Old and Middle English Literature
Introduction to Medieval Literature: Old English, Middle English, and Historical Context
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All Videos in Old and Middle English Literature
- 1. Introduction to Medieval Literature: Old English, Middle English, and Historical Context
- 2. Beowulf: Story, Characters, and Old English
- 3. Introduction to Chaucer: Middle English and the Canterbury Tales
- 4. The Canterbury Tales General Prologue: Style, Structure, and Characters
- 5. The Knight's Tale and the Wife of Bath's Tale: Two Approaches to Chivalric Romance
- 6. The Miller's Tale: Chaucer's Fabulous Fabliau
- 7. The Nun's Priest's Tale: The Beast Fable of the Canterbury Tales
- 8. The Prioress's Tale and the Pardoner's Tale: Chaucer's Two Religious Fables
The Renaissance in English Literature
Introduction to Renaissance Literature: Characterizing Authors and Works
All Videos in The Renaissance in English Literature
- 1. Introduction to Renaissance Literature: Characterizing Authors and Works
- 2. Introduction to Shakespeare: Life and Works
- 3. Richard III: Fact and Fiction in Shakespeare's History Plays
- 4. Romeo and Juliet: Shakespeare's Famous Star-Crossed Lovers
- 5. Julius Caesar: Shakespeare's Play vs. History
- 6. A Midsummer Night's Dream: Summary, Quotes and Characters
- 7. Twelfth Night: Themes, Quotes and Cross-Dressing Characters
- 8. Hamlet: Beyond the Famous Soliloquy
- 9. Othello: Racism and Shakespeare
- 10. Shakespeare's King Lear: My Three Daughters
- 11. Macbeth: Themes and Quotes from the Scottish Play
- 12. The Tempest: Colonialism and Magic in Shakespeare
- 13. Shakespeare's Sonnets: Reading and Interpreting the Major Poems
- 14. Introduction to Christopher Marlowe: Biography and Plays
- 15. Introduction to Edmund Spenser: The Faerie Queene and Sonnets
- 16. Introduction to Ben Jonson: Poems, Plays and Shakespeare
17th and 18th Century English Literature
Introduction to 17th- and 18th-Century Literature: Major Authors and Works
All Videos in 17th and 18th Century English Literature
- 1. Introduction to 17th- and 18th-Century Literature: Major Authors and Works
- 2. John Bunyan and Pilgrim's Progress
- 3. Introduction to John Milton: Life and Major Poems
- 4. Milton's Paradise Lost: Summary, Theme, and Quotes
- 5. Introduction to Alexander Pope: Biography, Essays and Poems
- 6. The Rape of the Lock: Pope's Mock Heroic Poetry
- 7. Restoration Comedy: Theatre of the 1700s
- 8. Introduction to Daniel Defoe: Biography and Major Works
- 9. Robinson Crusoe: Summary and Themes
- 10. Introduction to Jonathan Swift: Biography, Gulliver and a Modest Proposal
- 11. Samuel Richardson: Biography, Pamela and the Epistolary Novel
- 12. Ann Radcliffe and Gothic Literature
Romantic Prose in English Literature
Introduction to Romantic Prose: Overview of Authors and Works
All Videos in Romantic Prose in English Literature
- 1. Introduction to Romantic Prose: Overview of Authors and Works
- 2. Mary Shelley's Frankenstein: Literature vs. Film
- 3. Emily and Charlotte Bronte: Sisters and Authors
- 4. Jane Eyre: Summary, Characters and Analysis
- 5. Wuthering Heights: Plot Overview and Character Analysis
- 6. Introduction to Sir Walter Scott: Works of Historical Fiction
- 7. Jane Austen: Biography and Major Novels
- 8. Pride and Prejudice: Plot and Character Analysis
Romantic Poetry in English Literature
Introduction to Romantic Poetry: Overview of Authors and Works
All Videos in Romantic Poetry in English Literature
- 1. Introduction to Romantic Poetry: Overview of Authors and Works
- 2. Samuel Taylor Coleridge: Poems and Biography
- 3. Rime of the Ancient Mariner: Summary and Analysis
- 4. Kubla Khan by Coleridge: Analysis and Summary
- 5. Lord Byron: Poems and Biography
- 6. Byron's Don Juan: Summary, Quotes and Analysis
- 7. Biography of Percy Shelley
- 8. Percy Shelley's Ozymandias: Analysis and Themes
- 9. Ode to the West Wind by Shelley: Analysis and Summary
- 10. John Keats: Poems, Biography and Quotes
- 11. On First Looking into Chapman's Homer: Poem by John Keats
- 12. Ode on a Grecian Urn by Keats: Analysis and Summary
- 13. Ode on Melancholy by Keats
- 14. William Wordsworth: Poetry and Biography
- 15. Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey by Wordsworth
- 16. William Blake: Poems, Quotes and Biography
- 17. Songs of Innocence and Experience by Blake
Victorian Literature
Introduction to Victorian Literature: Overview of Themes, Style, and Authors
All Videos in Victorian Literature
- 1. Introduction to Victorian Literature: Overview of Themes, Style, and Authors
- 2. Introduction to Charles Dickens: Works, Style, and Influence
- 3. A Tale of Two Cities: Dickens' Novel of the French Revolution
- 4. Dickens' Great Expectations: Plot, Characters, and Social Class
- 5. David Copperfield: Dickens' Bildungsroman
- 6. Oliver Twist: Plot and Characters in Dickens' Social Novel
- 7. Introduction to George Eliot: Life and Major Works
- 8. Middlemarch: Eliot's Novel of Provincial Life
- 9. Introduction to Robert Browning: Life and Poems
- 10. My Last Duchess: Browning's Poetic Monologue
- 11. Introduction to Alfred Lord Tennyson: Life and Major Poetic Works
- 12. Tennyson's In Memoriam, A.H.H.: Overview of 'In Memoriam' Stanzas
- 13. Tennyson's Ulysses: A Victorian Take on Greece
- 14. Introduction to Gerard Manley Hopkins: Devout Catholicism and Sprung Rhythm
Turn-of-the-Century Literature
Introduction to Oscar Wilde: Plays, Novels, and Sexuality
All Videos in Turn-of-the-Century Literature
- 1. Introduction to Oscar Wilde: Plays, Novels, and Sexuality
- 2. The Picture of Dorian Gray: Plot, Characters, and Vanity
- 3. Introduction to George Bernard Shaw: Life and Major Plays
