ENG 255 - Studies in the Renaissance

Have you ever used your feelings to get something you really wanted or needed? This course goes beyond Shakespeare and revisits the English Renaissance by examining the work of emotions in literature. I mention “work” intentionally because that is precisely what emotions do - they bring people together and drive them apart; they work upon our own hearts, bodies, and minds. Our course analyzes poetry, prose, and drama to develop an understanding of how happiness, sadness, anger, fear, disgust, and surprise stand at the intersection of personal experience and historical or scientific fact. We will discuss texts by writers such as Christopher Marlowe, Edmund Spenser, John Donne, Elizabeth Cary, John Milton, and Aphra Behn. Wear your heart on your sleeve and bring your feelings along for the ride. It’s going to be an emotional rollercoaster. For undergraduate English majors this course satisfies the Period (D-1) requirement. For English minors, this course counts as a 200-level English course.

Prerequisites: Permission of the instructor.

Anticipated Terms Offered: Periodically