This course has two interrelated aims: 1) to look closely at the varieties (or, dialects) of English found in England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland; 2) to investigate the ways in which writers represent these varieties in literature, especially in fiction and drama. Our study of language in the British Isles will include a look at the history of English as well as a consideration both of regional variations (as seen, for example, in the dialect of western Ireland that fascinated John Millington Synge) and of social variations (as seen, for example, in George Bernard Shaw's contrast of standard English and Cockney in Pygmalion). Aside from Synge and Shaw, other writers whose work will be read include Emily Brontė, Walter Scott, and D.H. Lawrence. There will be one paper along with quizzes and a final exam.