English children's literature is absolutely fascinating. Some stories are written in a style every bit as good as the greatest poems; some stories are illustrated with pictures every bit as beautiful as those exhibited in galleries; some stories communicate a message every bit as powerful as the most motivating speeches; some stories teach new words and phrases every bit as well as the best school textbooks; and some stories can move you to tears every bit as well as the most moving movies.

On this course, students start by tracing modern children's literature back more than four hundred years to a popular Scottish folksong (A Moste Strange Weddinge of the Ffrogge and the Mowse -- 1580) that warns about the dangers of creating a union with neighboring countries. Then, they follow the journey of English children's literature forward to today, learning about the influences of folksongs, nursery rhymes, school textbooks, nonsense poems and stories, and personal stories.



Among other things, students see how, over a period of 200 years, A Moste Strange Weddinge of the Ffrogge and the Mowse was transformed from a political folksong into a popular nursery rhyme and story (The Frog who Would A-Wooing Go -- 1864) that warns children about the dangers of not listening to their parents' advice. In addition, students learn about the influence of:
・The world's first picture books, such as Orbis Sensualium Pictus (1658) that was translated into almost every European language and used in schools throughout Europe to teach
children about the world and how to read both Latin and their own language;



・Nonsense poems and stories, such as Edward Lear's poem, The Owl and the Pussy-Cat (1870) and Lewis Carroll's story, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865), that take children to an imaginary world where anything is possible;



・Personal stories for children, such as Oscar Wilde's story, The Selfish Giant (1888), that communicate a moral or religious message; and
・Stories about characters in famous poems, folksongs, and nursery rhymes, such as Beatrix Potter's story, The Tale of Little Pig Robinson (1930) that tells a funny tale about the pig, owl and cat in Edward Lear's nonsense poem, The Owl and the Pussy-Cat (1870).



To help students better understand how children's literature has changed and evolved over the past 400 years, they analyze the:
・Complexity of a text (clause, phrase, nominal and verbal);
・Social and psychological circumstances of dialogue or verse used in a text (pragmatic, speech acts analysis); and
・Style of a text (literary analysis).
Finally, based on these analyses, students write a translation of each story, song, and poem, and perform it for their classmates' enjoyment.

担当教員：John McLean