Studies in Fiction, Poetry and Drama

Curriculum Guideline

Effective Date:
Course
Discontinued
No
Course Code
ENGL 1109
Descriptive
Studies in Fiction, Poetry and Drama
Department
English
Faculty
Language, Literature & Performing Arts
Credits
3.00
Start Date
End Term
202010
PLAR
No
Semester Length
15 weeks
Max Class Size
35
Contact Hours
4 hours per week
Method(s) Of Instruction
Lecture
Learning Activities

Some or all of the following methods will be used:

  1. Lecture/discussion
  2. Group work
  3. Peer editing
  4. Instructor feedback on students’ work
  5. Individual consultation
Course Description
This course emphasizes the close reading of three genres – fiction, poetry, and drama – and examines their defining features.
Course Content

All first-year English literature courses share the following features:

  1. Students are instructed in the writing of critical essays on literary subjects.
  2. Students are taught to recognize and understand a variety of literary devices and textual elements, such as metaphor, symbolism, distinctions between author and narrator/narrating persona, and issues of language and of structure, as appropriate to the genres and texts studied.
  3. Readings and topics vary among sections of the same course, according to each instructor’s selection; however, all course materials are consistent with the objectives of the course. 

In English 1109, students will examine works in three literary genres: 

  1. Fiction (novels and/or short stories)
  2. Drama
  3. Poetry
Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of any first-year English literature course, the successful student should be able to

  1. read receptively and reflectively, with sensitivity to the subtleties of language;
  2. recognize and understand literary devices;
  3. practice writing as a process involving pre-writing, drafting, revising and editing;
  4. write an essay of literary analysis that develops an interpretive thesis supported by appropriate and correctly cited evidence; and
  5. give and receive constructive criticism on written work.

Upon completion of English 1109, the successful student should be able to recognize and understand,

  1. in reading fiction,
    • different strategies of narrative development in fiction;
    • elements of fiction, such as plot, setting, character, and point-of-view;
    • the features and concepts of genre in fiction; and
    • the interpretive elements of themes in fiction.
  2. in reading poetry,  
    • common poetic forms, such as the ballad or sonnet;
    • emotional tone, including irony;
    • figurative language, such as metaphor and symbolism;
    • diction, including the differences between denotative and connotative meaning;
    • prosody, including sentence rhythms, metre and rhyme;
    • sentence level details of grammar and syntax;
    • the difference between poet and speaker; and
    • literary allusions.
  3. in reading drama,
    • the nature of character;
    • components of structure, including plot and sub-plot, exposition and conflict;
    • dialogue, monologue and soliloquy;
    • stagecraft;
    • performance; and
    • the influence of an audience on the play.
Means of Assessment
  1. A minimum of two formal academic essays, with a combined value of at least 40% of the course grade.
  2. A minimum of 80% of the course grade will be based on writing assignments (essays, essay-based exams, journals, paragraphs).  A maximum of 20% of the course grade may be based on informal writing (quizzes, short answer tests); oral reports/presentations; participation/preparation grades; and/or other non writing-intensive assignments.
  3. A minimum of 15% of the course grade will be based on in-class writing (essay or exam).
Textbook Materials

Textbooks and Materials to be Purchased by Students

Sample reading list:

  • Beckett, Waiting for Godot
  • Geddes (ed.), Twentieth Century Poetry and Poetics
  • Hardy, Tess of the d’Urbervilles
  • Munro, The Progress of Love
  • Shaw, Saint Joan
  • DiYanni (ed.), Literature: Reading Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and the Essay
Prerequisites

Any College entrance Language Proficiency Requirement EXCEPT the Douglas College Course Options in ELLA or ENGU, OR

a minimum grade of C- in ELLA 0460, or a minimum grade of C- in both ELLA 0465 and 0475, OR

a minimum grade of C- in ENGU 0450, ENGU 0455 or ENGU 0490, OR

Mastery in ELLA 0330 and any two of ELLA 0310, 0320, or 0340.

Corequisites

Courses listed here must be completed either prior to or simultaneously with this course:

  • No corequisite courses
Equivalencies

Courses listed here are equivalent to this course and cannot be taken for further credit:

  • No equivalency courses
Which Prerequisite

In combination with another 1100-level English or CRWR course or with English 1200 (as per College calendar requirements), this course may serve as a prerequisite for any 2300-level English course.