English 401: English Sixteenth-Century Poetry and Prose   

Fall 2009
MW 1:30 pm - 2:45 pm
Robinson A250 

Robert Matz
Office Hours: M 12 - 1; W 10 - 11, and by appointment
Office: Robinson A 487
Home page: mason.gmu.edu/~rmatz
Contact: office phone: 703-993-1170 / email: rmatz@gmu.edu

Required Texts:

• Longman Anthology of British Literature: The Early Modern Period, 4th ed. (=LABL)

• Anthology of Elizabethan Prose Fiction, ed. Paul Salzman (Oxford) (=EP)

• Readings available online (click on electronic version of the syllabus) (=OL)

Much suspected by me,
Nothing proved can be,
      Quoth Elizabeth prisoner.
--Queen Elizabeth, Written with a Diamond on Her Window at Woodstock

Elizabeth a prisoner, Elizabeth in procession.  Radical shifts of fortune are a frequent concern of the works that we'll be reading.  So too was suspicion and doubt ("much suspected . . .nothing proved") matched by the yearning for certainty and stability--for something as bright and long-lasting as the diamond with which Elizabeth writes.  The literature of the sixteenth century participates in this tension between suspicion and certainty.   To write, even with a diamond, is to create a world of supposition and suspicion.   And though the works we'll read have lasted like diamonds, they were composed, like Elizabeth's prison poem, not outside the tumult of sixteenth-century life, but as part of it. 

Course requirements: wiki answers, two five-page papers, one three-page paper, two  projects (sonnet and annotation), attendance at a performance of The Alchemist (click here for performance dates and times).

Dates 

Readings

Events

Aug. 31

Course
Introduction

Sept. 2

LABL Introduction: "The Early Modern Period" (627-639; 642-648 also "At a Glance" (623-624); George Gascoigne, "A Sonet in prayse of the browne beauty (OL)"; Ralegh, "On the Life of Man" (in LABL, 1166); Puttenham, from Arte of English Poesie (3.1) (OL)

HENRICIAN BEGINNINGS: THREE SIXTEENTH-CENTURY MODES: WARRIORS, COURTIERS AND HUMANISTS

Sept. 9

from Malory, Morte D'Arthur, book 20 (OL) and book 21 (OL)
You may also find the work's glossary (OL) useful

Sept. 14

John Skelton, "Bowge of Court" (LABL 652-664)

Sept. 16

More, Utopia, prefatory letter and book 1 (LABL, 716-741)

Sept. 21

More, Utopia, book 2, pp. 741-769 in LABL 

Sept. 23

More, Utopia, book 2, pp. 769-785 in LABL

Sept. 28

William Roper, from Life of More (OL)
Wyatt, "Mine Own John Poins" (LABL, 706-708)
Man for All Seasons (video in class)

Sept. 30

Wyatt's poetry in LABL, 702-706; Surrey's poetry  in LABL, 709-713 

Paper 1 exchange

SONNETMANIA!

Oct. 5

Oct. 7

Sidney, Astrophel and Stella (LABL, 680-97)

Paper 1 due

Oct.  14

Spenser, Amoretti (LABL, 676-80)

Oct.  19

Shakespeare's Sonnets 1, 15, 18, 20,29, 30, 31, 60, 71 80, 86, 121, 126, 128, 129, 130, 144, 152 (in pages 1203-1215);  Davies and Barnes sonnets (OL)

Swetnan (LABL, 1447-1449) and Sowerman (LABL, 1455-1458)

Sonnet Project and Annotation Project assigned

Ralegh poems in LABL, 1164-1172; Elizabeth I's poetry (LABL, 1075-1076) and speeches ("On Marriage," "On Mary's Execution," "To the English Troops," "The Golden Speech" in LABL, 1077-1078 and 1081-1085)
Elizabeth (video in class)

Oct. 26

Oct.  28

Nov. 2

Faerie Queene, 6.1-3 (LABL, 827-864)

Nov. 4

Faerie Queene, 6.9-10 (LABL, 920-944)

Nov. 9

Faerie Queene, 6.11-12 (LABL, 944-966)

Annotation Project Due

Paper 2 assigned (3pp)

There is class but no reading for today.  You must  have seen The Alchemist by today's class.

