English 321: English Sixteenth-Century Poetry and Prose

Required texts:

• Broadview Anthology of Sixteenth-Century Poetry and Prose (=BA)
• Hilary Mantel, Wolf Hall (=WH)
• Supplementary Online Readings and Notes
• Either (choose one)
  • Sidney’s “Defence of Poesy” and Selected Renaissance Literary Criticism (=RLC or
  • Elizabethan Critical Essays (available online) (=RLC)

Course requirements:
Regular quizzes, two three-page essays, three projects (sonnet, annotation, careers), viewing of the Folger exhibit Symbols of Honor: Heraldry and Family History in Shakespeare’s England, a midterm and a final.

Quizzes:
Quizzes will frequently be given at the beginning of class. There will be a variety kinds of questions on these quizzes. Some will test that you have looked up and understand unfamiliar words in the days reading (you will frequently need the OED for this, as well as attention to our texts’ glosses). Some will ask you to demonstrate specific but basic understanding of the day’s reading. Some will as you to pose a specific question about the day’s reading for the class to discuss. And some will ask simple questions about the plot of Wolf Hall. The point of these quizzes is to show that you are reading carefully and regularly. If you are not in class, you cannot make up the quiz (ditto for coming late to class). However, I will drop your lowest quiz grade from the semester. So that means you can have one miss without penalty.

Essays:
Each of the two papers for this class will be due twice: the first time in class at the paper workshop scheduled one week after the paper is assigned, and the second time one week following that. During the workshop you’ll have a chance to trade papers with fellow students and raise questions or give each other suggestions for revision. You’ll have the second week to revise your paper, based on this input and on your own rethinking and rewriting. The second week after the paper is assigned both the revised and original version of the paper will be handed in to me. I hope that this system will build revision, so necessary to good writing, into the structure of the course. I’ll grade the paper on basis of the revised version only, but I will expect the original version to be your best initial attempt at the topic. It would not be fair for other students to have to read work that is not your best; additionally, it is in your interest to write as good an original version as possible, so that your second version is even better. Remember that because everyone has two tries at the paper, I will accordingly have higher expectations for the final version. Paper topics will relate to issues we have discussed in class, and you are encouraged to bring to bear class discussion in your writing. You are also encouraged to expand on these discussions and credit will be given for new ideas.

Projects:
Three projects will allow you to engage with the material of the class in ways other than through a formal essay. The sonnet project will ask you to write a sonnet, and comment on it. The annotation project will ask you to produce an annotated edition of a selection of a sixteenth-century text from its original early modern edition. The careers project will ask you to consider how you’d leverage the skills and ideas you learn in this class to pursue and succeed in a career outside of English studies. More details on these projects will follow. There won’t be exchanges for these projects.

Paper Standards:
Each essay or project should be typed with standard margins, spacing and type size. It should have page numbers, and its pages fastened with a staple or paper clip (origami does not count!). It should be carefully proofread and neatly presented.

Late Papers:
Final versions of essays or projects handed in after the due date will be graded down a half grade for each day late. First versions of essays for peer review that are not done, not typed or obviously incomplete will result in a 1/2 grade deduction to grade on the final version of the essay. What you bring to peer review should not be a draft but your best attempt at the essay.

Paper Help:
During the scheduled workshops, you’ll have a chance to give and get advice on your essays. For either essays or projects, I encourage you to come see me at my office hours or to make an appointment to see me. When we meet, try to have a draft of the paper you are working on. This will give us something more concrete to talk about. There is also available a Writing Center at Robinson A114 that can provide you with further individual attention to your writing. I encourage you to take advantage of this excellent facility. I would also suggest that you give yourself plenty of time to work. Writing a paper at one sitting is, for most people, unpleasant, and the results are not likely to be satisfactory. Start early!

Plagiarism:
Since this class emphasizes the development of your own close reading and interpretive skills, you are not encouraged to consult secondary sources. If you do choose to look at such work, however, you must cite, using a standard citation format, all the articles, books or other sources that your own writing draws on, either directly or indirectly. Such sources include (but are not limited to) introductions to editions of the texts we’re reading and any kind study aid.

Also note that uncited sources will constitute plagiarism even if they ended up in your work without your conscious knowledge (e.g. you forgot you read the material; you confused your own notes with notes on a source), since part of the scholarly responsibility that comes with using secondary sources is keeping track of which words or ideas were yours and which came from a source. If you do not wish to take on this responsibility then you should not consult secondary sources.

I will take all suspected cases of plagiarism to the Honor Committee.

Midterm and Final:
The midterm will test your knowledge of course readings and concepts. It will everything up to Monday October 8, the date of the midterm. The final will test your knowledge of course readings and concepts. It will cover everything up to the end of class, and be given on Wednesday, December 10 from 10:30 am – 1:15 pm.

If you do not consistently do the reading and come to class, you will have a hard time doing well on the midterm or final.

Grading:
The final grade will be derived as follows:

Students with Disabilities:
If you are a student with a disability and you need academic accommodations, please see me and contact the Office of Disability Resources at 703.993.2474. All academic accommodations must be arranged through that office.

Please come see me if you have any questions about grading, the syllabus or the class. I look forward to having the chance to meet you. Best wishes for a good semester!

GRADE CRITERIA FOR ESSAYS

A Specific, complex and/or striking thesis, thesis developed without digression through the course of the paper, consistently precise, sensitive and/or striking interpretations of the text, crafted prose, no major mechanical problems

B Specific thesis, thesis generally developed through the course of the paper, consistently good interpretation of text, competent prose, minor mechanical problems

C Has a thesis, but one that needs greater specificity or complexity, thesis developed with some digression or repetition, some good interpretation, some mechanical problems

D Very general thesis, thesis development digressive or repetitive, plot summary or thoughts/speculations not based on textual evidence, major mechanical problems

F No thesis or thesis development