The Renaissance: Desire in Poetry and Drama from Shakespeare to Milton
Code: 42302 ECTS Credits: 6| Degree | Type | Year | Semester |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4313157 Advanced English Studies | OT | 0 | 2 |
Contact
- Name:
- Jordi Coral Escola
- Email:
- jordi.coral@uab.cat
Use of Languages
- Principal working language:
- english (eng)
Prerequisites
Apart from the general requirements for admission to the programme, students who decide to do this module should have a genuine interest in early modern literature and its contexts, though they will not be expected to have detailed knowledge of the period.
Objectives and Contextualisation
The course offers a detailed survey of the various representations of desire in the English Renaissance, which is considered here not isolation but in the larger context of the European Renaissance. We will approach the multiple configurations and transformations of identity in this period in its relation to desire, understanding this latter term in the widest possible sense, that is, both as biologically and culturally conditioned and in connection with the social conventions against which it often has to assert itself.
Our aim will be to show how in the works of Spenser, Shakespeare and Milton, as well as in that of other (male and female) writers of the period, desire is presented as an object of endless fascination and fear, that is, as an impulse and transformative force that seems to call for constant regimentation and control, but which often challenges external constraints.
Each of unit of the course will examine a primary text and a piece of criticism that is representative of contemporary engagements with it.
Competences
- Analyse and synthesise information at an advanced level.
- Analyse the relationship between factors, processes or phenomena in the acquisition of English as a second language, its learning and teaching methods, and its literature, history and culture.
- Apply methodological knowledge of statistical analysis and data generation, treatment and codification of multilingual databases, analysis of literary texts, etc. to research.
- Communicate the knowledge acquired and the contributions of one's research correctly, accurately and clearly both orally and in writing.
- Critically argue, issue judgements and present ideas on the basis of the analysis of information originating from scientific production in these areas.
- Develop autonomous learning skills applicable to the research process.
- Distinguish and contrast between the different methodological and theoretical models applied to the academic study of the acquisition, teaching and use of English as a second language in multilingual and multicultural contexts, literary studies and cultural studies.
- Show respect towards the opinions, values, behaviours and/or practices of others.
- Use the English language for academic and professional purposes related to research into the acquisition, teaching and use of English as a second language in multilingual and multicultural contexts, literary studies and cultural studies.
Learning Outcomes
- Analyse and interpret at an advanced level literary texts on desire in English Literary and specifically in the Theatre and Poetry of the 16th and 17th centuries
- Analyse and interpret at an advanced level scientifically produced texts about desire in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth English Poetry and Plays, extracting relevant citations and making content summaries
- Analyse and synthesise information at an advanced level.
- Communicate the knowledge acquired and the contributions of one's research correctly, accurately and clearly both orally and in writing.
- Develop autonomous learning skills applicable to the research process.
- Distinguish and contrast the different theoretical and methodological models applied to the academic study of desire in English Poetry and Theatre of the 16th and 17th centuries..
- Draft texts defending an idea in relation to a poetical or theatrical text in English from the 16th of 17th century, applying secondary sources to the critical argumentation.
- Make oral presentation in English on subjects and texts related to advanced research of English Poetry and English Theatre of the 16th and 17th centuries.
- Read, analyse and present the conclusions regarding texts that represent desire in Poetry and Theatre from Shakespeare to Milton.
- Show respect towards the opinions, values, behaviours and/or practices of others.
Content
Syllabus
PART ONE (POETRY)
UNIT 1: William Shakespeare: Sonnets
UNIT 2: John Donne: Elegies
UNIT 3: Ben Jonson: Country House Poems
UNIT 4: Edmund Spenser: Epithalamion
(A detailed list of the selected poems will be provided on Moodle before the beginning of the course)
PART TWO (DRAMA)
UNIT 5: William Shakespeare: "Othello"
UNIT 6: Thomas Middleton and Thomas Dekker: "The Roaring Girl"
Students are advised to read the plays in the following editions and to obtain a copy they can use in class:
1. Othello, ed. by Michael Neill, The Oxford Shakespeare, Oxford University Press, 2008.
2. The Roaring Girl, ed. by Jennifer Panek, Norton Critical Editions, Norton, 2011.
Methodology
See the table below
Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.
