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English 300 Analysis of Literary Forms
English 300 Analysis of Literary Forms Spring 2003 Dr. Gass Office: UH 440 Office Hours: T-Th 9:30-10:30 Telephone: 657-278-2713 e-mail: jgass@fullerton.edu or 42joanngas@msn.com fax: 657-278-5954 Syllabus Required Texts: The Making of a Poem: A Norton Anthology of Poetic Forms. Mark Strand and Eavan Boland, eds. ISBN: 0393049167 The Norton Anthology of Short Fiction: Sixth Shorter Edition. R. V. Cassill and Richard Bausch, eds. ISBN: 0393975096 The Longman Anthology of Drama and Theater: A Global Perspective. Michale L. Greenwald, Roger Schultz, and Roberto D. Pomo, eds. ISBN: 0321015592
A Handbook to Literature 9th ed. William Harmon and Hugh Holman. Prentice Hall ISBN: 0-13-097998-8 All books are available at the Little Professor Book Center on Placentia Blvd., next to Kinko’s. Course Description:
English 300 Analysis of Literary Forms is a required course for majors in English and Comparative Literature. Its purpose is to teach students to identify the basic elements of the three major genres of literature—poetry, drama, and fiction—and to be able to explain in coherent and competent essays how those elements combine to create the meaning of a poem, a play, or a work of fiction. The emphasis in this course will always be on how, not necessarily on what (explication).
Outcomes: At the end of the course, a student must demonstrate that he/she is able to do the following:
1. Drama: a. Identify and define the basic elements of Aristotelian plot structure and of Freytag’s modification and amplification of it. b. Identify and explain some basic differences between tragedy, comedy, satire, and romance. c. Be able to describe the conventions of Greek drama and the dramas of at least two other dramatic traditions, such as those of China, Japan, or India. d. Analyze a main character in a play showing how language, costume, setting, plot, and/or other characters reveal the character’s motivation and personal characteristics.
2. Poetry: a. Identify and define several types of poem. b. Identify the devices that the poet uses to create the poem (figurative language, rhyme scheme, rhythm, etc.) c. Write a comparison and contrast essay in analyzing two poems on similar subjects by different authors and demonstrating how the elements that make up the poems contribute to the poems’ themes.
3. Fiction: (Short Story) a. Identify the basic elements of fiction: plot, characterization, setting, diction and syntax, figurative language, and symbol. b. Write an analysis of a story in which the student demonstrates how the structural elements of the story contribute to the author’s theme.
Assessment: Learning will be assessed in the following ways:
1. Brief responses at the end of each week to the material presented and discussed and/or terms from the handbook. Responses may include short quizzes, written responses to prompts, group work, or oral responses. 2. Three essays, one for each of the genres. 3. Participation, in an intense, engaged way, in three group discussions. 4. One diagnostic essay at the beginning of the semester 5. One final analysis essay to be used for assessment purposes.
Grading: Grades will be figured based upon total points earned.
Attendance and Participation: Regular attendance is essential; you may not miss more than six hours of class without incurring a penalty—you will lose all 300 points of class participation. Class participation includes not only your regular attendance, but also your active engagement in discussions and group projects; therefore, regular attendance earns 150 points, active engagement 150 more.
Late Paper Policy: All quizzes and responses are due on the day they are assigned in class and cannot be made up. Papers are due on the assigned date; however, if, for some very good reason, you are unable to meet the due date, you will have one week to turn the paper in; after that, I will not accept any papers more than one week overdue. You must, however, notify me in advance that you cannot meet the due date.
Class Schedule:
Week #1: Introduction Diagnostic essay Anthology of Drama, 1-103
Week #2: Greek Drama, 106-114 Oedipus, 132 (read introductory materials, too) Medea, 162 Lysistrata, 187
Week #3: India, China, and Japan India, 254-262 The Recognition of Śakuntalā, 263 China, 322-332 Autumn in the Palace of Han, 333 Japan, 358-371 Komachi at Sekidera, 374
Week #4: The European Renaissance, 460-471 A Midsummer Night’s Dream, 476 Life’s a Dream, 588
Week #5: The Modern Theater, Realism and Naturalism, 832-846 Hedda Gabler, 883 The Theater of Africa, 1250-1255 Master Harold and the Boys, 1278
Week #6: The Contemporary Theater, 1453-1463 A Solid Home, 1494 Buried Child, 1553 Group discussion #1 Essay #1 assigned Write an analysis of the main character in one of the plays assigned for this section.
Week #7: Poetry: The Making of a Poem, Introduction, xiii-xxxi Verse Forms The Villanelle, The Sestina, The Pantoum Essay #1 due
Week #8: The Sonnet, The Ballad, The Heroic Couplet, The Stanza
Week #9: Meter and The Shaping Forms Meter, The Elegy
Week #10: The Pastoral, The Ode, Open Forms Group discussion #2 Essay #2 assigned Write a comparison and contrast essay in analyzing two poems on similar subjects by different authors and demonstrating how the elements that make up the poems contribute to the poems’ themes. Select poems in different forms, and include in your analysis an explanation of how the form contributes to the poem’s meaning.
Week #11: Fiction: The Norton Anthology of Short Fiction, xix-xxx “Death by Landscape,” 9 “Cathedral,” 56 “The Story of an Hour,” 106 Essay #2 due
Week #12: “The Yellow Wallpaper,” 359 “A Soldier’s Embrace,” 372 “The Dead,” 441
Week #13: “The Chrysanthemums,” 800 “Rules of the Game,’ 809 “A & P,” 864
Week #14: “The Moths,” 870 “Everyday Use,” 875 “Kew Gardens,” 917
Week #15: “Writing Papers about Fiction,” 933 “When You Write about Fiction,” 940 “The Open Boat,” 195 Group discussion #3 Essay #3 assigned Write an essay
Week #16: Essay #3 due Final: Analysis in-class essay
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