The seeming remoteness of material studied in a British literature survey course can be frustrating for the teacher. Students may find little relevance in the story of Beowulf or the descriptions of Gulliver's voyages. However, instructors can highlight the contemporaneity of British literary texts by drawing parallels to modern times. For instance, Griselda's fate at the hands of a cruel husband in Chaucer's "Clerk's Tale" is similar to that of the modern battered wife, and Swift's "Modest Proposal" can be compared to the Nazis' final solution to the Jewish question in its blandness that masks a murderous intent. The writings of Byron, who himself was targeted by gossip befitting a modern-day superstar, reflect environmental concerns. Victorian works include discussions of such persistent problems as urbanization, economic injustice, and the mixed blessing of technology. The early twentieth-century poetry of Thomas Hardy invites consideration of such issues as homelessness and disaster (the Titanic's sinking and its modern counterpart in the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger). With a small amount of introduction, students begin to draw their own present-day analogies to issues raised in classic literature. The result is a survey course that is interesting for student and teacher alike. (SG)