British literature

The aim of this tutorial is to familiarise students with British literature from modernist to contemporary fiction.

The course focuses on presenting literary texts forming the canon of British literature in their historical and theoretical contexts. During the course the students will learn how to analyse and interpret selected works of poetry, fiction, and drama, using basic literary concepts and referring to biographical and historical sources.

Content distribution:

1. Introduction; Rudyard Kipling, “The Gardener,” “The White Man’s Burden,” Plain Tales from the Hills (two stories: “His Chance in Life” and “Lispeth”)

2. E.M. Forster, A Room with A View

3. J.R.R. Tolkien, selected stories for The Silmarillion

4. Agatha Christie, Murder on the Orient Express

5. George Orwell, 1984

6. Post-war poetry: selected poems by W.H. Auden, Dylan Thomas, and Philip Larkin

7. William Golding, Lord of the Flies

8. Samuel Beckett, Waiting for Godot

9. John Osborne, Look Back in Anger

10. Harold Pinter, The Birthday Party

11. Contemporary poetry: selected poems by Ted Hughes, Stevie Smith, and Tony Harrison

12. Anthony Burgess, A Clockwork Orange

13. Irish and Scottish poetry: selected poems by Edwin Morgan and Seamus Heaney

14. Contemporary short stories: Muriel Spark (“The House of the Famous Poet”), Jean Rhys (“The Lotus”), Roald Dahl (“Skin”)

Primary reading list:

1. Rudyard Kipling, “The Gardener,” “The White Man’s Burden,” Plain Tales from the Hills (two stories: “His Chance in Life” and “Lispeth”)

2. E.M. Forster, A Room with A View

3. J.R.R. Tolkien, The Silmarillion ("Of the Beginning of Days", "Of Beren and Luthien")

4. Agatha Christie, Murder on the Orient Express

5. George Orwell, 1984

6. Post-war poetry: W.H. Auden ("Funeral Blues", "Lullaby"), Dylan Thomas, ("Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night", "A Refusal To Mourn the Death, by Fire, of a Child in London") and Philip Larkin ("Going, Going", "This Be the Verse")

7. William Golding, Lord of the Flies

8. Samuel Beckett, Waiting for Godot

9. John Osborne, Look Back in Anger

10. Harold Pinter, The Birthday Party

11. Contemporary poetry: Ted Hughes ("The Thought-Fox", "Hawk Roosting"), Stevie Smith ("Not Waving but Drowning", "To the Tune of the Coventry Carol"), and Tony Harrison ("Initial Illumination")

12. Anthony Burgess, A Clockwork Orange

13. Irish and Scottish poetry: Edwin Morgan ("Glasgow Sonnet I", "In the Snackbar", "Trio") and Seamus Heaney ("Digging", "Death of a Naturalist", "Blackberry-Picking")

14. Contemporary short stories: Muriel Spark (“The House of the Famous Poet”), Jean Rhys (“The Lotus”), Roald Dahl (“Skin”)

Further reading:

Blamires, Harry. 2003. A Short History of English Literature. 2nd edition. London-New York: Routledge.

1. Bradbury, Malcolm, ed. 2011. The Penguin Book of Modern British Short Stories. London: Penguin.

2. Carter, Ronald and John McRae. 1997. The Routledge History of Literature in English. Britain and Ireland. London-New York: Routledge.

3. Cuddon, J.A. 1998. The Penguin Dictionary of Literary Terms and Theory. London: Penguin.

4. Greenblatt, Stephen and M. H. Abrams. 2006. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 8th edition. New York-London: W.W Norton & Company.

5. Kermode, Frank and John Hollander, eds. 1973. The Oxford Anthology of English Literature: Modern British Literature. NY: Oxford University Press.

Teaching methods may include traditional classroom, asynchronous and synchronous methods. In the case of remote learning, USOS mail, Moodle and MS Teams will be used to communicate with students.

