Reading Material

Most of the texts studied in this course will be posted on Moodle or read from online repositories. However, you are expected to get hold of the Penguin edition of Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream and Hamlet and John Milton’s Paradise Lost, available at Dyonun.

Requirements and Evaluation

Your grade will consist of (1) a midterm exam (33%), where you will be asked to identify and explicate passages from texts studied in the first half of the course according to a fixed set of criteria, and (2) a longer final exam (67%) that will include (a) identification and explication of passages from the second half of the course and (b) an essay that spans works from both parts.

Course Rules

1. Carefully go over the assigned texts in advance of the class on which they will be taught and reread them at least once before the exam. Most of the works on the syllabus are difficult to understand even on the literal level. Hence, you should plan to spend about three hours or more preparing for each session. If you have time left, start getting ready for the next one.
2. To pass the course, you must get a passing grade both on the midterm and on each part of the final exam.
3. Full attendance is mandatory, in compliance with University regulations. All absences must be coordinated in advance with the teaching assistant, Gilad Bronshtein. Unjustified absences may result in a lower grade or a fail. Only health problems, childbirth, veteran service, and religious holidays count as valid grounds for absence.
4. Please maintain a productive learning atmosphere: come and leave on time; do not wander in and out of the classroom; use electronic devices for class purposes only; avoid side conversations; do not consume food or carbonated drinks; show respect to other students.
5. Students seeking help in understanding the reading material should set up an appointment with Gilad. Students who wish to discuss one of the themes or topics that have been dealt with in class, to offer feedback on the course, or to raise a problem that cannot be addressed by the TA are welcome to email Jonathan.   

Tentative Schedule

The Middle Ages

• October 31: Introduction; The Making of Medieval England
• November 3: The Making of Medieval England (Continued)
• November 7: Beowulf (1–1069, 1158–798)
• November 10: Beowulf (1799–931, 2177–2354, 2510–2608, 2625–2913, 2999–end)
• November 14: Marie de France, Lais (“Prologue,” “Bisclavret,” “Yonec”)
• November 17: Marie de France, Lais (“Le Fresne,” “Lanval,” “Eliduc”)
• November 21: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (1–1125)
• November 24: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (1126–end)
• November 28: Chaucer, The General Prologue
• December 1: Chaucer, The Miller’s Prologue and Tale
• December 5: Chaucer, The Wife of Bath’s Prologue and Tale
• December 8: Everyman

The Early Modern Period

• December 12: Tudor England: History, Society, Culture
• December 15: Spenser, The Faerie Queene, Book 1 (Cantos 1–2)
• December 19: Spenser, The Faerie Queene, Book 1 (Cantos 4, 9)
• December 22: Sixteenth-Century Lyrics (selections)
• December 23: Midterm Exam (Moed A)
• December 26: Shakespeare, Sonnets (selections)
• December 29: Shakespeare, Midsummer Night’s Dream
• January 2: Shakespeare, Midsummer Night’s Dream
• January 5: Shakespeare, Hamlet
• January 9: Shakespeare, Hamlet
• January 12: From James I to the Restoration: History, Society, Culture
• January 16: Seventeenth-Century Lyrics (selections)
• January 19: Milton, Paradise Lost (Books 1–2, 3.1–587)
• January 20: Midterm Exam (Moed B)
• January 23: Milton, Paradise Lost (Books 4.1–775, 9)
• January 26: Milton, Paradise Lost (Books 10, 12.466–end)