uT 126.

1
WEsTERN LmRrrunr l: Ttrr Aroerr WoRl"D To rHE RENArssAlrcr (3 unir)
English Department, School of Humanities
First Semester 2015-2016
EownRo-Dnvro E. RuE, PH.D.
MWF (2.30-3.30 PM)

COURSE DESCRIPTION
A survey of the literature of the Western World produced between the l0scentury BC
to the late 17thcentury. lt includes representative poetry drama, prose fiction, and
nonfiction from the Ancient World, the Middle Ages, and the Renaissance.

LEARNING OUTCOMES
Upon successful completion of the course, the student should be able to:
1. Demonstrate sufficient knowledge of a "Western Canon" spanning the ancient to
early modern times, in terms of key writers, works, cultures, and their importance in
literature and history;
2. tdentify and distinguish forms, modes, and genres used during the time period
covered by the course;
3. Discuss and analyze various ideas, concepts, and systems of thought or belief as
represented in and generated by the required texts;
4. Demonstrate appreciable and commendable communication skills, written or
otherurise, through her/his reading and writing assignments;
5. Feel more at ease with subjective interpretation of both primary and secondary
sources through careful reading;
6. Maintain a comfortable kinship with criticaltheory, from Aristotle's to Formalism to
the present;
7. Appreciate further the MLA Style of documentation, and other formats, and the
importance of scholarly research. (Nota Bene: The idea of research does not begin
and end with lnternet and what it professes to offer. The student must enjoy and
value the use of any libraq/s collection, be it books andlor periodicals.)

Counsr Oururc

Week 1 = ntrod uetion/Sve ruieir of Cou rse a nd Req ui refnents,

I

=Background on the Ancient World {a handout}; From the Old

*text''}. P,5.
Testament: The concept of Wisdom Literature {see
Bring Bible for *ext meetingis class/Friday {any edition would
do).
=Prsverbs, Psalms, and an svervieur of The Book sf tob." NO
REAITNG QUIZ {*Q},
Week 2 An overview sf "Gilgamesh": lntroductory Essay, Pralag$€, Parts
1 and 2, ??, 1S3S. fiEADISIG QUIZ {BA} will be based on all these
readings.

Gilgamesh, Parts 3 and 4 pp. 3247. RQ TODAY.

Frorn the OId Testament: 'The Book of Job." RQ.

Be sure to read the introduction to the piece, then k*aw at least

the nature of Job's trials, his three friends, how the conversation
are presented (not their contents), the fourth visitor (consuit
your Bible!, the ideas of "behemoth" and "leviathan," and the
redemptive ending.

The Concept of Wisdom Literature.

Week 3 {conc.} 'The Book af Jsb'; more on U}fisdom Literature,

particularly some Psalms and Proyerbs; Ecclesiastes,

Also, from the OId Testament: "Song of Songs." NO RQ.

Hesiod'sTheogofiy; the pantheon of the gods; backdrop of the

Trojan War. NO RQ.

lffeek 4 More an the blg to the l/tfar, A loak at Yeats's sonnet, *Leda and
the Snran.' NO fiQ,,

Report: Euripides's "lphigenia in Aulis."

Homet'sThe ttiod. RQ. (Read and reread the synopsis ta Books 1-

L2; see handouth a closer look at Book 1.

Week 5 {conc,l The llisd. ftQ (iust sn Books t3 to end of epic}; a closer
laok at the Patroclus-Achilles scene; the Achilles-Priam-Achilles
scene in the epiCs last book.

Reports: Aeschylus: "Choephorce" {'The Libation Bearers"} and

"The Eumenides" from The Oresteia.

Week 6 Homet's The Odyssey, RQ on Books I to VIll {read and reread the
helpful handautl; ernphasis sn Book Vlll.

(cont.) The Odyssey. RQ on Books IX and XIII; emphasis on Book

xl.

{cont.} The Odyssey" Books XIV to XlX. NO RQ.

 More on Book )O(lV,

tYeek 7 {cont;} The Odyssey. nQon Sesks XX to end; msre cn Book }CfiV.

The Odyssey: a recap. NO RQ.

Two poems: Tennyson's "Ulysses" and Cavafi/s "lthaka."

An overview of Sophocles's "Oedipus the King."

Brief look intd Rukeyser's poem, "Myth."

Week I An overvieur of fuphocles's "Oedipus at Colonus."

