British Literature

From the Medieval warrior epic Beowulf, to the complex introspection of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, to the subtle humor of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, to the existential struggles of modernism and post-modernism, British Literature students journey from the beginning to the end of the English language’s greatest masterpieces. Weekly discussions examine themes that continue from Beowulf to the present day, as well as exposing students to the historical and cultural context of their assignments.

Writing assignments will focus closely on literary analysis. Students will write 3 persuasive essays, one of which will be a comparison/contrast essay, using MLA style. Grammar lessons will cover and review the essentials of parts of speech and sentence structure. Readings and discussions will also cover literary terms and devices that are important for standardized tests and college-level literature classes.

Registration in Advanced Grammar is recommended for students who are prepared for the literature and writing involved in the course but would like extra instruction in English grammar.

What we call the beginning is often the end
And to make an end is to make a beginning.
The end is where we start from. And every phrase
And sentence that is right (where every word is at home,
Taking its place to support the others,
The word neither diffident nor ostentatious,
An easy commerce of the old and the new,
The common word exact without vulgarity,
The formal word precise but not pedantic,
The complete consort dancing together)
Every phrase and every sentence is an end and a beginning,
Every poem an epitaph.”
~T.S. Eliot