| Unit name | Literature in its Time 3: Romantic and Victorian Poetry |
|---|---|
| Unit code | ENGL30027 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | H/6 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
| Unit director | Dr. Gareth Griffith |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
None |
| Co-requisites |
None |
| School/department | Department of English |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
This unit will introduce students to the range and diversity of writing in the Romantic and Victorian periods, including both canonical and lesser known authors. There will be a particular emphasis on poetry, though prose writings will also be considered. Topics covered may include the difficulty of defining periods and genres; diversity and experimentation in forms; women poets across the nineteenth century; humour; poetry and war; representation of class and social change; and the relationship between literature and other art forms.
Aims:
The unit aims to improve and extend students’ understanding of writings in the long nineteenth century, with a particular emphasis on poetry. A range of relevant concepts and contexts will be considered in detail, and students will be expected to relate particular works to broader themes and ideas in order to situate texts in their wider cultural environments. The unit aims to extend students’ ongoing appreciation of the chronology and historical development of literature in English.
Successful students will be able to
1) analyse a wide range of writings of the Romantic and Victorian periods
2) critically examine a range of relevant topics (for example, politics, parody, war, and Europe
3) place this period in the wider context of literature in English
4) communicate their ideas about these issues effectively
5) present a persuasive written argument
10 x 3-hour seminars (1 per week)
One 2000 word essay (40%) [ILOs 1-5]
One 3000 word essay (60%) [ILOs 1-5]
Reading will include:
• William Blake, ‘Songs of Innocence and Experience’
• Wordsworth and Coleridge, ‘Lyrical Ballads’
• John Clare and Robert Bloomfield (selection)
• Romantic period women poets (selection)
• ‘L.E.L’ and ‘Mrs Hemans’
• Byron, Keats, Shelley (selection)
• Tennyson, ‘In Memoriam’
• Elizabeth Barrett Browning, ‘Aurora Leigh’
• Christina Rossetti, ‘Goblin Market’
• Clough, Swinburne and Hopkins (selection)
Reading will include: • William Blake, ‘Songs of Innocence and Experience’ • Wordsworth and Coleridge, ‘Lyrical Ballads’ • John Clare and Robert Bloomfield (selection) • Romantic period women poets (selection) • ‘L.E.L’ and ‘Mrs Hemans’ • Byron, Keats, Shelley (selection) • Tennyson, ‘In Memoriam’ • Elizabeth Barrett Browning, ‘Aurora Leigh’ • Christina Rossetti, ‘Goblin Market’ • Clough, Swinburne and Hopkins (selection)
