Fall 2000

W. Motooka

English 212

Rice 111, (440) 775-6585

-01: MWF, 11:00-11:50, King 239
-02: MWF, 1:30-2:20, King 327

Office hours: MW, 2:30-4:00
T, 2:00-3:00

E-mail: Wendy.Motooka@oberlin.edu

Restoration and Eighteenth-Century Literature

England in the Restoration and eighteenth century witnessed rapid and sweeping cultural, economic, and political changes. Many of the institutional innovations that so transformed this period remain with us today: paper money, credit, the stock market, professional authorship, empirical science, global markets, and expanding commitments to individualism, equality, democracy, and religious tolerance. In this course, we will read a range of works in order to acquire some familiarity with the authors, genres, common themes and literary aesthetics of this revolutionary and influential period.

Course requirements: Engl. 212 is an introductory level course, intended for sophomore English majors or others who are just beginning the study of literature. Students should come to each class, do all the reading on time, and contribute to class discussions. Please note that the amount of reading required for each class period can vary significantly; it is your responsibility to read the syllabus in advance in order to budget your time appropriately. There will be five written assignments, two brief response papers, a 3-4 pp. paper, a 5 pp. paper, and a final paper of 5-7 pages. Under the College's Honor Code, these essays must be your own work: please do not attempt to submit essays written by or heavily revised by other people. Published sources should be properly cited and not overused. Please consult with me if you have any questions as to what constitutes plagiarism.

 

Required Texts:

Defoe, Daniel. Roxana.
DeMaria, Robert, Jr., ed. British Literature 1640-1789. (D)
Gay, John. The Beggar's Opera.
Wycherly, William. The Country Wife.
photocopied reader. (R)

Books are available at the Oberlin Bookstore. The photocopied reader will be available in Rice 130.

 

Schedule of Readings:

Sept. 6 (W):

Sept. 8 (F):

introduction

Marvell, "An Horatian Ode upon Cromwell's Return from Ireland" (D 340)
DUE (option #1): 1st response paper (1-2 pp.): how would you characterize the poet's attitude towards Cromwell?

Sept. 11 (M):

 


Sept. 13 (W):


Sept. 15 (F):

Hobbes, "Of the Natural Condition of Mankind" (DeMaria 9);
Marvell, "To His Coy Mistress" (D 347)
DUE (option #2): 1st response paper (1-2 pp.): how would you characterize the relation between Hobbes' sentiments and the poet's?

Rochester, "The Imperfect Enjoyment"(D 462), "The Disabled Debauchee" (D 469); Behn, "The Disappointment" (D 411)

Wycherly, The Country Wife

Sept. 18 (M):

Sept. 20 (W):


Sept. 22 (F):

Wycherly, The Country Wife

finish The Country Wife
Sprat, from The History of the Royal Society (D 401), "Their Matter" (R) 81-3

Dryden, "A Song for St. Cecilia's Day" (D 384)

Sept. 25 (M):


Sept. 27 (W):

Sept. 29 (F):

Dryden, MacFlecknoe (D 372)
DUE: Paper I (3-4 pp)

continue MacFlecknoe

Locke, "Of the State of Nature", "Of Slavery," "Of Property"(D 390); Chudleigh, "To the Ladies," "Friendship" (D 489)

Oct. 2 (M):


Oct. 4 (W):

Oct. 6 (F):

Locke, "No Innate Practical Principles" (R)
Shaftesbury, Sensus Communis, Pt. III, sec. 3 and 4 (R)

Mandeville, "On the Origin of Moral Virtue" (R)

Haywood, Fantomina (D 786)

Oct. 9 (M):

Oct. 11 (W):

Oct. 13 (F):

Yom Kippur -- free day

Defoe, Roxana, preface -- p. 56

Roxana, pp. 57-131

Oct 14-22:

Autumn Recess

Oct. 23 (M):


Oct. 25 (W):

 

Oct. 27 (F):

Roxana, pp. 131-61
Astell, Serious Proposal (D 574), Reflections upon Marriage (R) p. 75-76, 101-106

Roxana, pp. 161-201
Wortley Montague, "To Lady Mar" (D 772)
Finch, "The Unequal Fetters" (D 544)

Roxana, pp. 201-65
Addison, Tatler no. 249 (R), Spectator no. 69 (R)

Oct. 30 (M):

Nov. 1 (W):


Nov. 3 (F):

Roxana, pp. 265 -- conclusion

Shaftesbury, Letter concerning Enthusiasm, sec. II (R)
Addison, Spectator no. 1, no. 105 (R)

Addison, Spectator nos. 58, 61, 62, 63 (R)
DUE: Paper II (5 pp.)

Nov. 6 (M):

Nov. 8 (W):

Nov. 10 (F):

Pope, Rape of the Lock, Cantos I-II (D 702)

Rape of the Lock, Cantos III-IV

Rape of the Lock, Canto V

Nov. 13 (M):

Nov. 15 (W):

Nov. 17 (F):

Gay, The Beggar's Opera, Act I

The Beggar's Opera, Act II

The Beggar's Opera, Act III
Fielding, Covent-Garden Journal, "Modern Glossary" (R)

Nov. 20 (M):


Nov. 22 (W):

 

Nov. 24 (F):

Boyle, "Meditation" (R)
Swift, "Meditation Upon A Broomstick" (R), "A Modest Proposal" (D 646)

Swift, "The Lady's Dressing Room" (R); Pope, letter to Lady Mary Wortley Montagu (1 Sept. 1718) (D 763); Wortley Montagu, "The Reasons that Induced Dr. S[wift] to Write a Poem Called the Lady's Dressing Room" (D 779), letter to Alexander Pope (1 Nov. 1718) (D 776)

Thanksgiving Break

Nov. 27 (M):

 

Nov. 29 (W):


Dec. 1 (F):

Swift, A Tale of a Tub, "Epistle Dedicatory" and "The Preface" (D 581-89), sec. II (D 596&emdash;602)
DUE (option #1): 2nd response paper (1-2 pp)

Gray, "An Elegy Wrote in a Country Church Yard" (D 971), "Ode on a Distant Prospect of Eton College" (R)

Johnson, Rambler no. 2 (D 852), Idler no. 88 (R), Idler no. 67 (R)

Dec. 4 (M):

Dec. 6 (W):


Dec. 8 (F):

Johnson, Rambler no. 158 (R), Idler no. 60 (R); Pope, Essay on Criticism, ll. 337-73 (R)

Smith, Theory of Moral Sentiments, Part I, sec. I. (R)
DUE (option #2): 2nd response paper (1-2 pp.)

Mackenzie, from The Man of Feeling (D 1131); More, from The Slave Trade (D 1136)

Dec. 11 (M):


Dec. 13 (W):

Cowper, "On a Goldfinch Starved to Death in his Cage" (D 1065), "Epitaph on an Hare" (D 1065), "The Negro's Complaint" (D 1067), "The Castaway" (D 1072)

conclusion

Dec. 16 (Saturday):

Final paper (5-7 pp) due at my office by 5 pm.