Discussion: The Faerie Queene and The Alchemist

TRAVELS FARTHER AFIELD

Nov. 16

Marlowe, "Hero and Leander," lines 1-484 (LABL, 1092-1102)

Nov.  18

Marlowe, "Hero and Leander," lines 485-818 (LABL, 1102-1110)

Nov. 23

Paper 2 Due

Nov. 25

No Class:
Thanksgiving Break

Nov. 30

Nashe, Unfortunate Traveler (EP, 268-309)

Paper 3 assigned (5pp)

Dec. 2

Deloney, Jack of Newberry (EP, 313-56; 359-61; 366-74)

Dec. 7

Britain's Bower of Delights: An English 401 Verse Miscellany

Paper 3 exchange

Dec. 9

Wrap-up

Dec. 14

No class

Paper 3 due

Course Policies:

Readings: 
The readings for each class are due on the date listed above. Approach each assignment actively by always reading with a pen or pencil in hand.  This habit will help you come prepared to discuss the readings in class and get the most out of class discussion; it will also help you become a more skillful reader of literary texts in general. 

On-line Course Readings:
A number of readings for this course are available on-line.  Go to the on-line version of this syllabus for the relevant links.  PLEASE DO NOT READ THIS MATERIAL ON LINE, HOWEVER.  Print the readings and read and annotate those.  Bring on-line material to class just as you would other reading assignments.  You might want to keep a separate folder or (even better) three-ring binder for this material, so that it does not get lost among other papers, the syllabus, etc.

Participation and Attendance: 
The class will generally be conducted as a seminar. As much as possible we will open up the class to discussion, to questions or observations about the ideas presented in a text, about a text's form or style, its uses of language, its puzzling qualities--whatever gains our attention. I am interested in your ideas. Contribution to class discussion will not be formally calculated into grades, but I will take participation into account for grades that are borderline. If you aren't in class, you can't participate in discussion, nor will active class participation wholly excuse excessive absences. 

Wiki Answers: 
During the semester, each student will post two questions about the day's reading, which other students will try to answer (on the model of Yahoo Answers or wiki.answers.com).   Students will post questions for the two days during the semester designated by the first letter of their last name (see syllabus).  These questions should be posted by 5 pm on the day before the reading is due.  Students can post answers to any questions, but must post three by Oct. 19 and three by Dec. 2 (you can't make up for a deficit in the first half of class by posting additional answers in the second).  Answers are to be posted before the class in which the work is discussed.  Here's how I'll grade these.  100 points total: 2 questions @ 10 points each (questions get 10 points if they are done by the deadline and fulfill the assignment); 6 answers at 10 points each (answers get 10 points if they are posted by the deadline, and fulfill the assignment by offering a reasonably good response).  The answer selected as the "best answer" gets 15 points.   This scoring system means that if you get full credit for all your questions and answers you'll get 80 points, a B-.  To get an A, you need at least one "best answer" (80 + 15 = 95 points).  How do you get a "best answer"?  Your fellow students get to vote (all votes must be in within one week of the posting).  These votes are advisory to me; I make the final decision.  I also reserve the right to give partial credit for "very good" answers when there are a lot of good answers to choose from and, by the same token, to award no "best answer" points if, say, there's only one answer and it doesn't hit "best answer" quality.  

Paper Deadlines: 
Each paper will be due twice: the first time in class at the paper workshop scheduled one week after the paper is assigned, and the second time one week following that. During the workshop you'll have a chance to trade papers with fellow students and raise questions or give each other suggestions for revision. You'll have the second week to revise your paper, based on this input and on your own rethinking and rewriting. The second week after the paper is assigned both the revised and original version of the paper will be handed in to me. I hope that this system will build revision, so necessary to good writing, into the structure of the course. 

