Studies in Romantic Literature Syllabus
ENGLISH 382 (Fall 2003)
STUDIES IN ROMANTIC LITERATURE
Dr. Timothy Brownlow
Office 232, English Department
Local 2122
Office hours: Wednesdays 5:00-6:00
In Duncan: Tuesdays 1:30-3:30
Duncan Writing Centre: Thursdays 1:00-3:00; Fridays 11:00-1:00
E-mail: brownlwt@mala.bc.ca
TEXTS
Wu, Duncan, ed. Romanticism: An Anthology. Second edition with CD. Blackwell, 1998.
Ballaster, Ros, ed. Sense and Sensibility. Penguin, 1995.
Summerfield, Geoffrey, ed. John Clare: Selected Poetry. Penguin, 1990.
PREAMBLE
The period we are studying is of immense complexity; trying to "cover" it in 39 hours is like taking a three-week coach tour of Europe—arrive Paris 11:30 a. m. Lunch at La Bagatelle, skip into the Louvre to see the Mona Lisa, on to see Monet's water-lilies, coffee on the Champs Elysees—6:30 p.m.: coach leaves for London (notice Notre Dame floodlit on left as we leave).
You will find my style anecdotal, inter-disciplinary, and assuming a more-than-nodding familiarity with history. Like the Oxford English Dictionary, my explorations are based "on historical principles." Initially, you may be confused, but by the fifth or sixth week, discernable shapes should be emerging from the mist. There will be an expected minimum of reading, but you will be encouraged to follow your hunches and interests: you will be examined on the Mona Lisa and Monet (to continue the Grand Tour analogy) but if you fall in love with the paintings of, say, Berthe Morisot, you are free to tie them into the main theme.
FORMAT OF CLASSES
I am aware that many of you will already have had a heavy day before our class. I have tried to include as much variety as possible—there will be extracts from videos, musical interludes, group work, as well as more formal lectures. In addition, a series of coloured overheads has been designed to follow up the themes of each class; these will be shown from 9:00 onwards. At 9:25 in each class, you will be given a 5- by- 3 index card and asked to comment on your evening's learning. These cards will act as a running commentary throughout the term, as well as providing invaluable feedback for me, and will be the basis of your participation grade (part of your final mark).
ASSIGNMENTS
In-class writing on October 15
Group work on women writers, presented November 19
Research paper, min. 2000 words, due December 3
Examination
Participation, including index cards 15%
15%
10%
25%
25%
10%
SCHEDULE
[Page numbers refer to Duncan Wu's Romanticism: An Anthology (Blackwell, 1998)]
3 September Quotations.
Introduce each other.
Go over outline.
Classicism/Romanticism.
Mindmap on the word "Romantic."
Overheads: introductory.
Index card.
10 September STORM and STRESS
Video: "The Fallacies of Hope" (extract)
The Revolution debate: Richard Price, Edmund Burke, Thomas Paine, William Godwin, Mary Wollstonecraft, Helen Maria Williams, James Mackintosh.
England since the Restoration (1660): the evolution of liberty.
Words, words, words and their dates.
17 September LANDSCAPES and MINDSCAPES
The Riparian Muse: river poems or streams of consciousness.
Thomas Warton, p.3; Charlotte Smith, p.35; W. L. Bowles, p.155; S. T. Coleridge, p.450; Wordsworth, p.414; Wordsworth, pp.265-269.
24 September PICTURESQUE and SUBLIME
Hogarth's Line of Beauty
Edmund Burke, p. 5; William Cowper, p.11; Anna Seward, p.18; Mary Robinson, p.122; Ann Radcliffe, pp.157-8; Coleridge, pp.551-555; Wordsworth, pp.300-324 and pp.329-332. Wordsworth: "Preface to Lyrical Ballads." Pp.357-366.
1 October SENSE and SENSIBILITY (theme)
Dr. Johnson and Boswell
Hannah More, pp.27-30; Anna L. Barbauld, pp.22-25; Mary Wollstonecraft, pp.140-146; Dorothy Wordsworth, pp.431-440; Lady Morgan, pp.593-595; Thomas Moore, pp.617-619.
8 October SENSE and SENSIBILITY (novel)
Read the Penguin text and be prepared to talk about it. If possible, rent the video version with Emma Thompson and Hugh Grant.
15 October CLASSICAL and ROMANTIC (musical interlude)
6:30- 8:00 In-class writing; see assignment # 1.
8:15- 9:30 Beethoven: "The Artist as Hero."
N.B. The second part of this class will take place in the theatre of Building 356, Room 109.
22 October DELIGHT and MELANCHOLY
John Keats: Sonnets; Odes, pp.1056-1064; 1080; Letters.
29 October INTEREST and PRINCIPAL
Shelley: "A Defence of Poetry." Pp.944-956.
Lord Byron: "Dedication to Don Juan." Pp.752-755.
Byron on Wordsworth and Coleridge.
5 November INNOCENCE and EXPERIENCE
George Crabbe: "Peter Grimes." Pp.37-44; William Blake: "Songs of Innocence and of Experience." Pp.60-84.
Blake as artist.
12 November RUSTICS and SOPHISTICATES
Ann Yearsley, p.50; Robert Burns, pp126-134; Robert Bloomfield, pp.174-177; James Hogg, p.419; John Clare, pp.973-990.
Find your own favourites in the Penguin edition.
19 November MILKMAIDS and BLUESTOCKINGS
Your choice of women writers.
26 November VISIONS and REVISIONS
Writer's block.
The myth of Romantic spontaneity.
Three versions of "Dejection: An Ode." Pp.495-504; 507-511; 544-558.
What is Romanticism?
