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History of English Language and Literature (ENG -203): Course Outline(ENG -203)

The History of the English Language and Literature traces the development of English from its early roots to its current global prominence. The English language has evolved over centuries, shaped by a rich blend of historical, cultural, and social influen

Course description

This course is a chronological survey of the major forces and voices that have contributed to the development of an English literary tradition. It intends to cover the literary ground from the Old English Period till the mid-twentieth century focusing on the emergence, evolution, and progress of the English language and literature through different ages and periods. The course will showcase major literary moments, movements and events in the context of the social, political, and religious, and economic changes that shaped England and its history from the 5th century BC onwards. The objective of the course is to enable a critical understanding of the intellectual history of England and to equip the learners to analyze literary products within particular socio-historical contexts. In its broader spectrum, the course covers a reference to the multiple factors from economic theories to religious, philosophical, and metaphysical debates that overlap in these literary works of diverse nature and time periods under multiple contextsThis course is a chronological survey of the major forces and voices that have contributed to the development of an English literary tradition. It intends to cover the literary ground from the Old English Period till the mid-twentieth century focusing on the emergence, evolution and progress of the English language and literature through different ages and periods. The course will showcase major literary moments, movements, and events in the context of the social, political, religious, and economic changes that shaped England and its history from the 5th century BC onwards. The objective of the course is to enable a critical understanding of the intellectual history of England and to equip the learners to analyze literary products within particular socio-historical contexts. In its broader spectrum, the course covers a reference to the multiple factors from economic theories to religious, philosophical, and metaphysical debates that overlap in these literary works of diverse nature and time periods under multiple contexts

Course objectives

On successfully completing the course, the students will have knowledge of:

  •  Development of an English literary tradition.
  • The literary ground from the Old English Period till the mid-twentieth century.
  • Evolution and progress of English language and literature.
  • Major literary moments in the history of English language and literature.
  • The intellectual history of England

Teaching-learning Strategies

Teaching will be done through the lecture method with a combination of tasks/projects and presentations

Assessment and Examinations

Assessment will be done as per university/department policy.

Course Contents

Unit-I

  • Introduction and Old English Period (Anglo Saxons and Anglo Normans)
  • Beowulf - reveals the language, culture and society of the Anglo-Saxon Period
  • Middle English Period
  • Chaucer - the brilliant culmination of Middle English Literature

Unit-II

  • English Renaissance (Elizabethan Age or Age of Shakespeare and Jacobean Age or the Reign of James-I)
  • Renaissance - its effect on men's minds and imaginations

Unit-III

  • The Puritan Age or Age of Milton

Unit-V

  • Puritans' control of the Government and the closure of theatres and the downfall of drama
  • The Neoclassical Period

Unit-IV

  • The Restoration Period or The Age of Dryden
  • The Augustan Age or the Age of Pope
  • Alexander Pope and the cultivation of poetic technique

Unit-V

  • The Age of Transition
  • The Romantic Age
  • Jane Austen, Byron, Shelly and Keats

Unit-VI

  • The Victorian Age
  • Colonial Expansion

Unit-VII

  • The Edwardian Period
  • Reaction against Victorian repression and social or familial oppression

Unit-VIII

  • The Georgian Period
  • The Age of Rise of the Novel

Unit-IX

  • The Age of Modernism (Early 20th Century)

Unit-X

  • The Age of Postmodernism (Mid-20th Century)
  • Dividing and Ruling - Britain in 1950s

Textbooks

Suggested readings