EN4311 Old English Poetry: Lordship and Landscapes

Academic year

2025 to 2026 Semester 2

Further information on which modules are specific to your programme.

Key module information

SCOTCAT credits

30

The Scottish Credit Accumulation and Transfer (SCOTCAT) system allows credits gained in Scotland to be transferred between institutions. The number of credits associated with a module gives an indication of the amount of learning effort required by the learner. European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) credits are half the value of SCOTCAT credits.

SCQF level

SCQF level 10

The Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) provides an indication of the complexity of award qualifications and associated learning and operates on an ascending numeric scale from Levels 1-12 with SCQF Level 10 equating to a Scottish undergraduate Honours degree.

Availability restrictions

Not automatically available to General Degree students

Planned timetable

Tuesday 3-5pm

This information is given as indicative. Timetable may change at short notice depending on room availability.

Module coordinator

Dr C Rauer

Dr C Rauer
This information is given as indicative. Staff involved in a module may change at short notice depending on availability and circumstances.

Module Staff

Dr C Rauer

This information is given as indicative. Staff involved in a module may change at short notice depending on availability and circumstances.

Module description

A close study of a selection of Old English poetry, including elegies, laments, riddles, and heroic narratives, illustrating the distinctive thematic and stylistic qualities of Old English poetry. Particular attention will be paid to hierarchical relationships between male characters and interactions between male and female characters, as well as the landscapes and other environments described in the poems (ecocriticism). Students will be able to test their imagination against texts which are in many cases so enigmatic and so short that scholars have not been able to establish their meaning and context. Despite their mysterious content, the fragments nevertheless manage to convey a haunting sadness and should be seen as some of the most beautiful poems in the English language. The EN4311 part of Dr Rauer's teaching website 'The Nosebag' can be accessed at: https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/~cr30/nosebag/EN4311/EN4311Menu.htm (Log-in with St Andrews username and password required)

Relationship to other modules

Pre-requisites

BEFORE TAKING THIS MODULE YOU MUST PASS EN2003 AND PASS EN2004

Assessment pattern

2-hour Written Examination = 50%, Coursework = 50%

Re-assessment

exam = 100%

Learning and teaching methods and delivery

Weekly contact

A 2-hour weekly seminar (x 11 weeks) 2 office hours (x 11 weeks)

Scheduled learning hours

22

The number of compulsory student:staff contact hours over the period of the module.

Guided independent study hours

278

The number of hours that students are expected to invest in independent study over the period of the module.

Intended learning outcomes

  • Acquire a good knowledge and critical awareness of a range of Old English poetic texts and genres
  • 2. Deepen their knowledge of Old English language, and cope more confidently with texts in early English and difficult language.
  • Develop self-awareness in reacting to culturally, historically and spiritually alien materials.
  • 4. Recognise modern preoccupations with environmental sustainability and conflicted human behaviour in the written output of earlier generations and understand the timelessness of such topics.