Literature Resources
Hopefully, we will stumble across a topic that sparks interest for you. Let's face it, some of the best films ever made were based on many of the literary selections we will be reading in this class. I'm certainly looking forward to Guy Ritchie's remake of King Arthur that's coming out within the year! Anyone who has been watching shows like Supernatural or Penny Dreadful will recognize many characters from our selections! Oh, and before vampires were all *sparkly and emo*, they were complex, tortured souls of literature. Frankenstein? The original Walking Dead! If romance is more your style - we will be reading some of the originals.
As we journey through this literature, I will be adding to this virtual file-cabinet. Consider browsing through the links and files on any title you found interesting. The most meaningful learning happens when your curiosity leads you to discoveries.
"Coming of Age" Theme — Online book about the "coming of age" theme
"Slaying Monsters" — Article published by "The New Yorker," gives brief insight to the translation from Old English to Modern English of "Beowulf" by J.R.R. Tolkien
A&E Biography of Shakespeare: A Life in Drama — Full Shakespeare Biography
Anatomy of Criticisms — Frye on criticisms
Beowulf & Grendel Action Movie — A different retelling of this story focusing more on Grendel's connection and backstory
In Search of Beowulf — Really interesting documentary hosted by Michael Wood, as he explores the history behind the Beowulf story. Highlights include a very cool story-telling "mead-hall" re-inactment and the first-ever film glimpse of the actual surviving manuscript stored at the British Museum.
Macbeth. Compare and Contrast: Opening scenes from five adaptations. — Opening scenes from Polanski (1971), BBC (2005), Wright (2006), Goold (2010), Kurzel (2015)
Mr. Osborne - British Literature Unit Preview 1.5 - Medieval Period — Marking the midpoint in the first unit in British Literature, Mr. Osborne discusses the events depicted in The Bayeux Tapestry, Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, and Arthurian legend as chronicled in Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Brittaniae (The History of the Kings of Britain).
Mr. Osborne - British Literature Unit Preview 1 - Anglo Saxons — The first in Mr. Osborne's series of videos discussing British Literature sets the stage for the course and discusses both the Anglo-Saxon invasion of England as well as the first major work for the course: the epic poem Beowulf.
Mr. Osborne - British Literature Unit Preview 2 - The English Renaissance — Moving into the English Renaissance, Mr. Osborne covers the historical contexts surrounding the period, as well as some Renaissance-era poetry including the English (or Shakespearean) sonnet, and concludes with a brief overview of Shakespeare's classic tragedy, Hamlet.
Mr. Osborne - British Literature Unit Preview 3 - The Restoration & Enlightenment — Mr. Osborne takes us through the troubled Interregnum, the joyous Restoration, and into the Age of Enlightenment, previewing titles such as The Diary of Samuel Pepys as well as Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels and "A Modest Proposal."
Mr. Osborne - British Literature Unit Preview 4 - The Romantic Period — With only a few decades to cover, Mr. Osborne tries to move quickly through the brief Romantic Period only to find that the classic works keep on coming. Discussed here are poems by William Blake, William Wordsworth, John Keats as well as the novels Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen and Frankenstein by Mary Shelley.
Mr. Osborne - British Literature Unit Preview 5 - The Victorian Age — Mr. Osborne marches onward to victory as he enters the Victorian Age, examining poetry by Thomas Hardy, Alfred Lord Tennyson, both Robert and Elizabeth Barrett Browning, and nothing at all by Charles Dickens.
Mr. Osborne - Unit Preview 6 - The Modern Era — This is a modern world and Mr. Osborne has a lot to say about it. In this episode, we discuss the impact that both world wars had on Britain and take a look at relevant works by W.B. Yeats, Virginia Woolf, and Dylan Thomas, as well as speeches by Winston Churchill.
Mr. Osborne - Unit Preview 7 - Contemporary Voices — The Unit Preview series comes to a dramatic and shocking conclusion as we take a look at some of the more contemporary and non-canonical works that impacted Britain in the second half of the twentieth century. Included are songs by The Beatles and poetry by both Linton Kwesi Johnson and Carol Ann Duffy.
Structure of Romance — Frye: Online book on the structure of romance, archetypes, etc.
WordlyWise Website — Resource that contains each Vocab Unit's words and definitions should you misplace your book to study for tests. This resource also has study games and additional activities that could help you prepare and acquire better vocabulary comprehension.