Late papers: You need to have your first paper done on time so that you can work on it in the paper workshop. I also expect that the final versions will be handed in on time. Late final versions will be graded down a half grade for each day late. On late first versions, see below under "paper standards."    

Projects:
Two projects will allow you to engage with the material of the class in ways other than through a formal essay.  The sonnet project will ask you to write a sonnet, and comment on it.  The annotation project will ask you to produce an annotated edition of a selection of a sixteenth-century text from its original early modern edition.  More details on these projects will follow.  The same rules about late papers and, where applicable, paper standards apply. There won't be exchanges for these projects.

Paper Standards (final and first versions): 
Each paper should be typed with standard margins, spacing and type size.  It should have page numbers, and its pages fastened with a staple or paper clip (origami does not count!).  It should be carefully proofread and neatly presented. The paper topics will relate to issues we have discussed in class, and you are encouraged to bring to bear class discussion in your writing. You are also encouraged to expand on these discussions and credit will be given for new ideas. 

I'll grade the paper on basis of the revised version only, but I will expect the original version to be your best initial attempt at the topic. Original versions not done, not typed or obviously incomplete will result in a half letter grade reduction in the evaluation of the final paper. It would not be fair for other students to have to read work that is not your best; additionally, it is in your interest to write as good an original version as possible, so that your second version is even better. Remember that because everyone has two tries at the paper, I will accordingly have higher expectations for the final version.

Paper Helps: 
During the scheduled workshops, you'll have a chance to give and get advice on your papers. Additionally, I encourage you to come see me at my office hours or to make an appointment to see me. When we meet, try to have a draft of the paper you are working on. This will give us something more concrete to talk about. There is also available a Writing Center at Robinson A114 that can provide you with further individual attention to your writing. I encourage you to take advantage of this excellent facility. 

I would also suggest that you give yourself plenty of time to work. Writing a paper at one sitting is, for most people, unpleasant, and the results are not likely to be satisfactory. Start early! 

Plagiarism: 
Since this class emphasizes the development of your own close reading and interpretive skills, you are not encouraged to consult secondary sources. If you do choose to look at such work, however, you must cite, using a standard citation format, all the articles, books or other sources that your own writing draws on, either directly or indirectly. Such sources include (but are not limited to) introductions to editions of the texts we're reading and any kind study aid. 

Also note that uncited sources will constitute plagiarism even if they ended up in your work without your conscious knowledge (e.g. you forgot you read the material; you confused your own notes with notes on a source), since part of the scholarly responsibility that comes with using secondary sources is keeping track of which words or ideas were yours and which came from a source. If you do not wish to take on this responsibility then you should not consult secondary sources. 

I will take all suspected cases of plagiarism to the Honor Committee.   

Grading: 
The final grade will be derived as follows: 
 

Students with Disabilities:
If you are a student with a disability and you need academic accommodations, please see me and contact the Office of Disability Resources at 703.993.2474. All academic accommodations must be arranged through that office.

Please come see me if you have any questions about grading, the syllabus or the class. I look forward to having the chance to meet you. Best wishes for a good semester! 
 

GRADE CRITERIA FOR ESSAYS

A Specific, complex and/or striking thesis, thesis developed without digression through the course of the paper, consistently precise, sensitive and/or striking interpretations of the text, crafted prose, no major mechanical problems

B Specific thesis, thesis generally developed through the course of the paper, consistently good interpretation of text, competent prose, minor mechanical problems

C Has a thesis, but one that needs greater specificity or complexity, thesis developed with some digression or repetition, some good interpretation, some mechanical problems

D Very general thesis, thesis development digressive or repetitive, plot summary or thoughts/speculations not based on textual evidence, major mechanical problems

F No thesis or thesis development