deal with that need.  The purpose of this course is to broaden the student's understanding of the human condition, to widen his or her understanding of how people think, and develop their own sense of what is worthwhile and beautiful.  Thus these texts have value long after the student completes this class and should be looked upon as the beginning of what may become a treasure trove of future reading.  One final note, readings listed on a day in a syllabus are expected to be completed by that day.

Criticism:

An Experiment in Criticism by C.S. Lewis

Cambridge University Press; Rep edition (January 31, 1992)
ISBN: 0521422817
List Price: $16.99
Required
 
 

The  Internet Literary Vocabulary Page accessed from Dr. Rearick's Reading Corner.

The Anthology:

Perrine's Literature: Structure, Sound and Sense Ninth (9^th) Edition

Edited by Thomas Arp and Greg Johnson.
Hardcover:1776 pages Case Bound: List Price: $85.95
Harcourt College Pub (Thomson)
ISBN: 141300654X
Required

Autobiographical:

A Grief Obscured by C.S. Lewis

HarperSanFrancisco
ISBN: 0060652381
List Price: $9.95 Required

A Novel:

Great Expectations (Dover Thrift Editions) (Paperback)
by Charles Dickens
Dover Publications (August 1, 2001)
ISBN: 0486415864
List Price: $3.00
Required

A Christmas Carol [e-text] by Charles Dickens Dover Thrift Edition) (Paperback)

Plays:

• Othello by William Shakespeare
• Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare
• Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw
• Shadowlands by William Nicholson
• Henry V by William Shakespeare

Please note that except for Othello which is in The Perrine's Anthology all the others on web sites. Furthermore we will be viewing these in class, as the dramatists intended.

Hand outs

Handouts will be given throughout the class. Unless specified by Dr. Rearick, such hand-outs should be considered required reading like any of the assigned texts. Click Here for the Word Document Readings and Here for the Cover, Introduction and Contents Page.  This is a long document.  Do not print unless you can pay.

Grading:

• Ten (10) out of thirteen (13) Quizzes: 60%
• Class Participation: 10%
• Midterm: 20%
• Final Exam: 20%

Grading Scale:

94 to 100 is an "A" Exceptional! A cut above--unusually good.

90 to 93 is an "A-" Outstanding!

87 to 89 is "B+" Very Well Done!

84 to 86 is a "B" A fine Job!

80 to 83 is a "B-" Fairly Good.

77 to 79 is a "C+" Solidly in there!

74 to 76 is a "C" Good, a concrete understanding of the subject.

70 to 73 is a "C-" Understanding of subject is workable.

60 to 70 is a "D" Passing but weak.

59 and below is an "F" Fell short of required understanding of material.

Attendance: Since we are functioning on an intensive schedule, it is vital that you be in attendance throughout the semester--even on days when a play is being shown in class since there will be discussion even on those days.  Three absences will be allowed and then five points will be taken from the student's final score at the end of the term.  Students who are involved in a recognized activity for the school (Mandate weekends, traveling musical groups, athletes) need to see the instructor ahead of time so arrangements can be made.

Class Participation: Lecture will only play a part in the class activities.  Literature is meant to be talked about.  Students are encouraged to express their opinions and share their unique insights.  Each of us brings something special to a text that is ours alone.  Your comments are very important.  I have been known to add extra credit to students who show an exceptional willingness to participate in class discussion. Furthermore your online blackboard web class will have ongoing discussion questions if you find talking in the group difficult

Quizzes: There will be quiz every week, including Thanksgiving week. Unless indicated by the professor reading assigned for that Friday could appear on the quiz. Material in lectures, however, will not. These quizzes will be composed of multiple choice, true or false and matching questions, about twelve in total. There will be make-ups only for medical emergencies or such like. Students who know they will be missing an exam ahead of time, should contact the professor ahead of time. Three quizzes will be dropped at the end of the year.

Midterm Exam: The midterm exam, which is schedule for the Wednesday before midterm break (Oct. 17) will be similar to the quizzes given as far as the type of questions.  However the exam will be given in class.  There are usually 100 questions.

Final Exam: The final exam, which is scheduled for Friday Dec. 14: 10-11:50  (the Last Day), will be accumulative and based strongly on the tests given throughout the semester. However,  be surprised if part of the day is used to cover NEW material.  This class is so cramped I may need some time for some final readings.  The exam itself will not take more than an hour.

