British Period

1. British Period (chronological)

Survey:

A History of Britain I (3500 B.C. - 1603 A.D.) - History of Britain-3500 B.C.-1
A History of Britain II - The Wars of the British (1603 - 1776) --On CD

The Classical Age

The Canterbury Tales (LD, 1990, Image Entertainment Inc.) (Color, 111 mins; Italian with English Subtitles) Category: Italian Literature 823 P283c LDe	Pasolini's startling candor and ribald humor illuminate these classic tales of romance, deception, murder and lust. Photographed on location in rural England, The Canterbury Tales starts Hugh Griffith (of Tom Jones), Josephine Chaplin, Laura Betti, Jenny Runacre and a host of passionate lovers. These amorous pilgrims unite for a glorious, sometimes unexpected journey through Chaucer's medieval England.
The Canterbury Tales I (Animated) 741.5 C229 Ve	Stop-motion model animation and traditional sketch work are combined with the dramatic voices of the Royal Shakespeare Company for this Oscar-nominated adaptation of Chaucer's timeless tales. Presented in a modern English translation and aimed primarily at younger viewers (grades 9 and up), this is a wonderful way to bridge the gap between film and the written word. This volume includes The Nun's Priest's Tale, The Knight's Tale and The Wife of Bath's Tale.
The Canterbury Tales II (Animated) 741.5 C229-2 Ve	Stop-motion model animation and traditional sketch work are combined with the dramatic voices of the Royal Shakespeare Company for this Oscar-nominated adaptation of Chaucer's timeless tales. Presented in a modern English translation and aimed primarily at younger viewers (grades 9 and up), this is a wonderful way to bridge the gap between film and the written word. This volume includes The Merchant's Tale, The Pardoner's Tale and The Franklin's Tale.
Geoffrey Chaucer and Middle English Literature EV/820/019B01 EVR/820/019M11	This program introduces the forms, themes, and major works in Medieval English literarure, particularly the achievement of Chaucer. It shows how epic developed into romance, the importance of Arthurian legends, and the themes of other works like Pearl, Sir Gawain, Le Mort D'Arthur, and Piers Plowman.
Barbarians (History Channel) DVD eng/ 900 / G226-1 V	It combines reenactments with expert historians' interviews, pulling the viewer into the past and making it seem like the present. It's pop history. What of it? It gets you interested and encourages you to explore issues that interest the audience. These barbarians were brutalized by their neighboring empires, and had to develop guerrilla tactics to compete successfully. Having Mongols depicted by actors who could have been anything from Hispanic to Caucasian and certainly not "authentic" Asians is relatively horrible, considering there cannot be a dearth of Asian/Asian-American actors who could have portrayed Genghis (or JENgis, as several of the historical experts were calling him in the program) far more realistically. Still, the History Channel did a commendable job of exploring the histories of the Vikings, Huns, Mongols, and Goths in this program. While I cannot verify whether all the information provided is completely accurate, I doubt there are as many hugely glaring errors as other critics would make one believe.-- From Amazon
Barbarians 2 (History Channel) 　　 DVD eng/900/G226-2 V	This is the second DVD set from the History Channel that focuses on the Barbarian tribes of the Dark Ages. This series includes episodes on the Vandals, Franks, Lombards, and the Saxons. The first Barbarian series was an excellent introduction to a forgotten period in European history and despite some minor flaws, was thoroughly enjoyable. This second set continues to bring this period to life as never before. In the years leading up to and following the collapse of the Roman Empire in the West, hordes of often hungry and warlike barbarians swarmed into Roman lands from the East and North, inundating an already weak Imperial government in Rome. These barbarian tribes were hired as mercenaries and served the Empire as hired muscle against other barbarians. This series focuses on some of the most famous of these groups, two of which went on to become extremely important in post- Imperial Europe. The Franks, under the ruthless, but powerful, King Clovis, would found a great kingdom of their own and lay the foundations for the Holy Roman Empire. The Saxons, surging west from Germania, would launch an invasion of Britain, claiming lands vacated by the retreating Romans, and served as the deadly enemies of the Britannic warlord who became the basis for the mythical King Arthur. The Vandals and the Lombards also left their bloody mark on history as enemies of the Empire. This period of history saw the collapse of civilization in the West and the emergence of a chaotic time known to history as the Dark Ages. At the same time, Christianity spread throughout Europe, largely at the hands of the Barbarians themselves who came to embrace, at least nominally, a belief in Christ.
Civilisation: The Complete Series (1969) 　 DVD eng/ 909 G475	Civilisation, A Personal View by Lord Clark, may be the definitive documentary series of the past 50 years. Aired in 1969, this ambitious British undertaking which spanned an "80,000 mile journey visiting 13 countries, 117 locations, 18 libraries, and 118 museums," not only reconfigured the public view of documentary style, but also cemented BBC Two and its new Controller, David Attenborough, in history. In watching this thirteen-episode series, one clearly sees how Attenborough, as well as narrator Kenneth Clark, pioneered the direct-gaze speaking style of the narrator along with the concept of placing the narrator in the setting he refers to. In episode one, The Skin of Our Teeth, Clark stands in front of Notre Dame to question first, if civilization worth preserving, and secondly, what the difference between art and culture is. Heavy. In subsequent episodes, cultural history is viewed through an art historical lens. Especially wonderful is The Worship of Nature, discussing 18th century England's obsession with landscape painting in relation to religious beliefs of the period. Deep philosophy colors each 50-minute segment. This DVD set includes an interview with Attenborough. Undeniably educational, Civilisation feels eternally significant, and improves with repeated viewing. --Trinie Dalton -- From Amazon

