British literature, 1785-1832. An introduction to genres, themes, and contexts of the Romantic period. Authors studied may include Blake, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Byron, Keats, Mary and Percy Shelley.
Athena Title
Romantic Literature
Equivalent Courses
Not open to students with credit in ENGL 6500
Prerequisite
Two 2000-level ENGL courses or (one 2000-level ENGL course and one 3000-level ENGL course) or (one 2000-level ENGL course and one 2000-level CMLT course)
Semester Course Offered
Offered every year.
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Student Learning Outcomes
Students will develop a critical understanding of the literature and history of the Romantic Period (1780-1830) in Britain.
Students will contextualize and analyze examples from multiple nineteenth-century literary genres: novels, poetry, essays, and memoir. They will think critically about literature and culture.
Students will practice engaging in collaborative discussion with their peers, in both small groups and full-class discussion. They will improve their ability to express their ideas cogently and effectively.
Students will develop their abilities to argue persuasively, to use textual evidence, and to write vigorous prose that adheres to conventional standards of grammar and usage. They will write in a variety of formats that will include papers, examinations, and short responses.
Topical Outline
The choice and sequence of topics will vary from instructor to instructor and semester to semester. The topics will consist of selected works by various authors, to be read outside of class and discussed in class, examined individually and comparatively in the context of the times and the circumstances of their composition.
A possible series of texts, topics and assignments might resemble this:
Edmund Burke, Reflections on the Revolution in France and/or other works Mary Wollstonecraft, Vindication of the Rights of Woman and/or other works William Blake, Selected poetry and prose William Wordsworth, Selected poetry and prose Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Selected poetry and prose Jane Austen, Sense and Sensibility, Mansfield Park, and/or other novels George Gordon, Lord Byron, Selected poetry and prose Thomas De Quincey, Confessions of an English Opium-Eater and/or other works Percy Bysshe Shelley, Selected poetry and prose Mary Shelley, Frankenstein and/or other texts John Keats, Selected poetry and prose Felicia Hemans, Selected poetry and prose Selected Romantic-era Drama (including the works of Joanna Baillie, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and Felicia Hemans) Selected correspondence of the period (for example, the letters of John Keats)
Possible topics could include: the Revolution Controversy, the development of the Gothic, the development of the lyric, and/or innovations in the novel.
Institutional Competencies
Analytical Thinking
The ability to reason, interpret, analyze, and solve problems from a wide array of authentic contexts.
Communication
The ability to effectively develop, express, and exchange ideas in written, oral, interpersonal, or visual form.
Critical Thinking
The ability to pursue and comprehensively evaluate information before accepting or establishing a conclusion, decision, or action.
