Shakespeare and the age of discovery
Bryan Coleborne
8 points
* First semester
* 3 hours per week (2-hour lecture, 1-hour
seminar)
* Gippsland/Distance
* Prerequisites second year: Two of
GSC1401, GSC1402, GSC1403 or equivalents
* Prerequisites third year: Two
second-level English subjects
Objectives On successful completion of this subject students will have examined a selection of literature from the Renaissance to the end of the eighteenth century so that they will be able to examine the literary depiction of urban experience as a central theme; identify the theme of discovery both within and beyond the national borders, with particular emphasis upon the subject of the new world; make comparisons between depictions of urban and country life; and establish the significance of genre in relation to literary themes and cultural contexts.
Synopsis The works prescribed for study range from two plays by Shakespeare to a selection of Blake's poetry. There are four plays, three works of prose fiction and one collection of poetry. A selection of verse from the early seventeenth to the late eighteenth centuries will be provided for study. The texts will encourage analysis of the theme of urban experience, the nature of country life and the extent of movement to the city and the world of new discoveries, mainly in the northern hemisphere, all in the period from the late sixteenth to the late eighteenth centuries.
Assessment second year Minor essay A (1750 words): 30%
* Minor essay
B (1750 words): 30%
* Major essay (2500 words): 40%
Assessment third year Minor essay A (1750 words): 30%
* Minor essay
B (1750 words): 30%
* Major essay (2500 words): 40%
* Students will be
required to demonstrate a deeper acquaintance with the discipline through wider
reading in the subject and more significant analytical grasp of the subject
matter which is involved.
Prescribed texts
Blake W Selected poetry ed. W H Stevenson, Penguin, 1988
Defoe D Moll Flanders ed. D Blewett, Penguin, 1989
Gay J The beggar's opera ed. B Loughrey and T O Treadwell, Penguin, 1986
Johnson S Rasselas ed. J P Hardy, OUP, 1990
Marston J The Dutch Courtesan in Four Jacobean city comedies ed. G Salgado, Penguin, 1985
Shakespeare W Measure for Measure ed. N W Bawcutt, OUP, 1991
Shakespeare W The Tempest ed. S Orgel, OUP, 1991
Smollett T The expedition of Humphry Clinker ed. A Ross, Penguin, 1985
| Published by Monash University, Clayton, Victoria
3168 Copyright © Monash University 1996 - All Rights Reserved - Caution Authorised by the Academic Registrar December 1996 |