This course will examine major works of British literature from the Anglo-Saxon period through the eighteenth century. We will study these works in relation to three major topics: heroism, love, and travel. The structure for this course will therefore permit a comparative approach that allows us to understand the changes and continuities evident in early British literature, and specifically how British writers and readers grappled with ideals of heroism, patterns of romantic attachment, and the fictional uses of travel narratives. We will also examine the problematic aspects of each of these topics.