Extra Credit: Although there will be no papers required for this class, a student can add extra credit to his or her grade by writing a paper or papers on outside reading concerning any of the works or authors covered in class. Another option for extra credit is to view or listen to and then write a review about tapes or video films on reserve in the library.  If the student learns of dramas being performed and attends and writes up the experience, extra credit will be added to his or her grade. Credit will vary according to the assignment.

A Cautionary Comment About “Extra Credit:” Many students take advantage of the option of extra credit and I am pleased to offer the opportunity.  However, students should understand that extra credit does not make up for the overall performance in class.  Extra Credit is a boost.  If pursued to its fullest it can add up to about five points on your over-all numerical score.  That pushes a “B+” to an “A-” or an “A-” to an “A”.  Do not expect a solid “B” [85] to be changed to an “A” [93] by extra credit.  There have been cases when a high “B” [87] has been kicked up to an A- [90] but students in such cases were close to a B+ from the start.  Extra Credit works, but don’t expect more from it than it can give.

Disability Needs:  Students who qualify for and desire accommodations in this course due to a disability, as defined by the American s with Disabilities Act of 1990, must follow the Disability Service Policies and Procedures as put forth by the office of Academic Support.  The guidelines can be accessed in electronic form at the web address http://www.mvnu.edu/academics/services/dservices.html and in a hard copy at the Academic Support office.  Call extension 4540 for further information.  On a personal note, I am disabled because of eyesight, my son is disabled by breathing complications, and so I am especially sensitive to the needs and challenges faced by otherwise qualified students.  I "toughed" it out when I was at ENC, but the world has changed for the better and there are many resources available to you I wish I had, resources I in fact presently use in my office such as a close circuit TV attached to the screen of my computer as well as speaking programs which allow text to be read to me.  Pursue these things and see me if you have any such needs. 

Literature on the Web:

As we make our way through the readings you may wish to visit my web page,
Dr. Rearick's Reading Corner, located at. . .

http://nzr.mvnu.edu/faculty/trearick/english/rearick/readings/re_intro.htm

This address is reachable both on and off campus.  Those of you who are local and do not have a computer should remember that the Knox Public Library offers web access for a limited time, and--of course--the labs of the MVNU library and computer labs are available to you.

It is Prof. Rearick's intent that every work covered in this literature class has had a web page created about it, assessable through links of either title, author, genre, sub-genre, time period, or nationality.

I have tried to place some ideas and even sometimes some test questions connected with our class readings on these web pages.  Also in several cases there are links to study guides, e texts, and even connections to relevant web pages on the net.

Note that every work is connected to a page which gives biographical information about the author taken from a wide range of credible sources including Encyclopedia Britannica online. As students at MVNU you are part of an institution which subscribes to a wide number of online resources. Use them!
 
 

One special point of note:  Please do not print off my pages until you find out how long the document is and have asked yourself if you really need a hard copy.  You can check the document's size  by going into print preview and then zoom in so you can read the text.  At the bottom of the first page will be the page number in comparison with the total pages.  For example, my "Dickens’ Christian Carol in Prose" article has at the bottom  ‘1 of 13.’  This tells you that there will be 13 pages of text printed.  Not bad, but my Great Expectations study guide developed by Monarch Notes is 75 pages.  Librarians and computer lab assistants have been dismayed to find piles of such text flowing from their printers.  Please do not abuse this resource!

Sample # 1

Remember that your discussion should have a table of contents page on which the big idea of each of your discussion entries should be found.  It should look something like the following:

Contents

• Entry # 1    When I think of Literature, I think of Poems and Stories which have been Judged Great.
• Entry # 2    What I like best in a work of Literature, above anything else, is the story line.
• Entry #3    The Role of Nature in Rime of the Ancient Mariner Seems Important.
• Entry # 4   Making Hamlet be out of his mind seems to weaken the story.
• Entry # 5    I don't like thinking of scripture as something which has changed over time.

Sample # 2

Note that every entry should have the entry number, the date, and the opening statement.  Since one can not always know where one is going with a discussion entry until it is finished, do not write the opening statement until you have written the entry.

