Core Course Topics
Introduction to literature: genres, literary terms, and methods of discussing literature.
Writing about poetry and drama.
Works that illustrate the historical development of poetry in English.
Poetry from other traditions.
Greek drama.
Shakespeare: Tragedy and comedy.
Modern drama.
Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
Formulate an interpretive thesis (as opposed to one which merely reports something factual about a literary text).
Compose an essay which either analyzes a literary text, for example by focusing on literary elements such as theme, character, setting, point of view, plot, imagery, metaphor, symbolism, etc., or analyzes the characteristic themes, features, and / or techniques of a given writer's works, or analyzes more than one literary text by comparing and contrasting works by more than one writer of the period or genre named in the course title.
Identify a range of key terms that are essential to an introductory-level understanding of literature, particularly poetry and drama.
Explain the crucial importance and /or distinctive achievement of William Shakespeare.
Explain the crucial importance and /or distinctive achievement of a major dramatist other than Shakespeare.
Explain the crucial importance and /or distinctive achievement of a major poet other than Shakespeare.