Suggested Age

14-18

Prerequisite

• Student must be a good reader and willing to participate in class discussions analyzing various works.
• A previous writing course such as English 3 is helpful, but not required.

Purpose

• Students will learn to enjoy and interpret British Literature from the 8th through 20th century.
• Students will acquire skill in interpreting literature correctly which will aid them in the vitally important arena of interpreting Scripture correctly.
• Students will gain historical knowledge of England and its cultural development.

Process

• Historical periods and great British authors will be studied, along with excerpts from: Beowulf, Canterbury Tales, Paradise Lost and other classics.
• Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice and Orwell’s Animal Farm will be studied in their entirety.
• A poetry unit will help students unlock the puzzle of poetic interpretation.
• A unit test and essay will assist students to focus and consolidate their understanding of each period.

The eight literary periods to be studied are:
• The Anglo-Saxons (450-1066)
• The Medieval Period (1066-1500)
• The Renaissance (1500-1603)
• The 17th Century (1603-1660)
• The Age of Reason (1660-1780)
• The Romantics (1780-1830)
• The Victorians (1830-1880)
• New Directions/20th Century (1880-1945)

Curriculum & Texts

• British Literature course workbook, available through teacher ($30.)
• Orwell, George, Animal Farm, Signet Classics, New American Library, Penguin Group, 1996.
• Pfordresher, John. England in Literature, (America Reads, Classic Edition, Macbeth Edition), Scott Foresman & Co., Glenview IL, 1989, (textbook available through Amazon.com ISBN 0-673-27074-2 or rented from teacher.)
• Shakespeare, William. The Merchant of Venice, (Folger Shakespeare Library), Washington Square Press, New York, 1992, ISBN 13:978-0-7434-7756-7.