English 302
This course will introduce you to fundamental issues in the study of literature, focusing on the debate between what are known as “intrinsic,” “extrinsic”, and “reader response” criticism. “Intrinsic” criticism argues that the meaning of a text is determined by “the words on the page,” so that the critic shouldn’t bring information that isn’t in the text itself; “extrinsic” criticism argues that we should look to the context within which the text was created, including the biography of the author and the nature of the historical situation at the time of writing; “reader response” criticism emphasizes the personal, individual response that each reader brings to their understanding of the text.
We will begin with a poem by the French poet Baudelaire, “Red Haired Beggar Girl,” followed by the English poet Tennyson’s “Charge of the Light Brigade,” and then several poems by the Black American poet Langston Hughes and Shakespeare’s play “The Tempest.” We will also read some of the things literary critics have said about each of these works, comparing what they say to what we read in the text to see just how fair and accurate the critics’ assessments are.
We will probably read a couple of other texts as well. This syllabus is a work in progress.
You will write three 3-5 page papers, each counting for one third of your grade.
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