Re po rts : So ph ocles's "Anti go ne"/Aristo ph a nes's " Lys i st rata ."

Sappho and her poesie. RQ on handout.

two rnajor papers is due next week.

REMINDER: The first of your
Hand out take-home gueries for our Midterm Exam Monday.

Week 9 SUBMIT MAJOR PAPEN NO. 1"

MIDTERM EXAM. Take-home essays rnust be handed in prior to

your taking the objective portion of the test. PLEASE COME TO
CIASS EARLIER THAN USUAL.

Buffer Day.

Week 1S Virgil's The Aenied" Books l-lV {read and re-read handout}. RQ.
Emphasis on Book lV.

(cont.) The Aeneid, Books V-lX. RQ. Emphasis on Aeneas's visit to

the Underworld.

(conc.l The Aeneid. Books X to end. RQ.

Week 1.1 Ovid's Metsmorphoses. Frsrn the Prologue ta Book l; Apollo and
Daphne; lo and Jove, *Q"

From Book ll: Ceres and Proserpina. NO RQ.

(conc.l Metomarphoses: Pygmalion; Myrrha and Cinyras; Venus

and Adonis. RQ.
Week 12 Background ts Middle Ages {a fuandout},

Reports: Augustine's Confessionsand The Qu'rcn/Karan.

Reports: Ttre Song of Rotond (The French Epicll The Ptem of the
Cid (The Spanish Epicl"

Week 13 A* $vervieur of Baccaselds *The Fecamersn.u tlYe nrill lwk into

one er two rrarrative samples" A psible averview af sne af the
tales and one of Chaucefs.

Week 14 Dante's La Divins Cammedis: "lnferno." Cantss 1-1S, Rq,.

(cont.} olnfertrro.'Cantos 11-18- NC RQ.

(cont,I "lnferno." C^antos 19-27. RQ,.

Week 15 {canc.} 'lnfer*$." Cantgs 2S to end" SO RQ.

Reports: Dante's" Purgat aria" fsante's'nParadiso."

The 6enera] Prologue ts Chauce/s Csnterbury Tales.

RQ TSDAY an the pifgrims: urho they are, the Enn, the host, and
the narrator,

Week 15 Msre on the GP. Learning how to read Middle English,

The fabliau and 'The Miller's Tale' or 'The Reve's Tale. "RQ on
entire tale. I might include a line or two which you will
transliterate into Moder.n English.

(con.! 'The Mille/s Tale."

Start: 'The Nun'$ Priest"s Taleo; the beast fable and SIr Reynaud
(5i r RusselllSir ftussel}.

Week 17 Backgrcund to tfue fte*aissirnce ta handoutl

The Sonnet: Petrarch vs. Shakespeare, et al (see handoutl. NO

RQ_

REMINDER: Your second slf tnro maior papers is due this week.

Shakespeare's Othetto, Acts 1 and 2, 9V.2115-2L47. RCL

{cont.} Athello, Act 3, pp" 7L47-2165- NO RQ,,

SUSMIT MA}*R PAPER HS * 2,

Week tB Othelta, Acts 4 *nd 5, FF, LLGS ts end, RQ TODAY ys$r Iast one
far the sernester,

Report s: Cervantes's Son Quixote, Bcok I and Cervantes's Don

Quixofe, Book 2.

REMINDER: Check the final'exarn schedule anew. Also, you will

be handed the take-home queries for your final exartr-

My Swan Scng,

FIfrIAtS, flHAlS, FlHAlS.

The date of your **als wtll be annsunced accardingly-

SUCGESTED/REQUIRED TEXT:
l:
Lawall, Sarah; General Ed. The Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces: Volume
Literqture of Western Cufture Through the Renoissance. 7h Ed. New York W.W.
Norton & Company, 1999. Or a newer edition, if available.

Matters from Secondary Sources {Book and Periodicals}which supplementthe required

readings; these are assigned as regularly as possible.

Couase Reeunementx
EXAM| NAil ONS/PAPERS/QUIZZES/CIASS PARnOPAnOIVATTEN DANCE
Since you will be grading yourself (not by the instructor as the pervading mindset
purports|, then look closely into the composition of your final grade:

o tl3% Quizzes/Oral Reports/Class Participation/Attendance

o Ll3% Papers, both short and long
o U3% Midterm and Final Eroms
Qulzzes
Given almost every meeting, they are based on the day's assigned readings and other
matters which were emphasized the previous meeting. A make up takes the form of a
page-long essay (typed single space) based on a topic handed you, and it must be
submitted at the nert class meeting.