Activities
| Title | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type: Directed | |||
| Debates and discussion in class | 50 | 2 | 2, 1, 5, 6, 9 |
| Reading and Research | 50 | 2 | 2, 1, 3, 5, 9 |
| Tutorials | 25 | 1 | 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 8 |
Assessment
Assessment of this module will be based on the following percentatges:
Class attendance and participation and class presentation (20%)
Short assignments (30%)
Essay Writing (2,500 words) (50%)
Re-assessment
Re-assessment will take the form of a content-synthesis exam or activity:
To be eligible for re-assessment students must have
a) obtained an average of 3,5 or higher;
b) have passed at least 50% of the activities;
Students whose retakes are successful will obtain a maximum final grade of 7 (Notable).
VERY IMPORTANT: Total or partial plagiarism of any of the exercises will automatically be considered “fail” (0) for the plagiarized item. Plagiarism is copying one or more sentences from unidentified sources, presenting it as original work (THIS INCLUDES COPYING PHRASES OR FRAGMENTS FROM THE INTERNET AND ADDING THEM WITHOUT MODIFICATION TO A TEXT WHICH IS PRESENTED AS ORIGINAL). Plagiarism is a serious offense. Students must learn to respect the intellectual property of others, identifying any source they may use, and take responsibility for the originality and authenticity of the texts they produce.
IMPORTANT: In the event of a student committing any irregularity that may lead to a significant variation in the grade awarded to an assessment activity, the student will be given a zero for this activity, regardless of any disciplinary process that may take place. In the event of several irregularities in assessment activities of the same subject, the student will be given a zero as the final grade for this subject.
Assessment Activities
| Title | Weighting | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Class presentation and participation | 20% | 10 | 0.4 | 2, 1, 3, 4, 10, 5, 6, 9, 8 |
| Essay writing | 50% | 10 | 0.4 | 2, 1, 3, 5, 6, 9, 7 |
| Short assignments | 30% | 5 | 0.2 | 2, 1, 3, 4, 10, 5, 6, 9, 7 |
Bibliography
Specific bibliographical recommendations for each unit will be made in class.
Select Bibliography
Burrow, Colin. Metaphysical Poetry, London: Penguin Books, 2006.
Frye, Northrop. Northrop Frye on Shakespeare, New Haven: Yale University Press, 1986.
Greenblatt, Stephen. The Swerve: How the Renaissance Began, London: Vintage Books, 2012.
Gray, Catharine. Women Writers and Public Debate in Seventeenth-Century Britain, New York: Palgrave, 2007.
Guibbory, Achsah. The Cambridge Companion to John Donne, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006.
Kermode, Frank. Shakespeare’s Language, London: Penguin Books, 2000.
Kott, Jan, Shakespeare Our Contemporary, London: Methuen, 1964.
Levi, Anthony. Renaissance and Reformation: Intellectual Genesis, New Haven: Yale University Press, 2002.
MacCulloch, Diarmaid. Reformation: Europe’s House Divided, London: Penguin Books, 2003.
Matchinske, Megan. Writing, Gender and State in Early Modern England: Identity Formation and the Female Subject, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998.
Norbrook, David. The Penguin Book of Renaissance Verse, London: Penguin, 2005.
Novy, Marianne. Shakespeare and Outsiders, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013.
Nuttal, A.D., Shakespeare the Thinker, New Haven: Yale UP, 2007.
Smith, Emma. This is Shakespeare, New York: Random House, 2020.
Wells, Stanley. Shakespeare & Co., New York: Vintage Books, 2006.
Wiggins, Martin. Shakespeare and the Drama of his Time, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000.
Digital Sources:
The Cambridge Companion series, which includes introductions to Shakespeare, Donne and Jonson, among other authors relevant to our course, is extremely useful and can be accessed through our library webpage:
https://www.uab.cat/web/servicio-de-bibliotecas-1345733231312.html
The Shakespeare Resource Centre, http://www.bardweb.net/
Society for the Study of Early Modern Women: http://ssemw.org/Center for Renaissance and Baroque Studies: http://www.crbs.umd.edu/index.shtml
Software
Not applicable.