Link to MS Teams: https://teams.microsoft.com/l/channel/19%3aEszDcfKsPdrwoApigE9xvKyqujYRzkf5jQilhBupLME1%40thread.tacv2/General?groupId=2a677d07-f7b2-4e86-92f9-754fbcfe4eca&tenantId=e80a627f-ef94-4aa9-82d6-c7ec9cfca324

The aim of this tutorial is to familiarise students with British literature from late Victorian to modernist fiction.

The course focuses on presenting literary texts forming the canon of British literature in their historical and theoretical contexts. During the course the students will learn how to analyse and interpret selected works of poetry, fiction, and drama, using basic literary concepts and referring to biographical and historical sources.

Content distribution:

1. Introduction; Thomas Hardy, Tess of the D'Urbervilles (selected fragments)

2. Oscar Wilde, The Portrait of Dorian Gray

3. Robert Louis Stevenson, Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde

4. Rudyard Kipling, "The White Man's Burden"; Plain Tales from the Hills (two stories: “His Chance in Life” and “Lispeth”)

5. Joseph Conrad, The Heart of Darkness

6. E.M. Forster, A Room with a View (novel or film adaptation)

7. D. H. Lawrence, selected short stories and poems

8. World War I poetry: Wilfred Owen, “Arms and the Boy”, “Anthem for Doomed Youth;” Isaac Rosenberg, “Returning, We Hear the Larks;” Edward Thomas, “Liberty,” “The Owl”

9. James Joyce, A Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man; Dubliners (selected short stories)

10. Virginia Woolf, Mrs Dalloway

11. William Butler Yeats, “Sailing to Byzantium”; Cathleen ni Houlihan

12. T.S. Eliot, “The Waste Land” (fragments), “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”

13. Agatha Christie, The Mysterious Affair at Styles (novel or film adaptation)

14. Aldous Huxley, Brave New World

15. Post-war poetry: selected poems by Philip Larkin, Dylan Thomas and W.H. Auden

Primary reading list:

1. Thomas Hardy, Tess of the D'Urbervilles (selected fragments)

2. Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray

3. Robert Louis Stevenson, Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde

4. Rudyard Kipling, "The White Man's Burden"; Plain Tales from the Hills (two stories: “His Chance in Life” and “Lispeth”)

5. Joseph Conrad, The Heart of Darkness

6. E.M. Forster, A Room with a View

7. D. H. Lawrence, selected short stories and poems

8. World War I poetry: Wilfred Owen, “Arms and the Boy”, “Anthem for Doomed Youth;” Isaac Rosenberg, “Returning, We Hear the Larks;” Edward Thomas, “Liberty,” “The Owl”

9. James Joyce, A Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man; Dubliners (selected short stories)

10. Virginia Woolf, Mrs Dalloway

11. William Butler Yeats, “Sailing to Byzantium”; Cathleen ni Houlihan

12. T.S. Eliot, “The Waste Land”, “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”

13. Agatha Christie, The Mysterious Affair at Styles

14. Aldous Huxley, Brave New World

15. Post-war poetry: W.H. Auden ("Funeral Blues", "Lullaby"), Dylan Thomas, ("Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night") and Philip Larkin ("Going, Going", "This Be the Verse")

Further reading:

Blamires, Harry. 2003. A Short History of English Literature. 2nd edition. London-New York: Routledge.

1. Bradbury, Malcolm, ed. 2011. The Penguin Book of Modern British Short Stories. London: Penguin.

2. Carter, Ronald and John McRae. 1997. The Routledge History of Literature in English. Britain and Ireland. London-New York: Routledge.

3. Cuddon, J.A. 1998. The Penguin Dictionary of Literary Terms and Theory. London: Penguin.

4. Greenblatt, Stephen and M. H. Abrams. 2006. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 8th edition. New York-London: W.W Norton & Company.

5. Kermode, Frank and John Hollander, eds. 1973. The Oxford Anthology of English Literature: Modern British Literature. NY: Oxford University Press.

