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Renaissance and Revolution

Module description

This module introduces English literature written during the most violent and turbulent period of English history: the seventeenth century. The module covers the literary culture of the courts of James I, Charles I and the restored court of Charles II, as well as literary reactions to the outbreak of war, the execution of the king and the rule of Oliver Cromwell.

Module aims - intentions of the module

• To introduce you to English literature during one of the most violent, turbulent period of English history. The module covers the literary culture of the courts of James I, Charles I and the restored court of Charles II, as well as literary reactions to the outbreak of war, the execution of the king and the rule of Oliver Cromwell. We will read the work of major writers of the period, such as Shakespeare, Jonson, Milton and Aphra Behn, and also look at the writings of prophets and visionaries, satirists and libertines. Central themes include monarchy and the display of power, the emergence of the woman writer, changing attitudes towards sexuality and the body, representations of the countryside.
• You will be introduced to the political and social conflicts which divided English society before and during the Civil War and the Restoration, and to the writers who represented those conflicts.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. Demonstrate an informed appreciation of specific seventeenth-century authors and texts
• 2. Demonstrate an informed appreciation of seventeenth-century literary history
• 3. Demonstrate an informed appreciation of the relation between seventeenth-century literature and important historical and intellectual developments of the time

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 4. Demonstrate an ability to analyse the literature of an earlier era and to relate its concerns and its modes of expression to its historical context
• 5. Demonstrate an ability to interrelate texts and discourses specific to their own discipline with issues in the wider context of cultural and intellectual history
• 6. Demonstrate an ability to understand and analyse relevant theoretical ideas, and to apply these ideas to literary texts

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 7. Through seminar work, demonstrate communication skills, and an ability to work both individually and in groups
• 8. Through essay-writing, demonstrate appropriate research and bibliographic skills, a capacity to construct a coherent, substantiated argument and a capacity to write clear and correct prose
• 9. Through research for seminars and essays, demonstrate proficiency in information retrieval and analysis
• 10. Through sitting their final examination, demonstrate proficiency in the development, organisation, and expression of ideas within a defined task and timeframe

Syllabus plan

Whilst the content may vary from year to year, it is envisioned that it will cover some or all of the following topics:

This module will explore the rich and diverse literature produced throughout the 17th century, enabling us to map key issues and themes in relation to the historical-cultural shifts occurring during this period of profound upheaval and rapid change. 

It will provide an opportunity to consider the role of literary and dramatic forms and representations, and their significant political and social intervention. We will look at the ways in which they engage with the operations of power: how do they transgress or conform? What is their response to conflict, change, and violence? How can literature both reflect and shape political and religious identities? How does it allow for alternative voices to be heard? In addressing these questions, we shall examine the significance of gender, allegiance, community, and social position, and how these issues relate to the status of the writer. We shall consider attitudes towards sexuality and the body, expressions of emotion, and also explore how the literature of this period negotiates cross-cultural contact and understandings of ethnicity.

The module is structured chronologically, which will allow us to track these changes. It will begin with the dramatic and literary output of the early Stuart period, under James I and Charles I, identifying the increasing tensions leading up to the period of the Civil Wars. The middle weeks of the module will look at the literature of the Revolutionary period - a period which witnessed war, the execution of Charles I, and the creation of the English Republic. Writing was a way to register the astounding events of the time, to articulate a view about them, and also to shape them. The final weeks of the module will look at the changes to literature and representation brought about by the Restoration to the throne of Charles II, bringing with it a new debate about the origins and nature of government and monarchy.

Teaching is by weekly two-hour seminar and one-hour lecture, with 5 further context lectures. There will be an additional research-based event in week 6 (in previous years, a field trip).

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Re-assessment notes

Deferral – if you miss an assessment for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension may be granted. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.

Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 40%) you will be required to submit a further assessment as necessary. If you are successful on referral, your overall module mark will be capped at 40%.

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

• Norton Anthology of English Literature: Eighth Edition. Volume B: The Sixteenth Century/The Early Seventeenth Century (W.W. Norton, 2006).
• Shakespeare, Othello (Arden 3rd series, 2016).
• John Ford, 'Tis Pity She's a Whore and other plays (Oxford World Classics, 1999).

Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources

• ELE – https://vle.exeter.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=11525

Key words search

English, Literature, Renaissance, Early Modern, Revolution