Oral Reports
See syllahus fortopics and dates. We will work on a first-come, firs;liserve basis. Two to
three per group.

Class participation
This item is a must for I love classroom banter. We leam from you and about you, even
when you offer a timid response, a shrug of the shoulders, or a vapid smile.
Two, sho$ ffve-to eight-full-page papers should be sufficient enough to demonstrate
your writing skills and ability in scholarly research (see attached marked Short Paper
Topics). Excluded In the page-count is your Works Cited page (Bibliography is too
pretentious, don't you agree?). Grading will be based on these criteria: form and
neatness, 20%; contents, ffiYo. Each m'ust be typed double space; 12 or L4 points would
do just fine. See next page for sample first page and succeeding pages. ln each paper, I
expect to see and appreciate your ability in supporting your findings and ideas from
Primary Source (the work or works under study), your discretion in using Secondary
Sources {critical matters from books, periodicals, and that dreaded lnternet}, and your
mastery of the MrA Sile oI Dmtmqtotiu {no ,W.'* Op. GL's, or Loc Siz's for us).

At this point, however, I must be very vocal about my sheer dislike of the lnternet as a
osotrce.o The library-and I believe ADMU has a well-stocked one-is veritably a fertile
oasis. (And I do not really care a whit if your Works Cited page refhcts iust the prirnary
source and one secondary source. At least, you did not go about indiscriminately
borrowing "weeds" from cyberspace. So, kindly do not tempt fatel) A paper that has not
been carefully edited will be returned for further emendations. For instance, both
juniors or seniors should NOT go about committing errors ip lgreement of Verb and
Subiect andlar of Pronoun and Antecedent. late papers will be graded accordingly, o
step less per tardy doy; for instance, a paper worth a B+ but handed a day late, will be
given a B. Ye, Soturdoy ond Sundoy will be included in the ocount.' Submission dates
are found in this handout, too.

Sample: Page 1

Tapia, Michael Avery E.

Tapia 1
Lit 126.1
Dr. Ruiz (optional)
Date of submission

Title of Paper
Advice: When creating a title for your paper, be very very creative but not arcane or
obtuse.

Paging(s)
Tapia 2

Documentation page

Tapia 3

Certainly, you have not forgotten: Arrange your listings using the first letter of the
autho/s last name. Do not numberthem. MlAStyle, pl6e. Watch your indentations.
See typical samples below:

Work{s} Cited
Alighieri, Dante. "lnferno." La Divina Commedia. Ed. fir. Allen Mandelbaum. New
York: Penguin,2(X)4.

Brookfield, James. The Epic Fallacy ond Homer. New Haven: Yale University Press (or
Yale UP),2007.

Lilly, Mary Elizabeth. "The Problem with Virgil." The Classical World: A Colleaion of
Essays. Ed. Marsh McCall, Jr. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press (or Harvard
UP),2@9:35-50.

Dates for the turo long exams, the Midtem and the Final, are found in the attached
syllabus. They include objective and essay-type queries. Subiea matters will be
presented to you at least a week before both are given. The final exam will be based on
matters we have done o/terthe Midterms; however, I might hark back to some
important concepts we covered duringthe first half of the course. Dort'tworry you will
be advised accordingly.

INTEIJ-ECIUAI DISHONESTY
Cheating in examinations and plagiarism are reasons enough for severe reprimand. You
may be given an automatic F for the test or for the paper, or for the entire course.
Remember: Everytime you use an outside source-book, periodical, or lnternet-
document properly and accordingly. At the first hint of intellectual dishonesty, I will
have no recourse but to append "No Grade. Come and see me soonest." You know what
to do from there. Embracethe great ally, the quotation rnarks.

The MATTER OF INCOMPI"ETES

An incomplete (lNC) should not be used as a haven because of your eroneous set of
priorities. Since it is a privilege, do not assume that you will garner it, particularly if you
know, and the anstructor is keenly aware of it, that you have not done anything in the
course since its inception.

ctvtuTY 101
Please observe the proper classroom behavior and courtesies. Resfct for everyone-
and this includes your precious self-and for everything around you, especially nature
and the university's facilities, is imperative. Doing so should speak well of your breeding,
your savoir f'aire. You have traditionsto uphold.

