ENG401 Introduction to Literature Short Story & Poetry Assignments No.1 December 2014

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ENG401 Introduction to Literature Short Story and Poetry Assignments No. 1 Discussions and Solutions Fall 2014 Close Dec 11, 2014


Objective:

To assess students’ knowledge of the literary genres, literary terms, their usage and difference


Instructions:

Late assignment will not be accepted.
If the file is corrupt or problematic, it will be awarded zero.
Plagiarism will NOT be tolerated. Plagiarism occurs when a student uses work done by someone else as if it were his or her own; however, taking the ideas from different sources and to express it in your own words does not fall in this category.
No assignment will be accepted via e-mail.
The file should be in Word doc form, the font color should be preferably black and font size should be 12 Times New Roman.


Q1. Provide a brief commentary on the various phases of the history of English Literature. The discussion should be entirely in your own words. 5 Marks





Q2. How, in your view, Literature portrays a culture more elaborately than cultural or historical artifacts? Give a compact overview. 5 Marks





Q3. Figurative devices function as: they magnify the meaning and add to the beauty of any literary piece/text. What is your opinion? 5 Marks







Q4. Is the basic motive behind the narrator's intention to kill the old man in the story 'The Tell-Tale Heart' justified?
5 Marks

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English Literature is one of richest literatures of the world. Being the literature of a great nation which, though inhabiting a small island off the west coast of Europe, has made its mark in the world on account of her spirit of adventure, perseverance and tenacity, it reflects these characteristics of a great people.


It has vitality, rich variety and continuity. As literature is the reflection of society, the various changes which have come about in English society, from the earliest to the modern time, have left their stamp on English literature. Thus in order to appreciate properly the various phases of English literature, knowledge of English Social and Political History is essential. For example, we cannot form a just estimate of Chaucer without taking into account the characteristics of the period in which he was living, or of Shakespeare without taking proper notice of the great events which were taking place during the reign of Elizabeth. The same is the case with other great figures and important movements in English literature.

When we study the history of English literature from the earliest to modern times, we find that it has passed through certain definite phases, each having marked characteristics. These phases may be termed as ‘Ages’ or ‘Periods’, which are named after the central literary figures or the important rulers of England. Thus we have the ‘Ages’ of Chaucer, Shakespeare, Milton, Dryden, Pope, Johnson. Wordsworth, Tennyson, Hardy; and, on the other hand, the Elizabethan Age, the Jacobean Period, the Age of Queen Anne, the Victorian Age, the Georgian Period.

Some of these phases are named after certain literary movements, as the Classical Age, the Romantic Age; while others after certain important historial eras, as the Medieval Period, Anglo-Saxon Period, Anglo-Norman Period. These literary phases are also named by some literary historians after the centuries, as the Seventeenth Century Literature, Eighteenth Century Literature, Nineteenth-Century Literature and Twentieth Century Literature. These ‘Ages’ and ‘Periods’ naturally overlap each other, and they are not to be followed strictly, but it is essential to keep them in mind in order to follow the growth of English literature, and its salient and distinctive characteristics during the various periods of its development.