Students read Wordsworth sonnet, "The World is Too Much With Us," and complete reader response criticsm worksheets. They examine the poet's ideas and techniques then write a letter to Mr. Wordsworth and explain how he might feel about...

Everything you wanted to know about the history of English literature and language but were afraid to ask. From Beowulf to Canterbury Tales, the Knights of the Round Table to Robin Hood, Addison, Fielding, Shakespeare, Swift, and many...

Students examine the epic poem Beowulf. For this analyzing poetry lesson, student compare listen to the Will Smith song "Wild, Wild West" and read Beowulf. Students analyze the song and the poem. Students then research an influential...

Students explore the symbolic implications for the concept of the hero with a focus on the Beowulf theme. In this hero concept instructional activity, students find specific examples of monsters from Beowulf to complete the chart....

High schoolers investigate the evolution of the King Arthur stories and analyze them as a window into the culture that preserved them. They trace the legends through their earliest versions through medieval and Victorian times and into...

Ninth graders examine how literature connects to real-life and see how irony aids in the development of theme. They read Shirley Jackson's The Lottery, and discuss elements of foreshadowing and situational irony. Then learners will write...

Ninth graders examine a character from the short story, John Steinbeck's, "Flight." students respond to questions about the story and illustrate the character's journey.

This site offers brief biographies of many British poets of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. These include Oscar Wilde, Thomas Hardy, Robert Louis Stevenson, A. E. Housman, and many more.

This site from the Forham University provides information and text of the some of the poetry that was written by English poets during the first world war.

This lesson from a unit on 20th Century and Modern Poetry focuses on Sir Winston Churchill and his award-winning speeches during WW II. It features links to a brief history "England in World War II," a Winston Churchill biography, a list...

This lesson from 20th Century and Modern Poetry focuses on George Orwell and his autobiographical account of "Shooting an Elephant." It features links to the text of "Shooting an Elephant," a study guide/lesson plan, questions concerning...

Full text of Masefield's poem, "Sea Fever."

This is an introduction to 20th Century and Modern Poetry. It focuses on disillusionment in British attitudes, World War I's influence on the literature, changing role of women in British society, and major writers of the time and their...

This lesson focuses on Beowulf's fight with Grendel's Mother. It features links to the text in Old English or Modern, the reading of Chapters XIX-XXI, and a British Library exercise in translating Old English.

Read the original Middle English. Within the text is also a modern English prose translation.

Explore the world of Twentieth Century British literature through this informative site. Find out how and why Georgian and Modernism movements developed. Includes a quiz.

Lengthy academic essay that argues that traditional poetry, including the heroic couplet, is still relevant in the modern world. While this is discussed, the history of the heroic couplet is provided. A good definition of the term with...

This is a brief, but informative, biography of Lawrence. It includes quotations and a bibliography of his works

This site from the Modern History Sourcebook of Forham University provides a brief biography of Jonson and an excerpt by Jonson on Lord Francis Bacon.

Bartleby has made available several volumes of the poet's work. Site includes a very brief biography, the collections themselves, quotations from his work, and several poems which appear in Modern British Poetry.

Extensive site dedicated to Romantic Studies. Best to use the search function. Includes modern poets reading Romantic poetry.

This is a lesson from a unit on 20th Century and Modern Poetry focuses on Mohondas Gandhi and his nonviolent resistance against British rule of India. It features links to Gandhi's biography, his ejection from a train in...

Use this comprehensive site to learn more about English Renaissance Literature. This site is a gold mine of information. It has several essays that illuminate this genre. Find out more about this period in literature through this...