Discussion Entry # 3                                                                                               Sept. 7, 2005

The Role of Nature in Rime of the Ancient Mariner Seems Important

In my latest reading of Coleridge "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" I noticed that even though the work is filled with supernatural elements, the hard edged description of nature itself also plays a dominate role in in the work in setting the mood and cueing the reader to what is going to happen.  What I mean is that as memorable as the vampire-like woman who claims the narrator or the celestial beings who possess the dead crew members bodies are, there are also striking moments of natural beauty such as the storm which fills his water buckets and then clears to reveal a starry night.  

Of course it is the natural beauty of the water snakes which begins the narrator's journey towards redemption.  Although some readers may think Coleridge is exaggerating, such florescent water creatures are well documented.  And it is true of myself that when faced with the glories of nature, the doorway towards the supernatural world seems close.

Class Schedule

What follows is a breakdown of what will be discussed this semester. Note, however, that things sometimes occur which alter schedules, This is an estimation not a block of cement.  Also there are several longer works which will be covered.  Although Great Expectations [online text] by Charles Dickens, A Grief Observed and A Christmas Carol will not be overtly touched until the proper section, the student will find the recommended reading schedule will break down these long readings into shorter segments. (For example, throughout the semester plan to read three chapters of GE over the weekend, and then two chapter by the next Friday.) Material in these readings will appear in the weekly quizzes. Unless otherwise indicated all page numbers refer to the Perrine's text.

Class Calendar Fall 2007--M-W-F

Week One: Sept. 3-7

The Nature of Literature and its depiction of Isolation

Terms: Here are some terms which you should know by the end of this section.
Look up the literary meaning for. . .

• allegory
• genre
• sub-genre
• canon
• themes
• motifs
• symbols

Note: this is not an Option; it is expected:  Remember to look at the Glossary available at  Dr. Rearick's Reading Corner under the heading: "Resources."

Wednesday: Sept. 5^th  Introduction

• Introduction: Welcome to the Wide World of Books!
• The Natures of Literature:
• "There is No Frigate Like A Book" by Emily Dickinson (686)
• "This is My Letter to the World" by Emily Dickinson [Handout]

My Lecture on Pleasure: the Cornerstone of Literature

Just testing Online Quiz

Friday: Sept. 7^th

Online Quiz # 1  

My Lecture on Shakespeare

• "Literature; What Do You Suppose. . .?" [Handout]
• Othello [online text] by William Shakespeare  1263-1301 (Act One and Two)
• Great Expectations: Chapters: 1-2 by Charles Dickens

Possible Discussion Topics:

• Emily Dickinson's two poem emphasize two important qualities in literature, escape and communication. Do you see one as more important than the other?  Why?

• What should be the requirements that guide a professor to include a work in an Introduction to Literature Class?

• Does Dr. Rearick's definition of literature change your original concept of the material to be covered?

• Othello marries Desdemona secretly. This seems romantic, but do you think there would be problems? How would your parents feel if you got married without making them aware of your plans?

• Why do you think Pip cries at the very beginning of Great Expectations (before the convict scares him)?

• Does the fact that these events occur near Christmas time add any special significance to how you, the reader, interpret them? Remember Charles Dickens' feelings about Christmas were intense.

Week Two, Sept. 10-14:

• Monday: Sept. 10

• Othello [online text] by William Shakespeare  (1301-1323) (Act Three)
• An Experiment in Criticism Chap. One: "The Literary Reader"
• "Young Goodman Brown" [etext] Nathanial Hawthorne (299-311)
• Great Expectations: Chapters: 3-5

My Lecture on The Changing Canon

Possible Discussion Topics:

• Few of us have had a dead albatross hung about our neck.  What aspect of the Mariner's experience from "Rime" is true to all readers?  How is it true to yours?

• Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown" is written in the pattern of the famous allegory "Pilgrim's Progress."  This could have been called a "Pilgrim's Descent."  What do you think he is saying about Christians?

Wed. Sept. 12

My Lecture on Isolation  Why isolated people write?

• "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" by S.T. Coleridge [Handout]
• "The Daffodils" or "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud" by William Wordsworth (1019)
• "The Most Dangerous Game"  by Richard Connell (67-86)

More Possible Discussion Topics:

• Othello's isolation is complex.  Considering the different forces working against him, which do you think is the most profound?

