English 410/610: Milton
Henry Limouze
12:15-1:20 MWF
028 Millett
Spring 2005
Required Texts:
John Milton. The Major Works, ed. Stephen Orgel, Jonathan Goldberg. Oxford: Oxford UP (Oxford
World’s Classics series), 2003. (Referred to as “Orgel”—Amazon: $11.87).
John Milton. Paradise Lost: A Norton Critical Edition, ed. Scott Elledge. 2nd ed. New York: Norton,
1993. (Referred to as “Elledge”—Amazon: $14.20).
Recommended Text:
Joseph Gibaldi. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 6th ed. New York: MLA, 2003.
Course Schedule—Readings, Assignments, etc.:
3/28 Introduction to the course; Milton’s life; first short business meeting
3/30 Milton’s sonnets Orgel 1-2, 30-36, 78-82, 83-86; Rivers, “Political & Religious Issues” in Elledge 307-313
4/1 Sonnets (cont) Masson, “A Brief Life” in Elledge 313-349; excerpt from Reason of Church Government in Elledge 356-361
----
4/4 Shorter poems: “L’Allegro” and “Il Penseroso” Orgel 22-30;
4/6 “Ode on the Morning of Christ’s Nativity” Orgel 3-10
4/8 “Nativity Ode” (cont) Business meeting (here and subsequent Fridays)
-----
4/11 “Lycidas” and “A Masque” (“Comus”) Orgel 39-71; selections from Of Reformation and Areopagitica, Elledge 353-355, 382-391
4/13 “Lycidas” and “Comus” continued; Hill, “Relevance of M,” Elledge 633-643
4/15 “Lycidas” and “Comus” cont.
-----
4/18 Paradise Lost (PL), Book I; “Selections from the Bible” Elledge 429-460;
4/20 PL, I; “Important Concepts and Topics in PL” Elledge 461-474
4/22 PL, I Take home Essay Distributed
-----
4/25 PL, II; Dr. Johnson, Elledge 482-492; Fish, “Discovery as Form” 526-36
4/27 PL, II; Blake, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Elledge 493-501
4/29 PL, II Take home Essay Due
----
5/2 PL, III-IV; Christian Doctrine, Elledge 396-428; Empson, “Milton’s God” 605-16
5/4 PL, III-IV; Landor and Tennyson, Elledge 503-4
5/6 PL, III-IV
----
5/9 PL, V-VI; Frye, “Story of All Things,” Elledge 509-526
5/11 PL, V-VI; Arnold and Woolf, Elledge 505-509
5/13 PL, V-VI Last day to withdraw with W
------
5/16 PL, VII-VIII; Turner “Passion & Subordination,” Elledge 643-661
5/18 PL, VII-VIII
5/20 PL, VII-VIII
-----
5/23 PL, IX-X; Lewalski, “Genres of PL,” Elledge 569-587
5/25 PL, IX-X
5/27 PL, IX-X
-----
5/30 Memorial Day: University Holiday
6/1 PL, XI-XII; Halley, “Female Autonomy,” Elledge 661-674 Final Exam Distributed
6/3 PL, XI-XII; FINAL PAPER DUE
TBA Paradise Lost—WSU PL reading marathon
6/8 (Wednesday) FINAL EXAMINATION DUE AT 3:00 P.M.
Page from the manuscript of Paradise Lost (Book I, lines 287-310)
Requirements for ENG 410: This is a "writing-intensive" course in the English major. As a result, all assignments will be written or writing-related. In addition to a letter grade for the course, you will receive an entry on your transcript to indicate that you have satisfied the writing-intensive requirements of the class. (If you do not pass that portion of a writing-intensive class, only the course grade appears on your official transcript.) To receive WI credit for any writing-intensive course, you must earn a C or better on the writing portion of your grade. In this class grades are based almost entirely on writing, so the writing intensive grade and course grade will be the same. Note: Students who have not had ENG 250 and 251 or 300 and 301 (formal prerequisites for this course) OR who have not had significant successful writing experience in an upper-level college English class should select another class.
Participation in online discussion group
20%
Course paper (8-10 pp. based on in-class writing; due 6/3)
30%
Take-home essay exams (due 4/29 and 6/8)
30%
Leadership and participation in Milton Marathon
20%
Requirements for ENG 610: In addition to the assignments above, all graduate students must prepare and present a 10-minute talk on an aspect of one of the texts on the syllabus. Graduate papers will also meet additional length requirements. Please see the instructor as quickly as possible to choose a topic and make arrangements for the presentation.
If you would prefer to use another email address instead of (or along with) your WSU address, set up your WSU email to forward to your other address. However, you will still need to log in to Wings and then go into Course Studio to read or contribute to our bulletin-board-based discussion, since that discussion will not use email. To access your WSU account, see the CATS help desk in the library basement (775-4827).
This discussion group will account for a good chunk of your writing in this class. Use the discussion group to converse with your classmates about the reading and class, to respond to my questions, to note relationships among readings, to raise your own questions or concerns, to argue points we can't always get to in class, or to alert the rest of us to an interesting find in your outside reading. From time to time I may post questions on the reading; if you can't think of anything else to write, respond to one of my questions or a question from another class member. Alternatively, you can quote a passage from one of the week's readings and frame your own discussion around it.
Do not put your participation off until the end of the quarter. I will count no more than two entries in each of the final three weeks of the course, so if you want an A for the discussion group section of the course, you will need to post at least two substantive messages during weeks one through seven.
