17th Century English Literature (12-166 )    

Taught by Brother Anthony (in English). MWF 3:00.

In this course we will study a variety of works written in 17th century England.

The main text books will be the Norton Anthology of English Literature Volume 1 and Brother Anthony's Literature in British Society: Part 2 The Renaissance (Sogang University Press). (The pages listed below are from The Renaissance.) All students are expected to have access to the World Wide Web and to know how to explore it for useful resources. Brother Anthony's Home Page offers a list of some of the main sites for Renaissance literature and culture.


Classes will consist of:
Lecture: 70%,
Discussions: 20%,
Presentations: 10%.


Course Outline

Week 1 (No class Mon) Introduction to the period (pages 177-187)
Week 2 Webster: The Duchess of Malfi (Norton Anthology)
Week 3 The Duchess of Malfi
Week 4 (No class Fri) John Donne (poems) (pages 189-211)
Week 5 John Donne, George Herbert (254-263)
Week 6 (No class Mon) Ben Jonson (poems) (pages 213-234)
Week 7 Herrick, Carew, Suckling, Lovelace, Waller, Denham, Cowley (274-294)
Week 8 Mid-term Exams
Week 9 Ben Jonson: Volpone (Norton Anthology)
Week 10 Volpone
Week 11 Andrew Marvell (294-301)
Week 12 Milton : Paradise Lost (303-325)
Week 13 Paradise Lost
Week 14 17th Century Prose (331-355)
Week 15 John Dryden


Additional Reading

Graham Parry. The 17th Century: The Intellectual and Cultural Context. Longman, 1989.
Roger Pooley. English Prose of the Seventeenth Century. Longman, 1992.
George Parfitt. English Poetry of the 17th Century. Longman, 2nd edition 1992.
The Cambridge Companion to English Poetry, Donne to Marvell. Thomas N. Corns ed. Cambridge, 1993.


Grading will be based on Midterm and Final Exam (25% each), two assignments (10%), 2 short reports (10% each), and a Term Paper (20%).

The two assignments will be the preparation of two files illustrating the society and culture of England
(1) Before 1640
(2) From 1640 to 1700.
The first will be due at the start of the 6th week, the second at the start of 12th week.

The 2 short reports will be 2-3 page essays on (1) "The moral world of The Duchess of Malfi" and (2) "The morality of Volpone".

The Term Paper will be a longer essay (5 pages) on "Evolutions of English Society and Themes in English Literature between 1603 and 1700".