ENGL 203: Survey of English Literature I
Dr. Scott O'Neil
Spring 2026
Online Asynchronous
Spring 2026
Online Asynchronous
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Links to Readings for the Semester:
Week One:
-Early English Riddles: Online; From the Norton
-Exeter Book Elegies ("The Wanderer," "The Ruin," and "The Wife's Lament")
Week Two:
-Geoffrey of Monmouth (read chapters 10-15, starting on page 28)
-Bede (Caedmon's Hymn)
-The Dream of the Rood
-OPTIONAL: Ancrene Wisse and Julian of Norwich
Week Three:
-John Gower (Confessio Amantis)
-Marie de France (Milun and Lanval)
Week Four:
-Audio version of Gawain and the Green Knight (see video link further down the page)
-Sir Thomas Malory's Morte Darthur
Week Five:
-Several versions of the Quem Quaeritis. Please read AND view the video below (further down
the page).
-The Wakefield Second Shepherd's Play. Please read AND view the video below (further down
the page).
-Medieval Drama in performance. Everyman and three short Mystery Play pageants (see videos
further down the page).
Week Six:
-Sonnet Packet
-OPTIONAL READING: Lorenzo Valla's exposure of the Donation of Constantine
-OPTIONAL READING: Erasmus's Adagia
-Faith in Translation
Week Seven:
-Schoolmasters: Roger Ascham's The Schoolmaster
-Vives's Schoolboy Narratives (particularly read "Students' Chatter")
-Book 1, Canto 1 of The Faerie Queene
Week Eight:
-No new reading for this week. Review for and take the midterm exam.
Week Nine:
-Christopher Marlowe's "The Passionate Shepherd to His Love"
-Sir Walter Raleigh's "The Nymph's Reply to the Shepherd"
-The Swetnam Controversy
-OPTIONAL READING: Hic Mulier/Haec Vir
Week Ten:
-The Elizabethan Image of Africa
-Shakespeare's King John (read Act 1)
Week Eleven:
-Shakespeare's King John (read Acts 2 and 3 for the first lecture, and 4 and 5 for the second).
Week Twelve:
-James Shapiro on the Gunpowder Plot from an excerpt of 1606: The Year of Lear
-Milton's poem "Lycidas."
Week Thirteen:
-Milton, Book 9 of Paradise Lost
-Samuel Pepys's diary (see syllabus calendar for which entries to read).
Week Fourteen:
-Thomas Overbury, "A Wife" (and any three additional Overburian characters)
-Poetry packet (metaphysical poets)
Week Fifteen:
-Aphra Behn's Oroonoko (see syllabus for which parts to read for each lecture)
-Early English Riddles: Online; From the Norton
-Exeter Book Elegies ("The Wanderer," "The Ruin," and "The Wife's Lament")
Week Two:
-Geoffrey of Monmouth (read chapters 10-15, starting on page 28)
-Bede (Caedmon's Hymn)
-The Dream of the Rood
-OPTIONAL: Ancrene Wisse and Julian of Norwich
Week Three:
-John Gower (Confessio Amantis)
-Marie de France (Milun and Lanval)
Week Four:
-Audio version of Gawain and the Green Knight (see video link further down the page)
-Sir Thomas Malory's Morte Darthur
Week Five:
-Several versions of the Quem Quaeritis. Please read AND view the video below (further down
the page).
-The Wakefield Second Shepherd's Play. Please read AND view the video below (further down
the page).
-Medieval Drama in performance. Everyman and three short Mystery Play pageants (see videos
further down the page).
Week Six:
-Sonnet Packet
-OPTIONAL READING: Lorenzo Valla's exposure of the Donation of Constantine
-OPTIONAL READING: Erasmus's Adagia
-Faith in Translation
Week Seven:
-Schoolmasters: Roger Ascham's The Schoolmaster
-Vives's Schoolboy Narratives (particularly read "Students' Chatter")
-Book 1, Canto 1 of The Faerie Queene
Week Eight:
-No new reading for this week. Review for and take the midterm exam.
Week Nine:
-Christopher Marlowe's "The Passionate Shepherd to His Love"
-Sir Walter Raleigh's "The Nymph's Reply to the Shepherd"
-The Swetnam Controversy
-OPTIONAL READING: Hic Mulier/Haec Vir
Week Ten:
-The Elizabethan Image of Africa
-Shakespeare's King John (read Act 1)
Week Eleven:
-Shakespeare's King John (read Acts 2 and 3 for the first lecture, and 4 and 5 for the second).
Week Twelve:
-James Shapiro on the Gunpowder Plot from an excerpt of 1606: The Year of Lear
-Milton's poem "Lycidas."
Week Thirteen:
-Milton, Book 9 of Paradise Lost
-Samuel Pepys's diary (see syllabus calendar for which entries to read).
Week Fourteen:
-Thomas Overbury, "A Wife" (and any three additional Overburian characters)
-Poetry packet (metaphysical poets)
Week Fifteen:
-Aphra Behn's Oroonoko (see syllabus for which parts to read for each lecture)
Audio version of Gawain and the Green Knight for Week Four:
Quem Quaeritis video to watch alongside the reading in Week Five:
1954 Cloisters production of the Wakefield Second Shepherd's Play to watch alongside the reading in Week Five:
Everyman performance to watch for Week Five:
2014 York Cycle Fall of Man Pageant to watch for Week Five:
2013 Chester Cycle Last Judgement Pageant to watch for Week Five:
South African company's Uxor Noah Pageant to watch for Week Five:
Bonus Material: For those of you who were really excited about the South African Mysteries, I uploaded the full production for you. Purely optional/for entertainment purposes only. :)
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