English IV
British Literature
Course Outline 1999-2000
instructor: Mrs.
Wheeler
Unit One 
The Ultimate in Brit Lit!!! The Bard himself!!! William
Shakespeare at his best in Hamlet
This will be ON-YOUR-FEET/IN-YOUR-FACE Drama!
Themes: revenge, corruption, identity and truth.
The
language is not IN the way; the language IS the way.
Unit Two 
History of the English
Language --where we get our weird and wonderful collection of words.
Three invasions and a cultural revolution.
Invasion number 1: The Anglo-Saxon Invasions: the
Beginnings of English
Invasion number 2: The Vikings and Danes with their Germanic
words
Invasion number 3: The Norman Conquest: French becomes
the language of the ruling class of England.
A cultural revolution: The Renaissance adds an Influx of
Latin words from the Church
Unit Three 
Anglo-Saxon:
Beowulf-
The original mother of all monsters and the original warrior hero.
the oldest English language poem in a setting of grandeur by
Ian Serralier
(There is more to poetry than end rhyme)
Unit Four 
The archetypal hero and the quest
The Hero's Journey
Chivalry
The making
of a legend.
Camelot and
the Arthurian Legend
Medieval Life
-
Unit Five 
The Middle Ages:
Canterbury
Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer
The rhyming couplet
Inferencing characterization
Comparative societal roles from the Prologue and career exploration
for today.
Writing the imaginary pilgrimage with your chosen companions
Noght
a word spake he moore than was neede,
And that was seyd in form
and reverence
And short and quyk and
ful of hy sentence.
.........Geoffrey Chaucer 1386
Unit 6
British Poetry and You 
Traditional and Modern approaches to beautiful language.
understanding poetic devices
meeting the famous and not-so-famous
The Semester Project:
Senior Memory Book Assignment
Notice: The above is a probable outline of the
content and schedule of English IV this year (1999-2000) Please realize
that all dates and titles are more or less tentative, somewhat negotiable,
and subject to change with minimum notice and regret.
Return to Mrs. Wheeler's home
page.