• In "The Most Dangerous Game" Connell seems to be working in two different worlds one in which there is morality and one in which it is a matter of the surviving of the fittest.  Which do you see as being depicted as the true one?

• Do you the reader find Wordsworth's claim that nature gives bounty to those who take time to look at her (which is especially useful when facing isolation or the faults of human society) makes sense or do you think he is projecting something into nature which is not there?

• According to Lewis' definition of readers are you a part of the majority (of nonliterary readers) or part of few (literary readers)?  What do you think about his categories?

• If Goodman Brown resisted temptation why do you think Hawthorne depicts his end in such a tragic manner?

Fri. Sept. 14

Online Quiz # 2

My Lecture on The Romantics and Two Young Men Who Turned the World of Poetry Upside down!

What is Going On in Kubla Khan?

• Paul's Case by Willa Cather (234-251)
• "Tinturn Abbey" by  William Wordsworth [Handout]
• "Kubla Khan" [e-text] by Samuel T. Coleridge (951)
• Othello [online text] by William Shakespeare  (1323 -1341) (Act Four)
• Great Expectations: Chapters: 6-7

Possible Discussion Topics:

• Do you think Othello has a "tragic flaw?"  Illustrate your point from the play.

• Do you the reader find Wordsworth's claim that nature gives bounty to those who take time to look at her (which is especially useful when facing isolation r the faults of human society) makes sense or do you think he is projecting something into nature which is not there?

• What is going on in Paul's Case?  He is clearly isolated from all those around him.  Why does he hate his surroundings?  Why is suicide an option?  Does he in any way tie in to some of the events happening in schools today, like Colimbine?

Week Three, Sept. 17-21 

Mon. Sept. 17

• "I'm Nobody" by Emily Dickinson [Handout]
• "The Lady of Shalott" by [online text] Tennyson [Handout]
• Othello [online text] by William Shakespeare  (1341-1357) (Act Five)
• Great Expectations: Chapters: 8-10

Possible Discussion Topics:

• If you were a judge before whom Othello was brought, what punishment, if any would you place upon him?

• Have you ever felt isolated because of a talent God has given you?  Your the only one who thinks the choir could sound better.  The poem you wrote for the missionary society is not easily understood by everyone in the congregation.  What have you done about it?

• Should Christian artists accept isolation as just the price to pay for being aesthetically developed?

• Did the Lady of Shalott make the right choice?  Is it better to love and lose than to never love at all?

Wed. Sept. 19

Gender Difference and Cultural Expectations

Learn the literary meaning for. . .

• short story
• patriarchy
• negative capability
• willing suspension of disbelief
• marginalized
• antifeminist literature
• misogynist

Note: this is not an Option; it is expected:  Remember to look at the Glossary available at  Dr. Rearick's Reading Corner under the heading: "Resources."

My Lecture on Gender Differences

• "If" by Rudyard Kipling [Handout]
• "The Wife" by Emily Dickinson [Handout]
• "A Rose for Emily" by William Faulkner (556-5640)
• "A Jury by Her Peers" by Susan Gadspell (398-408)
• The Wife of Bath’s "Prologue" [online text] by Geoffrey Chaucer [Handout]

Here is a helpful Study Guide on the Taming of the Shrew

Fri. Sept. 21

Online Quiz # 3

Shakespeare's Bad/Good Woman & Good/Bad Woman

• The Wife of Bath’s Tale" by Geoffrey Chaucer [Handout]
• "Roman Fever" by Edith Wharton (409-434)
• An Experiment in Criticism Chap. Three: "How the Few and the Many use Pictures and Music" by C.S. Lewis
• The Taming of the Shrew [online text] by William Shakespeare
• Great Expectations: Chapters: 11-12

Possible Discussion Topics:

• What do you think of the qualities Kipling gives for "being a man." In your opinion are these male qualities or moral ones/ What does it say about Kipling's time period that he should given them gender emphasis?

• If you are a man who would you rather marry, Katrina or Bianca? If you are a woman which do you thin would fit your personality, which bride would you probably be, Katrina or Bianca?

• In "A Trial by Her Peers" the title plays with the basic American right that the justice one receives is given by those who understand what the accused experience is like. In spite of this idea most juries for a long time were peopled by men. Why difference does gender make in this story? Is it important for people of a defendant's group be in an American jury?

