The Puritan Tradition in English Literature
| Module title | The Puritan Tradition in English Literature |
|---|---|
| Module code | EAS3412 |
| Academic year | 2021/2 |
| Credits | 30 |
| Module staff | (Convenor) |
| Duration: Term | 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duration: Weeks | 11 |
| Number students taking module (anticipated) | 20 |
|---|
Module description
This module invites you to discover one very significant strand of influence within English poetry and prose: the Puritan tradition, or, the history of religious dissent. Puritanism became associated with an intensity of reflection on inwardness and human experience, and the role of the individual, and this module will evaluate these claims, exploring, for example, the connections between Puritan habits of style and habits of mind. Beginning with two works to have had a profound influence upon the shaping of the Western literary tradition, John Milton’s epic Paradise Lost (1667) and John Bunyan’s allegory Pilgrim’s Progress (1678), you will explore the transatlantic history of Puritan writing. You will gain understanding of the wide range of genres through which Puritan writing came to influence modern literature and imagination, such as the role of Puritan autobiography and conversion narratives in the birth of the novel and the development of psychological realism, the balance of reason and emotion expressed in letters and hymnody, and early examples of journalism. The final weeks of the module encourage you to engage with some key examples of modern literature that exhibit notable Puritan influences, such as Melville’s Moby Dick and Marilynne Robinson’s Jack.
Alongside questions of the literary styles and themes typically associated with Puritan writing as well as the major theological themes (such as sin and forgiveness, grace and redemption, the problem of evil, human nature, and hope), you will consider Puritan ideas about the imagination, the connections between literary creativity and political dissent, and the place and value of literature in society.
Module aims - intentions of the module
The principal aim of the module is to familiarise students with the fundamental place of Puritan writing in the development of English literature. More than just a “plain style”, this is a literary tradition with a discernible trajectory from the seventeenth century to the present, and the module aims to delineate several key moments and works on this trajectory. The module aims to develop an appreciation of the important religious and historical contexts of the early modern period. It offers students the opportunity to think about literature across historical periods, and to think historically about literary style and ideas of selfhood. The module encourages students to revise assumptions of Puritanism as limited to what Matthew Arnold described as “philistinism”, and instead to see that Puritanism reflected a Christian humanism that had a rich and developed understanding of the human experience and of our place in a God-ordered world, and that this worldview has had a lasting legacy upon English literature.
Lectures and seminars will introduce key concepts and provide guidance on further independent research. Assessments are likely to include two essays (summative), one of which can build on a (formative) seminar presentation.
Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
ILO: Module-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 1. Identify and contextualise features of style and thought in the Puritan literary tradition and position these in relation to wider developments in the history of English literature
- 2. Evaluate stereotypical depictions of Puritan culture and writing, and identify the underlying theological concerns implicit to historical questions of style, form, and subject matter (for example).
ILO: Discipline-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 3. Demonstrate an intelligent and sophisticated ability to analyse literature, including an advanced ability to work from the detail of literary texts with appreciation for their formal aspects
- 4. Demonstrate an ability to construct a coherent and interesting argument engaging with the materials of the course in a way that exhibits intelligent thought
ILO: Personal and key skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 5. Through seminar work and group presentations, demonstrate an ability to communicate complex ideas convincingly, to work effectively individually, and to digest, select, and organise interdisciplinary material and to trace the development of debate across disciplinary boundaries
- 6. Through essay-writing, demonstrate advanced research and bibliographic skills, a capacity to construct a coherent, substantiated argument, and an ability to write clear and correct prose.
Syllabus plan
The module will include some or all of the following elements:
• Biblical Epic I: the Fall of Man: John Milton, Paradise Lost
• Biblical Epic II: the Fall of Language: Milton, Paradise Lost
• Dreams and Allegory: John Bunyan, The Pilgrim’s Progress
• Autobiography and Conversion Narratives: Bunyan, Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners
• Ecstasy and Emotion: Samuel Rutherford, Joshua Redivivus (Letters)
• The Rise of the Individual: Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe
• The Marketplace of Morality: Daniel Defoe, Moll Flanders
• Reason and Passion: Isaac Watts, Horae Lyricae (Hymns)
• The Limits of Knowledge: Herman Melville, Moby Dick
• The Puritan Sublime: Henry James, The Ambassadors
• Hope and Redemption: Marilynne Robinson, Jack
Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
|---|---|---|
| 33 | 267 | 0 |
Details of learning activities and teaching methods
| Category | Hours of study time | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Learning & Teaching | 11 | Lectures |
| Scheduled Learning & Teaching | 22 | Seminars |
| Guided Independent Study | 267 | Study group meetings and seminar preparation; independent seminar preparation; reading, research, and essay preparation. |
Formative assessment
| Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Individual presentation | 10 mins | 1-5 |
Summative assessment (% of credit)
| Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | 0 | 0 |
Details of summative assessment
| Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essay 1 | 35 | 2000 words | 1-6 | Feedback sheet with opportunity for tutorial follow-up |
| Essay accompanying oral presentation | 15 | 1000 words | 1-6 | Feedback sheet with opportunity for tutorial follow-up |
| Essay 2 | 50 | 3000 words | 1-6 | Feedback sheet with opportunity for tutorial follow-up |
Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)
| Original form of assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essay (2000 words) | Essay (2000 words) | 1-6 | Refer/Defer period |
| Essay (1000 words) | Essay (1000 words) | 1-6 | Refer/Defer period |
| Essay (3000 words) | Essay (3000 words) | 1-6 | Refer/Defer period |
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. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of referral will be capped at 40%.
Indicative learning resources - Basic reading
• John Milton, Paradise Lost, ed. Stephen Orgel (Oxford: OUP, 2008)
• John Bunyan, The Pilgrim’s Progress, ed. W. R. Owens (Oxford: OUP, 2008)
• John Bunyan, Grace Abounding, with Other Spiritual Autobiographies, ed. John Stachniewski and Anita Pacheco (Oxford: OUP, 2008)
• Daniel Defoe, Moll Flanders, ed. Linda Bree (Oxford: OUP, 2011)
• Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe, ed. Tom Keymer and James Kelly (Oxford: OUP, 2008)
• Herman Melville, Moby Dick, ed. Tony Tanner (Oxford: OUP, 2008)
• Henry James, The Ambassadors, ed. Christopher Butler (Oxford: OUP, 2008)
• Marilynne Robinson, Jack (Virago, 2020)
Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources
ELE:
| Credit value | 30 |
|---|---|
| Module ECTS | 15 |
| Module pre-requisites | None |
| Module co-requisites | None |
| NQF level (module) | 6 |
| Available as distance learning? | Yes |
| Origin date | 23/02/2021 |
| Last revision date | 27/02/2021 |