Welcome to e201 and e202. This website provides background information for your classes. You will find general guides to historical periods, guides to authors, guides to genres, and guides to particular poems. We have also put up a number of helpful handouts, images, film recommendations, and lists of links.

As you will discover, every poem and every author can be approached through many different critical lenses. So, please be careful not to substitute the information or opinions in these pages for what you have learned in class. Your professor is the best guide; please confer with him or her. (Click here for professors' pages.)

Much of the literature you will read for 201 and 202 is out of copyright. We have put up links to Google Books and to Early English Books On-Line so that you can read the works in their earliest editions. Please ensure that the editions correspond to those assigned for your class. UMass students can browse Literature Online, which provides thousands of editions of poetry and prose for no charge.

English 201 and 202 are essential courses for a well-informed, well-rounded English major. We encourage you to explore. Please let us know if you have any suggestions for the web site.