II. Course Introduction 課程介紹

n          General Overview and Objectives

The English Literature I (2) will be served to give you the opportunity to explore your literary interests in 1) the early 17^th century, 2) Restoration and the 18^th century literature. As a condensed survey of the English literature, the course is studying various genres such as poetry, drama, and novel. The course encourages you to develop the ability to read, understand, and response to a wide range of literary texts, to appreciate the ways in which writers use the skills of literary devices to create their unique imaginary world. Furthermore, an awareness of personal, social, historical, and cultural contexts and influences in the study of literature is also emphasized. Generally speaking, the course is classified into the following parts:

  The Early 17^th Century Literature (chart 1)

No.	Section	Writer	Work	Genre
1	Metaphysical Poets	John Donne		Poetry
		George Herbert		Poetry
		Andrew Marvell	The Temple	Poetry
2	Women Writers	Mary Wroth		Poetry
		Aphra Ben	Oroonoko	Novel
3	Jonson and Milton	Ben Jonson	Volpone	Play
		John Milton	Paradise Lost	Poetry

  Restoration and the 18^th Century Literature (chart 2)     

No.	Section	Writer	Work
1	Drama	William Congreve	The Way of the World
		John Gay	The Beggar’s Opera
2	Novel	Jonathan Swift	Gulliver’s Travels
3	Poetry	Alexander Pope	The Rape of the Lock
		John Dryden	Absalom and Achitophel

To visualize the students’ appreciation of the different worlds in the 17-18^th century, the teacher proposes to show the adapted films to the students along with the explication of the original texts. Thus, the students would have impressive images on the literary texts they are going to read and eventually to perform the original play on the stage. After reading the original texts, a group discussion and the assigned questions will be accordingly followed to cultivate the students’ capability to digest the reading texts and their ability of having a critical thinking. The students are anticipated to respond to the reading texts critically yet sensitively by using appropriate textual material. At the same time, the exploring of important literary terms is a necessary must for understanding the spirit of each literal text. In other words, the course emphasizes the students’ participation in ways of group interaction and presentations, drama-focused activity, and individual writing projects to develop their ability of in-depth understanding of the 17-18^th century literature.

At the conclusion of the course, the students are expected to:  

n          Attendance Policy (15%)出勤

    Discuss the works of major 17-18 British writers in the following contexts:

         Literary periods (the 17th century, Restoration, and the 18th century)

         Social, intellectual movements and royal history;

   Trace the development genres within their historical contexts;

   Analyze literary works for their aesthetic features and thematic patterns;

   Identify styles, themes, and works of major writers;

   Think critically and discuss your responses confidently;

   Write clear analytical essay

       It is necessary to be punctual in the class. Regular attendance and voluntary participation in the class and discussion are cordially invited. There are 7-8 times of roll calls to be counted and scored, each of them is 2 % of course grade, which means all together students’ attendance of the class will be 15 % of course grade. If you miss more than 3-4 classes, your grade and reading progress will be so seriously affected that you would confront the problem of failing this course. 2 times of being recorded as arriving late is considered as 1 absence. However, the best policy is to be punctual and well-prepared to discuss the assigned reading materials and handouts. It is advisable for any student with special medical problem who informs the teacher of his/her health situation regularly.    

n          Mid-term Examination (25%)

The mid-term examination is based on the above texts depicted in “Chart 1.” The students are required to study the above texts in order to take the mid-term examination. For the mid-term exam, you’re allowed to take only one-page A4 size of brief reading notes paper (you’ll be punished for bringing a note more than one-page) to help you to write the essay. However, any student disobeying the rule may be disqualified from the examination. The written mid-term examination lasts for two hours and the students are expected not to leave the class after one-hour stay. The examination format could be multiple choice, short answers, and essay questions drawn from the discussions in the class. The essays must be well written and must reflect a thorough knowledge of what we have discussed in the class. Make-up tests will be given only in the case of extreme emergency and may consist of essay questions only and the score will be deducted 20%.

 

n           Play Performance (20%)  

        All the students are expected to join the rehearsal and drama competition held by the English Department by staging John Gay’s The Beggar’s Opera. Each person should be assigned or voluntarily   participate in the stage performance and follow the instruction of the teacher and director. A drama competition personnel list will be given after the mid-term exam for the students to choose their appropriate roles on the stage or off the stage. The grading will be valued according to the students’ diligence, enthusiasm, talent, and cooperation, especially on the process of rehearsal and the stage of performance.  

  

n           Group-based English Oral Presentation (20 %)口頭報告

       10 groups are divided and 1 leader must be chosen for each group for the purpose of giving an oral presentation (20 %), which is required to be demonstrated around 10-15 minutes for each group and a timer will help to set the time. The pattern of an oral presentation would be suggested as follows. (1) a presentation must be relevant to the understanding of one assigned reading, especially on the issues of assigned literary terms, characters, themes, settings, metaphors and an analysis of the website article. (2) Highly encouraged for each group is the use of audiovisual materials (powerpoint format slides with pictures, videotapes, audio recordings, web pages) as well as creative work by the presenters such as skits, reciting, performances, art work, etc. to the teacher 2 days earlier (3) The use of website materials, especially Norton Topics Online, will make each group’s score higher. (4) It is better to have a host (or hostess) to introduce each reporter and the procedure in English on the stage. (6) The student who is absent from the oral report will be penalized with 0 score.

 

n          Final Paper (20%)

The students are expected to have the necessary background in analyzing and responding to literature, as well as the ability to conduct independent research and to write correctly documented research essays using MLA format. The teacher could require revisions of any paper that is hard to read because of mechanical errors and inherent structure. The students are encouraged to get extra help with basic writing skills in college level.     

     

You are required to choose one of the following Restoration and the 18^th English literature as your major focused text, such as William Congreve’s The Way of the World, John Gay’s The Beggar’s Opera, Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels, Alexander Pope’s The Rape of the Lock, and John Dryden’s Absalom and Achitophel. It is suitable that your written paper must demonstrate an understanding of (1) literary devices (such as a character, tone, setting, symbolism, plot, and point of view), or (2) an appreciation of social and historical influences and cultural contexts, or an (3) artistic connection to other related visual arts and painting, or (4) relationships and comparisons/contrasts between two texts.

The written final paper must have at least (1) 3 paragraphs, namely the “Introduction,” “Body,” and “Conclusion,” each of the three parts should be linked with a thematic focus and unity, (2) 2-3 typewritten double-spaced pages. All papers must identify themselves on the first page by title, author, course, date, and page number. Each paper-holder must find an editor with a signature signed on the first page to do the work of offering suggestions for the content and proofreading. The paper must end with an accurate and properly constructed “Works Cited” section to notify your primary and secondary resources. For full instructions, see the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research.