- 4. Introduction to Joseph Conrad: Novels and Colonialism
- 5. Conrad's Heart of Darkness: Plot, Characters, and Style
- 6. Introduction to W.B. Yeats: Life and Poetry
- 7. Yeats' The Second Coming: A Poem of Postwar Apocalypse
- 8. Introduction to E.M. Forster: Overview of Life and Works
- 9. Howard's End: Forster's Novel of Family and Social Class
- 10. A Passage to India: Forster's Treatment of Colonialism
Modernism in English Literature
Overview of Literary Modernism: Authors, Context, and Style
All Videos in Modernism in English Literature
- 1. Overview of Literary Modernism: Authors, Context, and Style
- 2. Introduction to T.S. Eliot: Author Background, Works, and Style
- 3. The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock: Overview and Analysis
- 4. The Waste Land: Structure and Style Explained
- 5. Introduction to Virginia Woolf: Life and Works
- 6. Mrs. Dalloway: Analysis of Characters and Style
- 7. To the Lighthouse: Overview of Style and Plot
- 8. Introduction to James Joyce: Life and Evolution of Style
- 9. Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man: Character and Epiphany
- 10. Ulysses: Structure, Style, and Characters
- 11. Introduction to Samuel Beckett: Life, Plays, and Novels
- 12. Waiting for Godot: Plot, Characters, and Style
- 13. Introduction to D.H. Lawrence: His Works and Controversy
- 14. Even More Modernists: Pound, Stein, and Mansfield
Literary Terms and Analysis
Overview of Literary Periods and Movements: A Historical Crash Course
All Videos in Literary Terms and Analysis
- 1. Overview of Literary Periods and Movements: A Historical Crash Course
- 2. Introduction to Literary Theory: Major Critics and Movements
- 3. Glossary of Literary Terms: Poetry
- 4. Glossary of Literary Terms: Prose
- 5. How to Analyze a Literary Passage: A Step-by-Step Guide
- 6. How to Answer Multiple Choice Questions About Literature: Test-Taking Strategies
Mary Wollstonecraft and William Godwin: Politics and Essays
About This Course
English 101 is designed to make the even the most intimidating works of English literature (James Joyce's Ulysses, anyone?) accessible and enjoyable. Instructors Elspeth Green and Stacy walk you through these novels, plays, and poems, using pop-culture references that are sure to grab even the most reluctant reader.
Find out why Chaucer was like a 14th century Farrelly brother and learn why many consider Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot the best play of all time.
Watch our videos, take our free quizzes and then tackle these important literary works with confidence!
This course is intended to supplement a close reading of all of the texts discussed. Students can access free versions of most texts from their public library or from Project Gutenberg.
How to Earn Real College Credit You Can Transfer
English 101: Introduction to English Literature prepares you to earn real college credit by taking the College Board's English Literature CLEP exam. Watch our free videos about Shakespeare, Chaucer, even Beowulf! For more details about earning credit, click here.
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Education Portal Instructors
Education Portal's 53 instructors bring a diverse array of experience and expertise to each course. From teaching philosophy in Athens, Greece, to exploring the mystery of genetics, each instructor is uniquely qualified to bring students the best online learning experience possible. Meet them now!
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Jessica Bayliss, M.S.
Jessica is our Director of Education and leads the development of Education Portal's free courses. She has 10 years of experience in education and online teaching. Her work with students of all age levels drives
her belief in the power of free online resources to make higher education more affordable and efficient. Jessica's favorite part of the day is
reading feedback from Education Portal's students. She has a bachelor's degree from the University of Illinois and a master's degree in
instructional technology from Texas A&M - Kingsville.
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Greg Chin, Ph.D.
Greg has taught genetics, molecular biology, and general biology to
high school, collegiate, and post-graduate students at Stanford University, the University of California, Los Angeles, Santa Clara
University and the Dolan DNA Learning Center at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. He has also taught science workshops for the general
public and led biology teacher enrichment workshops throughout the U.S. He received a B.S. in Genetics from the University of
California, Davis, and a Ph.D. from Stanford University. Find out how your genes work in Greg's introduction to genetics video lesson!
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Max Pfingsten, M.Ed.
Max has taught classics, history and philosophy
at a variety of levels at the Dikemes Academy in Athens, the Boulder Valley School District, University of Colorado at Boulder and
the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy (IMSA). His work is noteworthy for its synthesis of technology and simulation with more
traditional teaching approaches. He received a B.A. in Classics from Depauw University, a M.A. in Classics from University of
Colorado at Boulder, and a M.Ed. from Jones International University. See Socrates come to life in Max's lesson on the life, death,
and philosophy of the great Socrates.
- Meet all 53 of our instructors
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The videos were a great study tool. I aced the CLEP exam and earned 3 college credits!
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