The Great English Poetry series

Medieval Manuscripts
EV/829/005B01
EVR/829/005M11
This is a 40-minute TV-quality documentary showing how a medieval manuscript book was made. The study of the transmission of texts in manuscript format and the culture of the book before the Age of Printing is central to a proper understanding of the intellectual life of the Middle Ages. This DVD should be of interest to historians, literature teachers and students, librarians, and anyone else interested in the history of the book in Western Europe during the later Middle Ages. The DVD also includes a 65-image Powerpoint / PDF file which can be used in teaching. Replica materials, tools, presses and other devices have been used whenever possible.

Milton & 17^th century Poetry
VE/821/018MO1
Devoted to Milton and the Metaphysical Poets, this program describes the characteristics of their poetry; defines imagery, metaphor, and conceit; and shows how paradox is used to heighten metaphor. Focusing on the major poem of the age, Paradise Lost, it discusses the epic form and its conventions; the epic hero; Milton's welding of classical and Biblical elements; and his language. Milton and 17^th Century poetry A useful video, though it concentrates on Paradise Lost. My students liked it though, and thought it more helpful than the tape Milton in the English poetry series. They thought it contextualized things for them. No subtitles, though. -- Dr. Marguerite Connor

Old English Poetry
EV/829/002B01

EVR/829/002M11
The foundation for the understanding of English literature-its Anglo-Saxon origins are offered here with modern translation of three riddle poems (which show that the English sense of humor hasn't changed much), "The Seafarer," and "The Dream of the Rood."

Old English Poetry Reformation: Age of Revolt, The Spirit of the Renaissance
EV/809/001B01
The intellectual and artictic climate of Florence, the lives of the historical figuures, such as, Petrarch, Alberti and Leonardo.

Romanticism : the bright & dark sides of spleen
EV/709/007B01
It is a lecture on campus.

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The Great English Poetry series

Narrated by John Geilgud (a major British actor). Each one is a series of poem, semi-theatrically read by an actor. Students think they are "ok", but nothing great. I use the Chaucer consistently, but other than that, I just recommend them to my students. No Chinese subtitles (Dr. Marguerite Connor).

Chaucer EV 821003B01	Includes around 20 lines read in Middle English as well as a dramatization of "The Pardoner's Tale," which is very helpful. -- Dr. Marguerite Connor
Medieval to Elizabethan Poetry EV/821/004B01 EVR/821/004M11	The period in which modern English and modern England develop, when late medieval merges into the Renaissance, is illustrated by anonymous songs and the poems of John Skelton. The age of Elizabeth was the age when cultivated gentlemen wrote poetry; love, death, ambition, political intrigue, the ordeal of the Greta Plague are some of the subjects encountered.
Metaphysical and Devotional Poetry EV/821/005B01 EVR/821/005M11	The power, vigor, audacity, and spiritual progression of John Donne are seen in examples both his love poems and his intensely moving religious poems. George Herbert is represented here, as is the witty puritan, Andrew Marvell.
Restoration and Augustan Poetry EV/821/007B01	This period , with its emphasis on stylishness, its reliance on Classical models, and its awareness of a multitude of social, political, and personal excesses, is England's great age of satire. This program features the Earl of Dryden, the nimble, dry, and acerbic wit of Swift, and the dark and ferocious verse of Pope.
Younger Romantics, The EV/821/010B01 VR/821/010M11	Many of notions still prevalent today about the poet as rebel, martyr, and impractical dreamer are based on ideas (or misconceptions of the ideas) of Shelly. Substitute Keats' negative capability for the Wordsworthian "I" and the rhapsodical sensuousness of his language, add rakishness, flamboyance, and the trio of younger Romantics is complete.
Romantic Pioneers EV/821/008B01 EVR/821/008M11	The pioneer of British Romanticism, unrecognized in their own day, were Christopher Smart and William Blake. This program offers the charming, touching, and humorous address to his cat Jeoffrey from Smart's "Jubilate Agno," five poems by Blake, Coleridge's "Kubla Khan" - spoken in the oriental splendor
Romantics and Realists EV/821/013B01 EVR/821/013M11	Industrialization, the development of science, the growth of empire, the loss of faith, all heralded a new age that looked both forward and back, with both hope and despair. The foundations of modern English poetry were laid by some of its most innovative and brilliant poets.
Victorian Poetry EVR/821/011B01	The Victorian Age was a great age of elegies, of poems of death and love, and death in love; it was also the first age in which women played a significant role as published poets. Contents include Tennyson, five extracts from In Memoriam.
The Earlier 20^th Century EV 821/011B01	In our century - which began artistically with World War I in 1914 - it is easier to recognize new ideas and imagines, new languages, new ends to which poetry aspires. Contents include Yeats, An Irishman Foresees His Death, The Second Coming, Leda and The Swan.
Later Twentieth Century, The Poetry EVR/821/015B01	Dylan Thomas " The Force That The Green Fuse Drives The Flower" and "Do Nopt Go Gently Into That Good Night" discuss the unities of life and death. Lwell, the confessional poet reflect the cultural and social problems "Skunk Hour" ,"The Union Dead."

Video Catalogue
English Department, Fu Jen University