Program Overview

Course Overview

The course ENGL 441, A Special Genre: Complaint: poetry and woe in early modern England, explores the mode of complaint in early modern English literature. This includes works such as Shakespeare's The Rape of Lucrece and Hero and Leander, and the poetry of women writers, focusing on the expression of amorous, political, religious, and existential loss and discontent.

Course Details

• Course Code: ENGL 441
• Duration: 24 February 2025 to 22 June 2025
• Trimester: Trimester 1
• Fees:
  • Domestic students: NZ$2,274.90
  • International students: NZ$9,033.60
• Lecture Times: Monday, 12.00pm
• Campus: Kelburn
• Estimated Workload: Approximately 300 hours or 17.6 hours per week for 17 weeks
• Points: 30

Entry Restrictions

• Prerequisites: None
• Corequisites: None
• Restrictions: None

Course Objectives

Students who pass this course will be able to:

1. Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of complaint as a literary mode
2. Analyse complaint texts in their historical context
3. Formulate arguments about complaint texts in the context of theoretical writings on genre, gender, and poetic formalism
4. Consider early modern complaint in relation to contemporary gender theory and politics

Teaching Method

• The course is delivered in-person only.
• Seminars are in-person and not recorded.
• There is an in-person presentation that requires attendance.
• Some assessment can be submitted online.

Assessment

• Mark: 10%
• Mark: 30%
• Research essay proposal and annotated bibliography: 15%
• Research Essay: 45%

Mandatory Requirements

To pass this course, students must:

1. Submit all assessments
2. Attend at least 10 of 12 seminars

Required Texts

• Title: Titus Andronicus
• Author: Shakespeare

Course Coordinator

• Professor Sarah Ross