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Literature, Culture, and Politics in Early Modern England: Sources

Module description

The Tudor and Stuart period was a golden one in English literary achievement. It was also one in which major poets and dramatists were involved in, or engaged with, political events to a greater extent than ever before, thanks to significant changes in structures and technologies, not least of which was the advent of print. In this module, you will explore the relationship between literary developments and the political changes occurring in this era of Renaissance, Reformation, and Civil War, through the study of texts by authors such as More, Shakespeare, Jonson, and Milton. You will consider their lives and influences, as well as the texts they produced, and relate the writings to their historical contexts; and you will investigate the shifts in the history of reading and print culture that shaped how the texts were received. You will also be encouraged to read more widely in the literature of the period and to consider the historical changes which the literature of the period illuminates or reflects.

This module is especially suitable for students with an interest in interdisciplinary studies, combining as it does the study of history, literature, and politics. Students taking this module will also be required to take the module, Literature, Culture, and Politics in Early Modern England: Context.

Module aims - intentions of the module

Over the course of the module, you will have the opportunity to develop your understanding of the classic canon of the English Literary Renaissance, so influential in shaping the development of English literature and culture ever since. You will also develop an understanding of the political upheavals of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, which had a profound effect upon the way that the England is governed to this day. This module will allow you to enhance your critical thinking skills, as you study the interrelationship of complex political, social, and religious factors, and it will provide you with the opportunity to engage with an interdisciplinary strand of research that is constantly changing, as scholars find new approaches to the study of the history of literature, and the history of the book.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

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

• 1. Identify the different sources available for the study of the literary and political history of early modern England, and be able to describe in detail those sources which you will focus upon in your seminar presentations and written work.
• 2. Analyse a range of complex and diverse sources relating to the literary and political history of early modern England.
• 3. Understand and explain changes and continuities in the writing and publication of literary sources in early modern England.

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

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

• 4. Analyse closely original sources and to assess their reliability as historical evidence.
• 5. Comprehend complex historical texts.
• 6. Understand and deploy relevant historical terminology in a comprehensible and sophisticated manner.

ILO: Personal and key skills

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

• 7. Select, organise and analyse material for written work and/or oral presentations of different prescribed lengths and formats.
• 8. Present complex arguments orally.
• 9. Present an argument in a written form in a clear and organised manner, with appropriate use of correct English
• 10. Through essay development process, demonstrate ability to reflect critically on your own work, to respond constructively to feedback, and to implement suggestions and improve work on this basis

Syllabus plan

Among the themes we will study in this module are: the Court; humanism; nobility, honour and service; biography; literature and the nation; the production of books; the relationship between Christian and classical values; the role of women in printing, reading, and writing; early Stuart monarchy and the masque; the development of the history play; the relationship of the drama to politics and to Puritanism; the responses of writers to the Civil Wars. We will read a wide variety of literary, and other, texts, including authors such as Skelton, More, Wyatt, Sidney, Spenser, Marlow, Shakespeare, Jonson, Bacon, Middleton, Massinger, Milton, Marvell, and others.

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

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

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

Re-assessment notes

The re-assessment consists of a 4,000 word portfolio of source work, as in the original assessment, but replaces the individual presentation with a written script that could be delivered in such a presentation and which is the equivalent of 25 minutes of speech (2,500 words)

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

Nearly all the following sources are available in their early modern form on EEBO (Early English Books Online), and we will discuss how to locate them in our first seminar. You are encouraged to use the various early modern editions as much as possible, in order to understand the physical form and appearance of the books with which early modern readers interacted, and the changes between certain editions. For ease of use, you may sometimes find it more convenient to use a modern printed edition; all the texts are available in modern editions. It may be more important to be able to study an author closely than to have access to the best edition of his works, so you need not hesitate to use paperbacks or cheap editions for most purposes, provided that, at least in the case of authors on whom you wish to concentrate, you also consult the standard editions. Some editions are very much better, and more helpful, than others; information on standard editions, and the better modern editions, will be made available on ELE well in advance of the course beginning.

Typical primary sources might include:

Roger Ascham, The scholemaster or plaine and perfite way of teachyng children (London, 1570), STC 832
Christopher Marlowe, The tragicall history of D. Faustus (London, 1604), STC 17429

Thomas More, A fruteful, and pleasaunt worke of the beste state of a publyque weale, and of the newe yle called Vtopia (London, 1551), STC 18094

Philip Sidney, The Countesse of Pembrokes Arcadia (London, 1590), STC 22539

John Skelton, Here after foloweth a lytell boke, whiche hath to name, Why come ye nat to courte (London, 1545), STC 22615

Edmund Spenser, The faerie queene Disposed into twelue books, fashioning XII. morall vertues (London, 1590), STC 23081

Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources

Early English Books Online

Key words search

Literature, Politics, Tudor, Stuart, Shakespeare, Milton