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ENGL 3540

BRITISH WRITERS I (4 cr.)

Aimed at English majors and minors, this course surveys British literature from the Middle Ages through the 18th Century. The class introduces heroic epics and folk songs, Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, Shakespeare's contemporary poets and dramatists of the Renaissance under Queen Elizabeth I and King James II, visions of a perfect world stemming from the literature of the English Civil War, and the witty satire of the Neoclassical era. You will trace the development of literary criticism, the rise of women writers, and the beginnings of the British Colonial Empire with its ambitions for America and its moral struggle over slavery. You will discover the most widely influential literary works in English. Offered in alternate years. Prerequisites: ENGL 2200 or equivalent.