Discussion Group Etiquette: I have rarely had trouble with rudeness or hurt feelings in online discussions, but problems can sometimes arise even when no rudeness is intended. When you argue with the idea or interpretation of another person, you are showing greater respect for him or her than if you ignore it (ditto when someone argues with you). But when you argue, please do so politely. Every reader brings something unique to the text. The perspective each of us brings is valid, but the interpretations we develop from our perspective may not be valid--to present and refine a valid interpretation, we have to explain, to support, to analyze, to defend, to criticize, and to reconsider. We have to learn from each other. I hope we will all be doing all these things in this class.
Formal & Informal Writing Requirements
Nearly every day we will do some writing, in response to questions I set or to questions that arise from our discussion. Occasionally I may assign you writing at home for the next class; most of the time you will write in class. I will often (not always) ask you to hand these in at the end of class. I will return them with a few comments (perhaps) but no grade. These in-class writings will be the basis of your graded writing. You must develop your paper from an in-class piece of writing you have done. I will ask you to submit the original piece with the fully developed and revised paper.
Paper:
There is one formal graded paper required for this course, a course paper (8-10
pp.) due June 3. This paper must be word-processed (or typed). Whatever
production format you choose should produce clear, readable copy: if using a
computer and printer, make sure you have fresh ribbon, toner, or ink cartridge.
Format: print the paper on one side of 8½ by 11” white paper; carefully proofread and edit to remove grammatical and mechanical errors; follow standard MLA format (use double spacing throughout, one-inch margins on all sides, twelve-point nonproportional spacing font, parenthetical references rather than footnotes, provide a complete list of works cited, and so on). If you are unfamiliar with any aspect of MLA format, you should purchase a copy of the latest MLA Handbook, copies of which are available at the WSU Bookstore or at any large bookstore (see recommended text above).
Your paper should be a revision and/or expansion of one of your in-class writing pieces. Typically I would encourage you to choose either your best piece for revision or the piece you are most interested in. The paper should also incorporate relevant critical literature on Milton.
Final Examination: I will hand out questions for a take-home final exam during the ninth or tenth week of class. All exams will be due on Wednesday, June 8 at 3:00 p.m.
University Writing Center: Writing consultants in the Writing Center (031 Library) are available to assist you as you work on writing. Be sure to take a copy of your assignment with you when you go. The service is free to all Wright State students. To get more information about this quarter's hours and the services available, call 775-4186.
≈☺ MILTON MARATHON ☺≈
We will plan, organize, advertise, sponsor, and lead a public reading-aloud of Milton’s Paradise Lost. The poem is about 10,000 lines long and a reading takes between 8 and 10 hours.
The class will decide on the date, the place, and the general format for the reading during a short discussion on the first day of class. Then the class will subdivide into committees. Part of most Fridays will be reserved for a “Business Meeting,” either a time for the committees to meet or a time for the committees to report back to the class. We will need:
Planning committee: schedule, room layout, ground rules, reading responsibilities
Food committee: food, refreshments, breaks
Marketing committee: publicity, information, advertising
Attendance committee: attendance policies, keeping track of class and visitors
Activities committee: greeters, art, tee shirts, prizes
Everyone will have something to do, and everyone will be required to come to the reading. Those who take their responsibilities seriously will receive full credit for this component.
Other factors affecting grade
Although I have not specifically listed “Attendance” or “Participation” among the requirements for this course, they are both implied in several of the other requirements and attendance can count in a negative way. This MWF class meets only 29 times during this quarter. Thus, if you miss only three classes, you miss more than 10% of the course, including (probably) a business meeting. In any class, others miss out when you are not there. In a class working on a special project, absence causes even more problems. Therefore, I will enforce the following policy on attendance:
One to four absences No penalty
Five to seven absences Final grade drops one letter grade
Eight or more absences F for course
Attendance means “attendance for the whole class.” If you arrive or leave during class you disrupt it, and you will be marked absent.
The four “free” absences I give everyone are intended for you to use in emergencies, illnesses, planned or unplanned trips, and so on. If you use the free absences for other reasons, please do not expect me to give you additional absences if a subsequent emergency does occur.
Other policies
Late work will be accepted, with the following provisions:
Academic honesty is essential to the fair and successful conduct of class, and dishonesty will be punished. Dishonesty includes various kinds of cheating, "plagiarism" (defined as the use of the words or ideas of another as if they were your own), and the submission of a single assignment for credit in two classes without permission of both instructors. Penalties for academic dishonesty can be severe; in most cases the work will receive a grade of zero. To avoid plagiarism, be sure to document all uses of the words or ideas of another writer. If you are not sure about the status of what you are doing, ask. Also consult the MLA Handbook. For more information on the university’s policies on academic honesty and plagiarism, please see the Student Code of Conduct at the Office of Student Judicial Services website: http://www.wright.edu/students/judicial/
Electronic devices (beepers, cell phones, walkmen, etc.) should normally be turned off at the door. If you have a situation where you must wait for a call, please let me know.
INSTRUCTOR Henry Limouze
Email <henry.limouze@wright.edu>
Office 466 Millett
Hours Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays 2-3
Tuesdays and Thursdays 2-4 and by appointment
Phone 775-2093 (my desk); 775-3136 (office)
This syllabus is on the web. The URL is