This study of the masterworks of British literature begins with the Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf, includes selections from The Canterbury Tales and Hamlet and concludes either in the Romantic or in the Victorian era. Students explore the changes in language and literary form that transpire over time. Other readings may include the Gawain-poet, Milton, Swift, Keats, Austen, and Bronte. All sections read an ancient Greek tragedy, Shakespeare's Hamlet, and a major modern work of fiction. Authors may include Achebe, Basho, Camus, Chekhov, Conrad, Fugard, Garcia-Marquez, Gordimer, Ibsen, Ionesco, Kafka, Mann, Mishima, Naipaul, Ngugi, Waugh, Sophocles, Woolf, and Yoshimoto, but do not include any North American authors.
Students write critical and personal essays.
The journey as a motif both in literal and metaphorical terms provides a focus for this study of literature. All sections read an ancient Greek tragedy, an epic poem, Hamlet, and Heart of Darkness. Students write critical and personal essays. Students are introduced to some of the most influential writing of Western civilization, with a strong emphasis on classical Greece and Rome. Special attention is paid to the authors' concern with human nature, ideals of human conduct, and the relationship between the human and the divine.