English Literature to 1750

Intended primarily for students of EN 201, taught by the VMI English Faculty




Below are links to websites devoted to the lives and works of authors taught in EN 201 from the Norton Anthology of English Literature, Major Authors Edition, as well as links to research resources.

General Reference


The English Server


Voice of the Shuttle: General English Language and Literature Resources


Citing Electronic Sources

A collection of links to websites with guidelines for citing material from the World Wide Web, CD-ROMs and other electronic sources. The emphasis is on MLA format, but there is information for APA, Chicago, and Turabian, as well.


Middle Ages


Voice of the Shuttle: Medieval English Literature

Excellent links to medieval texts and bibliography.


Jack Lynch's Literary Resources--Medieval


Cathy Ball's Old English Pages

Links to information about Old English literature, art, and history.


Old English at the University of Virginia (an archived link)

Similar to Cathy Ball's site, these pages by Peter S. Baker offers a course in OE plus bibliography and other online resources, including sound files of Readings from Beowulf.


Old English Made Easy

Dictionaries, word lists, and other resources for Old English.


Resources for Studying Beowulf (an archived link)

Bibliography, information on the manuscript, the original OE text, two translations, and a keyword search (for translation) make this site the place to start for the study of the Anglo-Saxon epic.


Beowulf: A Study Guide

Prof. Roy Liuzza of University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and author of one of the best translations of Beowulf, provides study questions, a bibliography, and a list of web sites devoted to the poem.


Beowulf Bibliographies:

Beowulf: A Student's Bibliography
Beowulf Bibliography 1979-1994 (an archived link)
Literary Criticism: Beowulf (an archived link)

The Electronic Beowulf Project

Interesting information about the Beowulf manuscript and how it has been digitalized on CD-ROM (with graphics).


Syd Allan's Beowulf Translations.net: Start Page

Contains introductory information, including images of the Beowulf manuscript, a mead hall, maps, etc.


"Why Read Beowulf?"

An essay by Robert F. Yeager on the history of the poem and its manuscript.


Anthology of Middle English Literature

Works by and about Chaucer and the Gawain-poet, as well as other 14th- and 15th-century English writers, such as William Langland. Includes links to bibliographies and numerous online essays, especially about Chaucer.


A Basic Chaucer Glossary


An Electronic Edition of "The General Prologue" of The Canterbury Tales

A nicely glossed, easy to use hypertext edition of "The General Prologue" by Edwin Duncan of Towson University.


Renaissance and 17th Century


Voice of the Shuttle: Renaissance & 17th- Century English Literature

Excellent links to Renaissance texts and bibliography.


Jack Lynch's Literary Resources--Renaissance


Renaissance Image Gallery

From Professor Rebecca Bushnell of the University of Pennsylvania, a collection of pictures from the Renaissance arranged in categories Court Culture, Urban Life, and New Worlds/New Science.


The Edmund Spenser Home Page

A good starting point for the study of Spenser, especially The Faerie Queene


Spenser's Shepheardes Calender Hypertext

A text of The Shepheardes Calender with glossary and notes in hypertext links.


VIVA Verse Drama

Searchable texts of Renaissance verse plays.


Mr. William Shakespeare and the Internet

An excellent site with searchable texts, biography, criticism, background resources, etc.


Search Shakespeare's Works

Sub-page of "Mr. William Shakespeare and the Internet," a keyword searchable concordance to all Shakespeare's plays. An excellent resource for studies of motifs, imagery, and themes.


The Shakespeare Home Page

Several Shakespeare-related links, including frequently asked questions. Another way to search the text of his plays and poems, as well.


Shakespeare at e-Notes

Somewhat commercialized, but has some good links to various Shakespeare sites.


Shakespeare's Globe

The official web site of the New Globe, including a virtual tour (under Education and Distance Learning).


English Poetry

Searchable collections (by author) of English poetry texts, including works by Donne and the Metaphysicals.


Restoration and 18th Century

Voice of the Shuttle: Restoration & 18th-Century English Literature

Excellent links to texts and bibliography for the Age of Reason.


Jack Lynch's Literary Resources-- Eighteenth Century


English Poetry

Searchable collections (by author) of English poetry texts, including works by Pope.


Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained

Searchable electronic texts of Milton's two most important works, with hypertext links organized according to the individual books in each work.


Milton-L

A major resource for Milton studies, this site is affiliated with a scholarly Internet conference on Milton and includes links to e-texts of Milton's works, criticism, and background, including a Milton Discography.



Augustan Satire Bibliography


Selected Poetry by Alexander Pope

Selected Poetry by Alexander Pope from Representative Poetry. Prepared by members of the Department of English at the University of Toronto.


The Rape of the Lock Home Page

Background material, including the story behind the poem, a chronology of early editions, an analysis of mock-heroic elements, and illustrations.


Alexander Pope, An Essay on Criticism Part 1, Part 2, Part 3


Alexander Pope, An Essay on Man Epistle I, Epistle II, Epistle III (excerpt), Epistle IV (excerpt)


Jonathan Swift: "A Modest Proposal"


Jonathan Swift: Selected Poetry


Gulliver's Travels

Includes text, sources, a short biography of the Irish author and other useful and interesting material.

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Last modified September 8, 2007