230527 A Survey of British Literature (S) (SoSe 2006)

This course offers an overview of British literature from the Renaissance to the present. We explore the developments of the genres, textual strategies and themes of British literary history within their social and cultural contexts. We will complement this broad perspective by reading selected key texts which are representative for the three genres drama, poetry, and narrative. We will thus practice the techniques of literary analysis and interpretation that we cover in theoretical terms in "Analysing and Interpreting Literary Texts". Moreover, our work in the course allows us to reflect on the political and cultural choices involved in literary history and we will thus also engage with the basics of the construction of literary history.

Einzelleistung: A graded final exam concludes this introductory seminar.

Texts:
William Shakespeare, King Lear (Arden edition; available from the University Bookshop Luce). Please read the play before the beginning of the semester.

A reader with the poems and texts we discuss in the seminar will be available by the beginning of the semester.

'''Please note that attendance of this course is possible only in conjunction with "Analysing and Interpreting Literary Texts".