• In looking at the relationship between the two main characters in "Roman Fever" do men have relationships with friends who are in part enemies or is this for the most part a female experience?

Week Four, Sept. 24-28

Love and Marriage

Learn the literary meaning for. . .

• Poetry
• Lyrical Poetry
• Metaphor
• Carpe Dieum
• Courtly Love
• Verisimilitude

Note: this is not an Option; it is expected:  Remember to look at the Glossary available at  Dr. Rearick's Reading Corner under the heading: "Resources."

Monday: Sept. 24 

Literature and Love

• "To His Coy Mistress" by Andrew Marvell (730)
• The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare
• "The Gilded Six-Bits" by Zora Neale Hurston (564-574)
• A Grief Observed by C.S. Lewis pp. 1-9
• Great Expectations: Chapters: 13-15

Possible Discussion Topics:

• From personal observation, the only other subjects which seem to inspire poetry in similar amounts as love are death and God. What does this say about these three experiences and can you suggest other topics which might also inspire poetry?

• What makes a work of Literature Profane?  How much should the Christian reader rely upon his or her own awareness of being offended?

• Although this will be covered in the later unit, what do you think about Lewis' opening sentence in A Grief Observed that "no one ever told me it [grief] felt like fear." Is there some significance in that he, even as a middle aged believer, is ignorant about the experience of grief?

Wed. Sept. 26

• Pygmalion, [online text] by George Bernard Shaw
• "Sonnet to a Friend" by Samuel Coleridge [Handout]
• "We Outgrow Love" by Emily Dickenson [Handout]
• A Grief Observed by C.S. Lewis  pp. 10-17

Fri. Sept. 28

Online Quiz # 4

The Nature of Poetry

• Pygmalion, [online text] by George Bernard Shaw
• A Grief Observed by C.S. Lewis pp. 18-28
• Great Expectations: Chapters: 16-17

Week Five, Oct. 1-5

Mon.  Oct. 1

The Power of Familial and Personal Love Against The Isolating Force of Culture:

Learn the literary meaning for. . .

• Bildungsonroman
• Romance
• Marginalized
• Culture
• Drama
• Dramatic Monologue

Remember that there is a Glossary available at Dr. Rearick's Reading Room

Note: this is not an Option: it is strongly recommended.  Web pages have been created with further information, study guides and sometimes even sample questions at Dr. Rearick's Reading Room

Dickens In Love

• Pygmalion, [online text] by George Bernard Shaw
• "My Last Duchess" [online text] by Robert Browning (775-777)
• The River Merchant's Wife" translated by Ezra Pound  [Handout]
• Great Expectations: Chapters: 18-20

Possible Discussion Topics:

• In "Everyday Use" Alice Walker dedicates the short story to "grandmama." What sense do you get from such a dedication?  Is it important that she uses informal title?  What is Walker saying about the generation before her own parents?

• We in America are, in general, against arranged marriages. My Last Duchess gives a sense of why. But what do you do with "The River Merchant's Wife"?

Wed. Oct. 3

My Lecture on Culture

• Pygmalion, [online text] by George Bernard Shaw
• "The White Man's Burden" Rudyard Kipling  [Handout]
• "Cross" by Langston Hughes (693-694)
• An Experiment in Criticism  by C.S. Lewis: Chap. Four: "The Reading of the Unliterary"

Possible Discussion Topics:

• How does our society treat other societies? What comes to mind when one thinks of Latin America or the Middle East?

• Very likely you found "The White Man's Burden" problematic. However, included in that mind set was the great missionary works of the time (like David Livingston).  Since Christendom (countries where Christianity was strongest) was populated by mostly white people, did it suggest a burden?  Has the missionary movement changed since then?

• Various works within this section examine the family and the relationships between parents and children.  What do you see as being of special concern among our authors?

Fri. Oct. 5

Online Quiz # 5

My Lecture on Charles Dickens

What is it like to be Marginalized by Society?

• "The Ransom of "Red Chief" [online text] by O. Henry [Handout]
• "The Whipping" by Robert Hayden (656)
• Pygmalion, [online text] by George Bernard Shaw
• Great Expectations: Chapters: 21-22

Possible Discussion Topics:

• The two criminals in O. Henry's "The Ransom of Red Chief" while very funny are also depictions of people who are on the fringe of society, homeless criminals.  What does the author do to make them accessible to readers?