Teaching methods may include traditional classroom, asynchronous and synchronous methods. In the case of remote learning, USOS mail, Moodle and MS Teams will be used to communicate with students.

The aim of this tutorial is to familiarise students with British literature from late Victorian to modernist fiction.

The course focuses on presenting literary texts forming the canon of British literature in their historical and theoretical contexts. During the course the students will learn how to analyse and interpret selected works of poetry, fiction, and drama, using basic literary concepts and referring to biographical and historical sources.

Content distribution:

1. Introduction; Thomas Hardy, Tess of the D'Urbervilles (selected fragments)

2. Oscar Wilde, The Portrait of Dorian Gray

3. Robert Louis Stevenson, Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde

4. Rudyard Kipling, "The White Man's Burden"; Plain Tales from the Hills (two stories: “His Chance in Life” and “Lispeth”)

5. Joseph Conrad, The Heart of Darkness

6. E.M. Forster, A Room with a View (novel or film adaptation)

7. D. H. Lawrence, selected short stories and poems

8. World War I poetry: Wilfred Owen, “Arms and the Boy”, “Anthem for Doomed Youth;” Isaac Rosenberg, “Returning, We Hear the Larks;” Edward Thomas, “Liberty,” “The Owl”

9. James Joyce, A Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man; Dubliners (selected short stories)

10. Virginia Woolf, Mrs Dalloway

11. William Butler Yeats, “Sailing to Byzantium”; Cathleen ni Houlihan

12. T.S. Eliot, “The Waste Land” (fragments), “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”

13. Agatha Christie, The Mysterious Affair at Styles (novel or film adaptation)

14. Aldous Huxley, Brave New World

15. Post-war poetry: selected poems by Philip Larkin, Dylan Thomas and W.H. Auden

Primary reading list:

1. Thomas Hardy, Tess of the D'Urbervilles (selected fragments)

2. Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray

3. Robert Louis Stevenson, Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde

4. Rudyard Kipling, "The White Man's Burden"; Plain Tales from the Hills (two stories: “His Chance in Life” and “Lispeth”)

5. Joseph Conrad, The Heart of Darkness

6. E.M. Forster, A Room with a View

7. D. H. Lawrence, selected short stories and poems

8. World War I poetry: Wilfred Owen, “Arms and the Boy”, “Anthem for Doomed Youth;” Isaac Rosenberg, “Returning, We Hear the Larks;” Edward Thomas, “Liberty,” “The Owl”

9. James Joyce, A Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man; Dubliners (selected short stories)

10. Virginia Woolf, Mrs Dalloway

11. William Butler Yeats, “Sailing to Byzantium”; Cathleen ni Houlihan

12. T.S. Eliot, “The Waste Land”, “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”

13. Agatha Christie, The Mysterious Affair at Styles

14. Aldous Huxley, Brave New World

15. Post-war poetry: W.H. Auden ("Funeral Blues", "Lullaby"), Dylan Thomas, ("Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night") and Philip Larkin ("Going, Going", "This Be the Verse")

Further reading:

Blamires, Harry. 2003. A Short History of English Literature. 2nd edition. London-New York: Routledge.

1. Bradbury, Malcolm, ed. 2011. The Penguin Book of Modern British Short Stories. London: Penguin.

2. Carter, Ronald and John McRae. 1997. The Routledge History of Literature in English. Britain and Ireland. London-New York: Routledge.

3. Cuddon, J.A. 1998. The Penguin Dictionary of Literary Terms and Theory. London: Penguin.

4. Greenblatt, Stephen and M. H. Abrams. 2006. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 8th edition. New York-London: W.W Norton & Company.

5. Kermode, Frank and John Hollander, eds. 1973. The Oxford Anthology of English Literature: Modern British Literature. NY: Oxford University Press.

Teaching methods may include traditional classroom, asynchronous and synchronous methods. In the case of remote learning, USOS mail, Moodle and MS Teams will be used to communicate with students.