LITS2306 / E23F READING SCHEDULE, NOTES AND QUESTIONS
MODULE ONE: THE PRE- AND EARLY MODERN PERIODS

WEEK 1: INTRODUCTION

Notes:

• What is Philosophy? I have updated this
• What is Critical Theosssry? I have updated this

Questions:

• Though there is no tutorial this week, please click here to test yourself on what we discussed at our second meeting this week.

WEEK 2: ANCIENT GREECE I: PLATO

Notes: (remember that these are .pdf files for which you need Adobe Reader)

• Plato The Republic: Book X

Questions:

• Please click here.

WEEK 3: ANCIENT GREECE II: ARISTOTLE

Notes:

• Aristotle Poetics (.pdf file)

  • Supplement: Aristotle on the Four Causes (.pdf file)

Questions:

• Please click here.

WEEK 4: THE MIDDLE AGES (c. 300 - c. 1400)

Required Readings:

Lec. 1: Medieval Philosophy of Language

• Plato Cratylus (pp. 38-48 in Adams; pp. in Leitch) (note this addition)
• St. Augustine On Christian Doctrine [c. 395] (pp.108-113 in Adams; pp. 188-192 in Leitch)

Lec. 2: Medieval Christian Allegory: the Mimetic Approach

• St. Thomas Aquinas Summa Theologiae [1256-1272]: "From The Nature and Domain of Sacred Doctrine" (pp.117-119 in Adams; pp. 243-246 in Leitch)
• Dante
  • The Banquet [1304-8] (pp. 120-122 in Adams; pp. 249-250 in Leitch)
  • Letter to Can Grande Della Scala [1318]" (pp. 120-122 in Adams; pp. 251-252 in Leitch)

Tutorial: we will continue to answer the questions from last week on Aristotle and try to apply his theories to a play / films

Recommended Readings:

Off-Line:

• Abrams, M. H. The Mirror and the Lamp: 

  • Ch. 1 "Introduction: Orientation of Critical Theories": "Mimetic Theories" (pp. 8-14)

  • Ch. 2 "Imitation and the Mirror": "The Transcendental Ideal" (pp. 42-46)

• Harland, Richard Literary Theory: from Plato to Barthes: Ch. 2 "Literary Theory in the Middle Ages" (pp. 22-28)

On-Line:

• Medieval Philosophy
• St. Augustine
• St. Thomas Aquinas

Notes:

• Plato Cratylus

• St. Augustine On Christian Doctrine

• St. Thomas Aquinas The Nature and Domain of Sacred Doctrine

• Dante The Banquet and Letter to Can Grande Della Scala

Questions:

• Test yourself on this week's lectures by clicking here.

WEEK 5: THE EARLY MODERN PERIOD I: RENAISSANCE PLATONISM AND CHRISTIAN MORALISM

Required Readings:

Lec. 1:

• Sir Philip Sidney An Apology for Poetry [1595] (pp. 143-162 in Adams; pp. 326-362 in Leitch): read
  • from "Now then we go to the most important imputations laid to the poor poets" (p.154) to " . . . Plato banished them out of his commonwealth." (p.154);
  • from "Among the Romans a poet was called vates . . ." (p.144) to " . . . a principal recommendation." (p.146); 

Lec. 2:

• Sir Philip Sidney An Apology for Poetry [1595] (pp. 143-162 in Adams; pp. 326-362 in Leitch): read
  • from "Poesy therefore is an art . . ." (p.146) to " . . . have a most just title to be princes over the rest." (p.147); and
  • from "Wherein we can show the poet’s nobleness . . ." (p.147) to " . . . Psalm of Mercy well testifieth." (p.151)

Tutorial: see questions below

Recommended Readings:

Off-Line:

• Abrams, M. H. The Mirror and the Lamp: 

  • Ch. 1 "Introduction: Orientation of Critical Theories":

    • "Mimetic Theories" (pp. 8-14)

    • "Pragmatic Theories" (pp. 14-21)

  • Ch. 2 "Imitation and the Mirror": "The Transcendental Ideal" (pp. 42-46)

• Harland, Richard Literary Theory: from Plato to Barthes: Ch. 3 "The Rise and Fall of Neoclassicism":

  • "The Idealising Strain" (pp. 33-35)

  • "The Italian Aristotelians" (pp. 36-39)

On-Line:

• Early Modern Philosophy (includes the 16th and 17th Centuries [Renaissance] and 18th Century)
• Early Modern Aesthetics
• Sidney

Notes:

• Sidney An Apology for Poetry

Questions:

• Please click here.

WEEK 6: THE EARLY MODERN PERIOD II: 18TH CENTURY NEO-CLASSICISM (c. 1660 - 1785)

Required Readings:

Lec. 1:

• Alexander Pope An Essay on Criticism [1711] (pp. 274-282 in Adams; pp. 441-458 in Leitch):
  • Comments on Representation: ll. 68-200 and ll.289-383
  • Comments on the Reader: ll.1-67, 201-288; and 384-643

Lec. 2:

• Samuel Johnson
  • Rambler 4 (March 31, 1750): "On Fiction" (pp. 317-319 in Adams; pp. 462-466 in Leitch) *
  • "From The History of Rasselas: Chapter X" (1759) (pp. 319-320 in Adams; pp. 466-467 in Leitch)
  • "From Preface to Shakespeare" [1765] (pp. 320-327 in Adams; pp. 468-480 in Leitch)

Tutorial: see questions below.

Recommended Readings:

Off-line:

• Abrams, M. H. The Mirror and the Lamp: 

  • Ch. 1 "Introduction: Orientation of Critical Theories": 

    • "Mimetic Theories" (pp. 8-14)

    • "Pragmatic Theories" (pp. 14-21)

  • Ch. 2 "Imitation and the Mirror": "The Objects of Imitation: the Empirical Ideal" (pp. 35-42)

• Harland, Richard Literary Theory: from Plato to Barthes: Ch. 3 "The Rise and Fall of Neoclassicism":
  • "French Neoclassical Theory" (pp. 41-45)
  • "The British Version of Neoclassicism" (pp. 45-49)

On-Line:

• Early Modern Philosophy (includes the 16th and 17th Centuries [Renaissance] and 18th Century)
• Early Modern Aesthetics
• Pope
• Johnson

Notes:

• Pope An Essay on Criticism

• Johnson:

  • "On Fiction"

  • The History of Rasselas: Chapter X

  • Preface to Shakespeare

Questions:

• Please click here.