• In "The Whipping" the poet describes witnessing a boy getting punished.  What insight does he share from the child's perspective, his own, and the punishing parent?

Week Six, Oct. 8-12

Mon. Oct. 8

• Pygmalion, [online text] by George Bernard Shaw
• "Meeting at Night" [online text] by Robert Browning (701)
• "Parting at Morning" [online text] by Robert Browning (702)
• "Everyday Use" by Alice Walker (166-174)
• "In the Inner City" by Lucille Clifton (773)
• Great Expectations: Chapters: 23-25

How Does Society Treat  and Perceive its Young and its Old?

Wed. Oct. 10

• "The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky" Stephen Crane (546-556)
• "My Son, My Executioner" Donald Hall (967)
• "The Drunkard" by Frank O'Conner (339-348)
• "The World is Too Much with Us: Later and Soon" by William Wordsworth  [Handout]
• "My Heart Leaps Up When I Behold" or "The Rainbow" by William Wordsworth [Handout]

Possible Discussion Topics:

• Do you agree with the narrator's mother at the end of "The Drunkard" that he had been his father's "guardian angel"?   Being publicly drunk is not funny, but this story is.  Do you see it as moral even while portraying cultural problems? 

• In "The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky" what is the significance of the sheriff getting married?  What kind of society will be replaced in Yellow Sky?  Do you think the author thinks this is good, bad, or just a simple fact?

Fri. Oct. 12

Online Quiz # 6

Can the Formulaic Still Be Great?

Week Seven: Oct. 15-19 

Mon. Oct. 15

• "The Lottery" [online text] by Shirley Jackson (251-259)
• A Grief Observed by C.S. Lewis pp. 40-50
• Great Expectations: Chapters: 28-30

Wednesday: Oct. 17: Midterm Exam Given in Class

Friday: Oct. 19 - Midterm Break

Week Eight: Oct. 22-28 

Mon. Oct. 22

What About the Family?

• "We Are Seven" [etext] by William Wordsworth  [Handout]
• "Anecdote for Fathers" by William Wordsworth [Handout]
• "Frost at Midnight" by Samuel Taylor Coleridge  [Handout]
• A Grief Observed by C.S. Lewis pp. 50-59
• Great Expectations: Chapters: 31-33

Wed. Oct. 24

Death and Consolation

Learn the literary meaning for. . .

• Eulogy or Elegy
• Biography
• Autobiography

Be sure to look up definitions for these terms in the Glossary provided by Prof. Rearick and linked and from his Readers' Corner.

Lecture on Grief

• An Experiment in Criticism Chap. Five: "On Myth"
• A Grief Observed by C.S. Lewis pp. 59-67

Fri. Oct. 26

 Quiz # 7

• "Resolution and Independence" by William Wordsworth  [Handout]
• Great Expectations: Chapters: 34-35

Week Nine: Oct. 29-Nov. 2  

Monday: Oct. 29

• A Grief Observed by C.S. Lewis pp. 68-71
• Great Expectations: Chapters: 36-38

Wednesday: Oct. 31 Halloween !

• A Grief Observed by C.S. Lewis pp. 71-80
• In Memorium [introduction] [e-text] by Alfred Lord Tennyson
• An Experiment in Criticism Chap. Seven: "On Realisms"

Friday: Nov. 2
 Quiz # 8

• A Grief Observed by C.S. Lewis pp. 80-89
• Shadowlands by William Nicholson
• Great Expectations: Chapters: 39-40

Week Ten: Nov. 5-9  By the end of the week you should have 19 discussion entries completed.

Monday: Nov. 5

• An Experiment in Criticism Chap Nine: "Survey"
• Shadowlands by William Nicholson
• Great Expectations: Chapters: 41-43

Poems on Death

• "On the Death of a Fair Infant Dying of a Cough" by John Milton [Handout]
• "On His Deceased Wife" by John Milton [Handout]
• "When Lilacs Last in the Doorway Bloom'd" by Walt Whitman [Handout]

Wednesday: Nov. 7

Second Set of Discussions (Hand in 18)

• Shadowlands by William Nicholson
• "On My First Son" by Ben Jonson [Handout]
• "Oh Captain! My Captain! " by Walt Whitman [Handout]
• "Thanatopsis" by William Cullen Bryant [Handout]
• "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard by Thomas Gray [Handout]

Friday: Nov. 9 This is inauguration day, but keep up with the reading

 Quiz # 9

On the Approach of Death

• Shadowlands by William Nicholson
• "Dover Beach " by Matthew Arnold (816)
• "Death be Not Proud" by John Donne (892)
• "Because I Would Not Stop for Death " by Emily Dickinson (752-753)
• Great Expectations: Chapters: 44-45

Week Eleven: Nov. 12-16 By the end of the week you should have 21 discussion entries completed.

