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Restoration and Eighteenth- Century British Literature

English 231
Dr. Cathy Decker
Spring 1997

Office: UH 301.40
Office Hours: Tuesdays, 2-3
Messages: 880-5824
email: cathy@cassandra.ucr.edu
http://locutus.ucr.edu/~cathy

Course Objectives


1. To read, understand, and analyze important texts by British writers of the restoration and eighteenth century
2. To understand the cultural and historical milieu of the British literature of the Restoration and eighteenth century
3. To be familiar with the major authors of the period
4. To be able to summarize the key points of a dramatic, poetic, prose, or fictional work
5. To be able to break down dramatic, poetic, prose, and fictional texts into their essential elements and to discuss, compare, contrast, and/or show cause and effect relationships among these textual elements
6. To be able to construct clear, supported, coherent, and grammatical expository arguments about literary texts
7. To be able to research restoration and eighteenth-century authors, people, cultural elements, and events
8. To be able to write MLA-style research papers and bibliographies
9. To be able to listen effectively to lectures and grasp their main points
10. To be able to discuss literature, research, and writing with others in an intelligent, sensitive manner

Attendance Policy


If you miss a fourth of the course (five classes), you will not receive a passing grade for the
course.

Required Text


Abrams, M.H., ed. The Norton Anthology of English Literature: Volume I. 6th ed. New York:
W. W. Norton, 1993.

Quiz and Test Policy


The days on which quizzes and tests will be given are listed below. Unless you leave a verbal or written message for me with a reasonable excuse (and I am the judge of how reasonable thex excuse is) before the date of the quiz or test for why you need to reschedule the quiz or test, you cannot make up the quiz or test and will receive a grade of zero. Unscheduled quizzes can be made up by absent students. Final exams can only be rescheduled with permission of higher authorities, so plan ahead so we can get all the paperwork done to reschedule the final if necessary. Medical emergencies, car accidents, and other such rare and extreme situations will be given special consideration.

Late Paper Policy


The following assignments will receive a zero if they are late: preliminary bibliography, outline of research paper, and the two reports. Exceptions to this policy are emergencies and personally negotiated extensions. Other assignments will be accepted up to two weeks late and will lose five points out of a hundred for lateness. After two weeks, a zero will be entered into the grade book for work not completed. No work will be accepted after the last class.

Paper Policy


Follow the directions for each assignment given. Ask questions ahead of time if you are not sure of the requirements for each assignment and the way in which each assignment will be evaluated.

Grade Policy


Quizzes and other classwork and homework (average of all of these) 30%
Midterm 10%
Final Exam 10%
Participation in Library and Computer Workshops and class discussions 5%
Summary and Two Reports 30%
Research Paper 15%

Class Schedule


Week One
April 1--First Class, Introduction
April 3--Library Workshop HELD IN PL 2005 (note participation is a part of your final grade) Have read pp. 1766-1777, 2540-2547

Week Two
April 8--Computer Workshop HELD IN PL 1108 (note participation is a part of your final grade) Have read pp. 2548-2566
April 10--Discussion of readings done for the 3rd and 8th, QUIZ on the readings and the two workshops, Discussion of reports and research paper topics, Have read pp. 1777-1786

Week Three
April 15--Have read pp. 1786-1788; "Song from Marriage a' la Mode" p. 1790; "To the Pious Memory of the Accomplish Young Lady Mrs. Anne Killigrew" pp. 1822-1827; and the excerpts from An Essay on Dramatic Poesy, pp. 1838-1842
April 17--Preliminary bibliography for the research paper due. Have read the excerpt from Fables Ancient and Modern, pp. 1844-1845, and the excerpts from The Diary, pp. 1846-1850 [Helpful background for the Pepys Reading can be found at Molly Brown's site on the London fire]

Week Four
April 22--Quiz on week three's readings. Have read pp. 1850-1851; the excerpts from The Pilgrim's Progress, pp. 1856-1864.
April 24--Summary of one article or book chapter to be used for the research paper due. Have read handouts of short fiction of the Restoration period

Week Five
April 29--Midterm
May 1--Have read "The Disable Debauchee," pp. 1990-1[see Molly Brown's fun link with a picture and brief bio of Rochester]; "A True Maid," p. 1997; "A Description of a City Shower," p. 2009-2011; and "Stella's Birthday, 1721" pp. 2011-2012 [You may find helpful Charles A. Read's Swift biography][link good in 1997--now dead!]

Week Six
May 6--Outline of the research paper due. Have read pp. 2189-2205 (a number of Addison's and Steele's essays)
May 8--Quiz on readings done for May 1 and 6. Have read pp. 2212-2216; "Eloisa to Abelard," pp. 2254-2263; and "Epistle to Dr. Arbuthnot," pp. 2277-2288

Week Seven
May 13--Research paper due. Have read 2295-2297; "Rambler No. 5," pp. 2310-2312; "Idler No. 31," pp. 2313-2314; "Rambler No. 60," pp. 2383-2386; and excerpts from A Dictionary of the English Language, pp. 2386-2392
May 15--Have read excerpts from Pope, pp. 2413-2416; pp. 2416-2418; and excerpts from The Life of Samuel Johnson, L.L.D., pp. 2420-2449

Week Eight
May 20--Report one due. Have read "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard," pp. 2458-2461,
and "My Cat Jeoffry," pp. 2468-2470
May 22--Have read excerpts from The Task, pp. 2502-2508

Week Nine
May 27--Have read The Way of the World up to the end of Act 3 (pp. 1911-1946)
May 29--Report two due. Have complete text of The Way of the World read

Week Ten
June 3--Have read handouts of short fiction from the late eighteenth-century
June 5--Revised research paper due

Final Exam