Semester Wise Road Map
BS-English Literature
Course
Semester 2 Course Outlines Cr. Hrs.
Codes
Course Description:
This course focuses on the study of poetry from Geoffrey Chaucer to
Alexander Pope. The term ‘classical’ understandably refers to the lasting
appeal and artistic pleasure of the poetical works selected for this course.
Though belonging to different poetical genres, the poetry of Chaucer,
Shakespeare, Donne, Milton, and Pope have stood the tests of time and no
further study in this genre of literature is possible without studying these
Classical bench marks of English poetry. The teachers of classical poetry need to
inculcate a spirit of studying the aesthetic concerns of the times of these
Poetry poetical masterpieces along with giving a holistic understanding of different
ENG- 3(3-0)
genres of poetry, namely epic, ballad, sonnet, lyric, and elegy etc. Offering a
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study of the congenial humor and gentle satire of Chaucer’s Prologue to
Canterbury Tales (c. 1389), the puritanical strain of Milton’s epic Paradise
Lost (1667), the fiery quality of Love and divine poetry of the metaphysical
poet John Donne, some sonnets of William Shakespeare and famous mock epic
of Alexander Pope, this course is designed to cover the classical aspects of
English poetry. By teaching the fundamentals of poetry that this course
entails, the teachers may introduce a diversity of poetic expressions that will
help the students further their inquiry into this genre in the coming
semesters.
Course Objectives:
This course aims to:
1. Trace the generic specific historical development of classical poetry, but
also to develop a keen awareness of poetic language and tone of the period.
2. Introduce various forms and styles of the genre of poetry for creating an in-
depth understanding of this genre.
Course Contents:
Geoffrey Chaucer: The Prologue to the Canterbury Tales (Prioress, Monk,
Friar, Parson, Clerk, Knight, Squire, The Wife of Bath, Merchant, Miller,
Summoner)
John Donne: Good Morrow, The Sun Rising, Go and Catch a Falling Star,
The Flea, Valediction: Forbidding Mourning, Ecstasy
John Milton: Paradise Lost Book 1 (Complete), Book 9 (Temptation Scene)
Alexander Pope: The Rape of the Lock
Recommended Readings:
Abbs, P., & Richardson, J. (1995). The Forms of Poetry. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.
Barnet, S. (1996). A Short Guide to Writing about Literature (7th ed.). New
York: Harper & Collins.
Boulton, M. (1977). The Anatomy of Poetry. London: Routledge and Kegan
Kamran, R., & Zad, S. F. (Eds.). A Quintessence of Classical Poetry. National
University of Modern Languages, Islamabad.
Kennedy, X. J., & Gioia, D. (1994). An Introduction to Poetry (8th ed.). New
York: Harper Collins College Publishers.