Monday: Nov. 12

• Shadowlands by William Nicholson
• "Crossing the Bar " by Alfred Lord Tennyson (810) 
• "Do Not Go Gentle Into that Good Night" by Dylan Thomas (889)
• "I felt a Funeral in my Brain" by Emily Dickenson (705)
• Great Expectations: Chapters: 46-48

Wednesday: Nov. 14

• Shadowlands by William Nicholson
• "Hope" by Emily Dickinson
• "I Never Saw A Moor" by Emily Dickenson (779)
• "Bereft" by Robert Frost (716)
• "Is My Team Plowing?" by A.E. Housman (674)

Friday: Nov. 16
Quiz # 10

• Shadowlands by William Nicholson
• In Memorium [Online Text] by Alfred Tennyson
• Great Expectations: Chapters: 49-50

Week Twelve: Nov 19-23 By the end of the week you should have 23 discussion entries completed.

Monday: Nov. 19

Chivalry and War

• Learn the literary meaning for. . .
  • Romance (review)
  • Heroic
  • Chivalry
  • Realistic

Be sure to look up definitions for these terms in the Glossary provided by Prof. Rearick and linked and from his Readers' Corner.

Lecture on War and Chivalry

• Henry V by William Shakespeare [etext]
• "The Battlefield" by Emily Dickinson
• "The Charge of the Light Brigade" by Alfred Lord Tennyson 
• Great Expectations: Chapters: 51-53

Wednesday: Nov. 21 Thanksgiving Break 

• Henry V by William Shakespeare
• "Boots" by Rudyard Kipling [Handout]

Friday: Nov. 18

Quiz # 11

• Henry V by William Shakespeare
• "Drum Taps" from Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman [Handout]
• An Experiment in Criticism Chap Ten: "Poetry"
• Great Expectations: Chapters: 54-55

Week Thirteen By the end of the week you should have 25 discussion entries completed.

Monday: Nov. 21

• Henry V  by William Shakespeare
• "The Man He Killed" by Thomas Hardy (670)
• "The War Prayer" by Mark Twain (Handout)
• Great Expectations: Chapters: 56-58

Wednesday: Nov. 23 -

Quiz # 12

• "Dulce et Decorum Est" by Wilfred Own (651)
• "Anthem for Doomed Youth" Wilfred Owen (875)
• Great Expectations: Chapters: 59

Thanksgiving begins on Wednesday at 1:40 p.m.

Friday: Nov. 25 - Thanksgiving Break 

Week Fourteen By the end of the week you should have 27 discussion entries completed.

Monday: Nov. 28

My Lecture on Dickens' "Christian" Carol

• "The Oxen" by Thomas Hardy (811)
• A Christmas Carol in Prose [online text] by Charles Dickens Stave One 1-28 (these pages refer to the Scholastic Classics edition)

Wednesday: Nov. 30

Third Discussion Check (27 entries expected)

• "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day" by Henry Longfellow [Handout]
• A Christmas Carol in Prose [online text] by Charles Dickens Stave Two 29-54
• A Christmas Carol in Prose [online text] by Charles Dickens Stave Three 55-88

Friday: Dec. 2

• "Some say that ever 'gainst that season comes Wherein our Savior's birth is celebrated" by William Shakespeare [Handout]

• "Nativity" By John Donne [Handout]

• A Christmas Carol in Prose [online text] by Charles Dickens Stave Four 89-112 and Stave Five 113-122

Quiz # 13

Week Fifteen

Monday: Dec. 5: Reading Day - Week of final exams

Friday: Dec. 9: FINAL

Final is scheduled for 10:00 - 11:50 on Friday, Dec.9^th (the Last Day),

Last Updated Oct. 31^st, 2005