Renaissance Literature

Catalog description

A survey of the literature written from 1475 to 1660, focusing on major poets and dramatists, such as Spenser, Shakespeare, Jonson, Donne, and Milton, but also lesser-known writers such as the Countess of Pembroke and Aemilia Lanyer. Special attention to the contextual relationship of literature and the thought and culture of the period. Graduate students will additionally write a substantial research paper on a topic of their choosing. The course also requires two class presentations on selected writers of the period, drawing on current scholarly criticism. Prerequisite for EN 671 : admission to MLS program or consent.