Words Aptly Spoken: British Literature

Building upon students' growing understanding of the types and structure of literature from previous books in the Words Aptly Spoken series, this study of British literature expounds on the devices and conventions commonly found in great literature.

Does an author convey content through exposition, description, dialog, or all three? What type of language is used? How do colloquial expressions enhance or detract from the story? In what tense is the story written: past, present, or future? Who is telling the story: first, second, or third person? What is the mood or tone of the writing? Finally, what was the author's purpose in writing this particular piece—what events influenced him or her, and what influence did the book have on the people who read it?

Three genres of literature—poetry, drama, and prose—are highlighted and discussed in this collection of classic British literature, from Beowulf to The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis to contemporary mysteries by Ellis Peters. All twenty selections appear in the chronological order as they are studied in Challenge II.

Books Studied:

• Beowulf
• The Canterbury Tales (excerpts), Chaucer
• Sir Gawain & the Green Knight
• Paradise Lost, Book 1, Milton
• Pilgrim's Progress, Bunyan
• Gulliver's Travels, Swift
• Pride & Prejudice, Austen
• Tale of Two Cities, Dickens
• Jane Eyre, Bronte
• Animal Farm, Orwell
• Christmas Carol, Dickens
• A Passage to India, Forster
• Something Beautiful for God, Muggeridge
• Alice in Wonderland, Carroll
• Robinson Crusoe, Defoe
• Selections from Father Brown, Chesterton
• A Morbid Taste for Bones, Peters
• Out of the Silent Planet, Lewis
• The Hobbit, Tolkien
• The Screwtape Letters, Lewis