THE MATTER OF TARDINESS

Attend class regularly. "Late" means entry into the classroom after the bell rings. An
"absence" means entry into the classroom after the first fifteen minutet or worse, not
showing up at all. Ponder: How can you give yourself a decent grade in class
participation if you chose to be a chronic cutter? Three l?l lote's equal an absence, and
ten (10) absences equal a grade of W (WithdrawalW|THOUT Permission). lncidentally, I
am not fond of latecomers; pejorativel5 I callthem prima donnas. ln my book, there will
always be one, and ler name is Maria Callaslollrl.fuskdbwillfaithfully reard
tordiness ond absences; she or he will olso leod the prayer before the stort of the class.
Thank you for listening; thank you for your cooperation. God bless.

Edward-Dayid E. Ruiz, Ph.D.

Visiting Lecturer in'Literature
Professor of English-Emeritus (USA)

P.S. By the way, you may call me Dr. Ruiz, Mr. Ruiz, Prof. Ruia Sir Ed, or Sir Ruiz, never
Ed or Eddie.

SUGGESTED TOPICS for MAIOR PAPER t{O, 1

* A Study ol of Achilles, a novel by Madeline Miller. HIGHLY SUGGESTED for

The Song
not much has been said about the work, at least not by literary critics of note. Be
sure to refer to characters and events as support for your ideas and findings. Book
will be on reserve.
* A Study ol Penelope's Song, a novel by Lois Cuddy. HIGHLY SUGGESIED. See other
notes above re: Mille/s novel. Book will be on reserve.
* A Study of Zachary Mason's The Lost Book of the Odyssey. HIGHLY SUGGESTED. See
other notes above. Book will be on reserve.
* A Study of Aeschylus's 'The Eumenides" from The Oresteio. The thematic
implications of the play. Ponder: ls the play really about the Furies/Eumenides or is
it about Orestes? Again, I encourage you to refer to characters and events assupport
for your ideas and findings.
* Some of you might venture into O'Neill's trilogy, Mourning Becomes Electro, which
is based onThe Oresteio.
* A Study of Catullus's Poetry especially his lyrics to his mistress, lesbia. Quote poetic
lines for support.

And go to the Bible (Old Testament section, please) and study the pronouncements of
ANY of these "...non-too-popular OT prophets": Amos, Hosea(Osee),Micah,
Zephaniah(sophonia), Obadiah{Abadia},Haggai(Aggai}, Zecharia}U Joel, First give a
historical perspective of the prophet and why his writings/teachings. Give an overview
of each chapter so there is semblance of chronology (logical flow of thought?).

Any other interests? Kindly clear matter with me. I might have to cinlude for your
consideration Derek Walcott's play on Odysseus.

SUGGESTED TOPICS for MAJOR PAPER NO. 2

.3. A Study of Andre Gide's "Theseus." Quote lines from his prose narrative for support.
* The fabliau and the four examples in Norton's World Mosterpieces, Tfr edition,
Volume I lpp. L234ff.). Refer to characters and events as support for your ideas and
findings.
* A Study of Ursula LeGuin's novel, Lovinia. See notes above tMajor Paper No. 1 re:
Miller, Cuddy, et al.). Book will be on reserve.
* A comparative study of three sonnets by Petrarch (Petrarca) and three by
Shakespeare, especially similarities in themes. Quote poetic lines for support.
* A Study of The Nibelungenlied. Refer to characters-particularly Etzel and Hagen-
and events as support for your ideas and findings.
* AStudy of TheToleof theCampaignof lgor, oneexemplumof Russianepicpoetry.
Refer to characters and events as support for your ideas/findings.
* Any Russian epic you would like to investigate further? For instance, Ruslon and
Ludmilla.
* A Study of any of these Shakespearean narrative poems: "The Rape of Lucrece" and
'ly'enus and Adonis."
* A Study of the poetry of Francois Villon; quote poetic lines for support.
* Any other interests? Kindly clear matter with me.

GOTFERE TCE H(ruRS

i,m,r/E Eft$ Deportmeffi, Ground Floplr ot De La @sa Building/l0:O0 a.m.-11:![ a.m,;
1:00 p.m. 2zL5p.m.;or byappointment. Kindlydo rotiust barge in and expectto be
entertained. ln case you hrye to call, here is the department number: 4Bffit, Ext
5310 and 5311; and if is too pressing here is my e-mail address: edruiz38@vahoo.com.