Undergraduate Course: Savage Laughter: Parody, Mockery and Satire, 1600-1740 (ENLI10358)
Course Outline
| School | School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Course type | Standard |
Availability | Available to all students |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Credits | 20 |
| Home subject area | English Literature |
Other subject area | None |
| Course website |
None |
Taught in Gaelic? | No |
| Course description | Despite being a consistent presence in many literatures, satire has often made both writers and readers uneasy. This unease has often arisen in response to the apparent cruelty and violence of much satire, its use of mimicry and irony, and its involvement with the irrational, passionate and bodily forces of anger and laughter. Satire¿s history is marked by critical arguments and disagreements about how it ought to be defined, and how its power is to be understood. There have also been many attempts down the centuries to separate out healthy, useful or corrective satiric writing from damaging raillery, mockery and libel, and many have sought to purge it of its dangers while preserving the aspects or elements they consider socially or psychologically valuable. Needless to say, few of these attempts have been even briefly successful.
This course will explore some representative texts from what has often been considered a great age of satire in English, beginning with its proscription by religious authorities in the 1590s and ending with the exemplary and still potent work of Pope and Swift. It will range across different kinds of satiric writing, exploring their formal characteristics, their thematic preoccupations, and the different purposes they might serve. It will look closely at critical definitions hazarded by the writers themselves, and explore the ways in which parodic and satiric texts engage with their predecessors and peers. It will also draw on modern and contemporary critical discussions of satiric writing, and of the unruly energies and passions that it seeks both to express and to tame.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
| Additional Costs | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| Displayed in Visiting Students Prospectus? | No |
Course Delivery Information
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| Delivery period: 2013/14 Semester 2, Available to all students (SV1)
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Learn enabled: Yes |
Quota: None |
Web Timetable |
Web Timetable |
| Course Start Date |
13/01/2014 |
| Breakdown of Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
196 )
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| Additional Notes |
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| Breakdown of Assessment Methods (Further Info) |
Written Exam
75 %,
Coursework
25 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| No Exam Information |
Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes
By the end of the course, students will
1) be familiar with a range of satiric works from the early modern period
2) comprehend these texts in the context of early modern critical debate around satire
3) have a good understanding of the common formal characteristics of early modern satire
4) have a good understanding of the common thematic preoccupations of early modern satire
5) be able to compare and contrast different texts and authors from the period 1600-1740
6) have a working knowledge of theoretical characterisations of satire, and of their broader conceptual presuppositions.
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Assessment Information
| 2,500 word coursework essay (25%); 2 hour exam (75%) |
Special Arrangements
| None |
Additional Information
| Academic description |
Not entered |
| Syllabus |
Not entered |
| Transferable skills |
Not entered |
| Reading list |
Not entered |
| Study Abroad |
Not entered |
| Study Pattern |
Not entered |
| Keywords | Satire anger laughter poetry drama |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Prof James Loxley
Tel: (0131 6)50 3610
Email: James.Loxley@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Mrs Anne Mason
Tel: (0131 6)50 3618
Email: Anne.Mason@ed.ac.uk |
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© Copyright 2013 The University of Edinburgh - 10 October 2013 4:22 am
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