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English 245 with Dr.
Gary Gutchess |
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Course Lessons 2. Beowulf 1 3. Beowulf 2 4. Middle Ages 5. Romance 6. Sir Gawain 7. Malory 9. Wife of Bath 11. Biblical Drama 12. Play of Mankind 14. Thomas More 15. Philip Sidney 16. Print Culture 17. Walter Raleigh 18. Twelfth Night 1 19. Twelfth Night 2 20. Civil War 22. Aphra Behn 23. Reading Papers 24. Gulliver 25. Rape of the Lock 27. New God 28. Revolution
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28. The American Revolution |
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READINGS FOR THIS LESSON
Revolutionary
Britain Source Texts
Might makes kings, but it does not make right, our stories say. Typically in the literature of early Britain, claims of kingship in Britain are asserted by aliens from mainland Europe, and these foreign claims are contested by local heroes, as in Boudicca's rebellion against Nero, Arthur's resistance to Saxon kings, Alfred and Ethelfleda's expulsion of Viking and Dane invaders. The rebellion or resistance story usually ends tragically for those seeking to gain or retain independence, but this does not mean that the struggle is vain or unpatriotic. More often than not, there is something at least implicitly admirable in resistance, even when the rebel goes to the scaffold to die the death that is prescribed for traitors. The period of foreign dominance of England that began with William the Conqueror in 1066 did not stretch only to the execution of Charles I in 1649, or to the glorious revolution in 1688. In the 18th century, after the death of Queen Anne, the succession of the Hanoverian Georges substituted German authoritarian kings for French ones. The 18th century was, nevertheless, a period of unprecedented reflection on Britain's historical development and proper place in the world. Criticism of the monarchy and empire reached new heights in both popular and intellectual literature, as readings for this lesson suggest.
Daniel Defoe
Thomas Paine Paine influenced the American founding fathers, especially Thomas Jefferson, who similarly conceived the Saxon way of self-determination as the ancient and superior form of government which was usurped from the people of Britain by the Norman Conquest. Jefferson's Declaration of Independence contended that a subject owes no loyalty to a king who threatens his life, liberty and pursuit of property, and that subjects may replace such a king with a new government formed by common consent.
Adam Smith Smith also advocated admission of colonists to the British Parliament, to address their legitimate grievance of "taxation without representation." Entrenched interests in British politics resisted Smith's proposed reforms, and Smith's prediction was fulfilled that the Americans would never be subdued by force.
What had imperial Britain learned from its very long experience as a European colony? What have we learned from this story?
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Then let us boast of ancestors no
more, Common Sense Wealth of Nations Left: "St Edward's Crown" from 1661; previous crowns were destroyed by the British people after the Civil War.
Today, Britain's figurehead monarchy continues to perform the social function of absorbing popular criticism. His highness now is surrounded by millions of fools who are privileged to jest at his expense. Maybe this enduring aspect of kingship exposes what was its root function all along?
Image Left: The Boston massacre engraving by Paul Revere. |
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Daniel Defoe
Daniel Defoe works at Project
Gutenberg:
Defoe's Review shown as a
blog: Thomas Jefferson
Library of Congress Thomas
Jefferson exhibit:
Library of Congress Tomas
Jefferson Web Guide Thomas Paine
Thomas Paine web video: Thomas
Paine National Historical Association
Works of Thomas Paine at Project
Gutenberg: Adam Smith
Adam Smith web site:
Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations
at Project Gutenberg:
Adam Smith's Theory of Moral
Sentiments:
Adam Smith's Works and
Correspondence: ASSIGNMENTS FOR THIS LESSON The lesson includes both a quiz and a journal writing assignment to be submitted on the interactive course site at SUNY Learning Network. See General instructions on Journaling for this course. For a sample journal, see Dr. G's 2007 Brit Lit 1 Journal. Journal Write for an hour (or more if you have time). Summarize the readings or make notes you will find useful on the final essay, described below.
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Students are not examined on these "other resources and amusements." However, if you know of an excellent website that would wonderfully complement this lesson, please send it to Dr. G. If he adopts it in his list, extra course credit will be awarded. |
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In an essay of at least 750 words, describe how British literature changed between the Middle Ages and Restoration/Eighteenth Century with respect to one of the following subjects:
You may (and should) consult the
textbook, your notes and journal, and the course materials when writing
this assignment. Although you MAY, I think you should NOT consult
secondary sources. If you DO consult them and use them in your essay,
they must be cited properly to avoid plagiarism. Also, be sure to cite
the textbook if you quote or summarize from it. There is no time limit
for writing the essay, but the assignment must be received no later than
midnight on
December 15.
Forgotten MLA citation? MODELS FOR ASSIGNMENTS
Sample
student paper on heroes
Sample
student paper on
gender |
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When
must a subject obey? Who should stand up against a king? These questions
are posed starkly in the
From the
distance of the New World, the monarchy looked especially unnatural and
irrational to 
The
most forward-thinking of all political theorists of the 18th century was
Scottish philosopher 
History
also fulfilled Smith's fears that the empire would become an unsustainable drain on the
overall economy. It did not bring in sufficient revenue to finance the
enormous military costs required for its expansion or defense.
Smith also seems to have foreseen that the attempt to privatize the
empire through the use of trading companies was counter-productive to
the national interest in that the companies inevitably were despotic and
uncontrollable. 