EN 1208: English Literature II
Teaching poetry
· Recommended text
English and
American Poetry
- William
Shakespeare: 1564-1616, Let me not to the Marriage of True Minds, Nor Marble
nor the Gilded Monument
- John Donne:
1572-1631, The Good Morrow:
- William Blake:
1757-1827, The Tiger:
- P.B. Shelley:
1792-1822, Ozymandias:
- H.W. Longfellow:
1807-1882, The Slave’s Dream
- Robert Frost:
1874-1963, Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening:
- Zigfrid Sassoon:
1886- 1967, How to Die
Sri Lankan and
Post-colonial Poetry,
- Daya Dissanayake,
Kite, Interview
- Yasmin Gooneratne,
Words to a daughter:
- Rabindranath
Tagore, Unworthy Gift;
- Derek Walcott, Far
Cry from Africa
· Consider the
following aspects
- Genre: e.g. sonnet, lyric etc
- Background: age, cultural / social setting
- Form: e.g. 3 quatrains and a couplet
- Structure: e.g. 1st 3 quatrains
express 3 different ideas, each growing out of the preceding Idea; argument is
tied up in the couplet.
- Theme: futility of war, love, beauty of nature,
etc.
- Techniques: e.g. use of imagery, repetition,
simile, etc.
· Types of
activities:
Select tasks which match the cognitive level of the
students, which is more developed than the language level. Activities which
assist in understanding difficult language will bridge the gap between language
level and text level. Activities should aim at developing the following aspects
with regard to each poem.
- Understanding the meaning: pre-text task,
Introduction to key words, Prediction activities, reorganizing / matching /
comparing / scanning activities.
- Understanding the context:
- Learning to empathize: power of understanding and
imaginatively entering into another person’s feelings’ character / events /
scenes
- Learning to appreciate the poem: figurative
language, theme, genre, words, sounds
- Learning to be creative express feelings / mood /
tone, describe characters / events / settings.
Teaching short stories
· Recommended text
- Shantan, The
Cuckoo’s House
- Nadin Gordimer,
The Defeated
- Sir Arthur Conan
Doyle, The Dying Detective
· Draw attention of the
students to the following aspects
- Setting: How does the writer establish social /
cultural background?
- Plot: how does the writer develop the plot /
organize incidents / develop the problem or conflict as the story progresses /
the climax of the story / what happens after the climax.
- Characters: How are the characters developed? What
does the story tell us about their appearance/qualities., how do they
contribute to the development of the plot and to present the theme?
- Structure: Point of view, narrative, use of
dialogue etc
- Language: the kind of language the writer has used
- Techniques: symbolism, stream of consciousness,
flashbacks etc.
Teaching the novel
· Recommended text
- R.K. Narayan; The
Guide or
- Ediriweera Sarathchandra:
The curfew and the Full Moon
· Consider the
following aspects
- Narration: 1st person, 3rd person
- Structure: descriptive, narrative, dialogue, length
of the novel
- Plot and parallel plots, sub-plots
- Themes: Unlike a short story a noel will deal with
many themes
- Characters: central, major, minor
· Create awareness
of the following
Knowledge of the author, period in which the novel
was written / the period of time the novel is focusing
· Type of activities:
- to understand the plot: arranging a list of jumbled
events in order, summarizing a chapter
- to understand the themes: select from a number of
themes etc.
- to understand literary devices and their
effects: analyze selections of texts to identify literary devices
- to express learner’s views: presentations on issues
related to the novel, writing appreciations, dramatization
- to identify character traits: identify relationship
between the characters and the development of the relationships
Teaching drama
· Recommended text
- Arthur Miller: The
Death of a Salesman or
- Bernard Shaw: The
Arms and the Man
· Draw attention to
the following aspects
- Background to the drama
- Genre: Comedy, tragedy
- Theatre conventions: props, structure, props,
lighting, costume, sounds, asides, soliloquy, chorus
- Themes
- Development of the plot: exposition, initial
incident, rising action / growth / complication, the climax / crisis / turning
point, falling action / resolution / denouement, conclusion or catastrophe
- Development of the characters
- Significance of language: blank verse, poetry,
colloquial
