To consider in detail, and from a range of critical and historical perspectives, (a) how texts can be grouped in literary or cultural periods, (b) how texts respond to other texts over wide spans of time, and (c) how texts respond to immediate public or historical events. To examine the relationship between writing and different kinds of context (historical, biographical, print). To highlight the importance of Blblical sources within the history of literature.

(LO1) Demonstrate close familiarity with a range of literary genres and conventions for a variety of periods.

(LO2) Demonstrate a solid ability to provide historically informed, contextualised readings of literary texts.

(LO3) Demonstrate close familiarity with a range of critical approaches to the literary texts,authors and issues covered by the module.

(LO4) Demonstrate a solid ability to participate in group discussion of this material, and write coherently constructed and knowledgeable essays on the texts and issues studied.

(S1) Communication (oral, written and visual) - Academic writing (inc. referencing skills)

(S2) Communication (oral, written and visual) - influencing skills - persuading

(S3) Information skills - critical reading

(S4) Critical thinking and problem solving - Critical analysis

This module covers each of the major periods of English literature from the Middle Ages onwards and examines the impact of Biblical themes and ideas on literary texts throughout the centuries. You will focus in depth on one text from each period. You might typically study Genesis, from the Authorised Version of the Bible, the anonymous medieval poem 'Sir Orfeo' and Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus, each of which demonstrates the different ways in which models of authority have been interpreted and reinterpreted. Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, Gray’s Elegy written in a Country Churchyard' and Coleridge’s ‘Rime of the Ancient Mariner’ each testify to the rise of individualism and alienation as central concerns within Renaissance, Enlightenment and Romantic thought, whilst simultaneously questioning the role of faith and salvation in an increasingly secular world. Brontë’s Jane Eyre and Woolf’s Mrs Dalloway both c hallenge accepted notions of the relationship between the personal and the political, between male and female, and between self and society. Finally, Paul Farley’s Ice Age explores the continuities and the discontinuities between memory, history and myth.

Teaching Method 1 - Lectures
Description: The main functions of the lectures are (a) to provide a wide context in respect of the texts and authors; and (b) to offer a diverse range of models of interpretation and argument.
Attendance Recorded: Yes

Teaching Method 2 - Tutorials
Description: Tutorials, which normally have a maximum of 10 students, provide group discussion, typically with a detailed focus on specific texts, authors and/or issues.
Attendance Recorded: No

Teaching Method 3 - Drop-in sessions
Description: An opportunity for further discussion of module content and assessment with the module convenor
Attendance Recorded: No
Notes: This activity is optional