ENGL335 Romantics, Revolutionaries, and the Imagination

Overview

Explore how revolution and social change, from women’s rights to the battle against slavery, shaped writers of the Romantic era (1780-1837), including William Blake, Jane Austen, and John Keats.

The study of British literature of the Romantic era (1780-1837) has undergone profound change in the last few decades. This paper will examine the work of familiar Romantic-era writers like William Wordsworth and John Keats, but it will also include important works by lesser-known figures like Anna Barbauld and John Clare.

For most of the semester, we will focus on individual authors and familiarise ourselves with specific forms and ideas common to the Romantic era. Along the way we will consider major issues of the day: revolution, colonialism, the slave trade and industrialisation. In the final weeks our readings will shift from author-based to theme-based, as we examine how a variety of writers responded to historical, aesthetic and environmental changes in their world.

About this paper

Prerequisite

18 200-level ENGL points

Schedule C

Arts and Music

Contact

thomas.mclean@otago.ac.nz

More information link

View more information on the English and Linguistics Programme website

Teaching staff

Lecturer: Professor Thomas McLean

Paper Structure

All material presented here is subject to change.

Weekly Overview

• Week 1: Introduction; poetry of Charlotte Smith and Robert Burns
• Week 2: Poetry of William Blake
• Week 3: Poetry of William Wordsworth and ST Coleridge
• Week 4: Poetry of Robert Southey and ST Coleridge
• Week 5: Lord Byron and Sir Walter Scott
• Week 6: Library research sessions
• Week 7: Poetry of Anna Barbauld and Percy Shelley
• Week 8: Poetry of John Keats
• Week 9: Jane Austen, Persuasion
• Week 10: Representing Ancient Worlds
• Week 11: War and Exile
• Week 12: Sublime and Beautiful
• Week 13: Poetry of John Clare; review

Textbooks

English Romantic Poetry (Dover).
Jane Austen, Persuasion (Penguin).
Additional readings available through eReserve.

Graduate Attributes Emphasised

Scholarship, Critical thinking, Research.
View more information about Otago's graduate attributes.

Learning Outcomes

Students who successfully complete this paper will gain:

• A familiarity with significant writers, literary themes and literary genres of the British Romantic era
• An understanding of the historical and social contexts that helped shape Romantic literature
• Mastery of research skills required for advanced inquiry into British Romantic era literature

Assessment details

Assessment

• Internal Assessment: 60%
  Assessment includes a major research project in which students conduct focused research on a topic in British Romantic era literature, create an annotated bibliography based on that research and then write an essay further exploring the topic.
• Final Examination: 40%

All students must take the two-hour exam during the exam period.

Overview

Explore how revolution and social change, from women’s rights to the battle against slavery, shaped writers of the Romantic era (1780-1837), including William Blake, Jane Austen, and John Keats.

The study of British literature of the Romantic era (1780-1837) has undergone profound change in the last few decades. This paper will examine the work of familiar Romantic-era writers like William Wordsworth and John Keats, but it will also include important works by lesser-known figures like Anna Barbauld and John Clare.

For most of the semester, we will focus on individual authors and familiarise ourselves with specific forms and ideas common to the Romantic era. Along the way, we will consider major issues of the day: revolution, colonialism, the slave trade and industrialisation. In the final weeks, our readings will shift from author-based to theme-based, as we examine how a variety of writers responded to historical, aesthetic and environmental changes in their world.

About this paper

Prerequisite

18 200-level ENGL points

Schedule C

Arts and Music

Contact

thomas.mclean@otago.ac.nz

More information link

View more information on the English and Linguistics Programme website.

Teaching staff

Lecturer: Professor Thomas McLean

Paper Structure

All material presented here is subject to change.

Weekly Overview

• Week 1: Introduction; poetry of Charlotte Smith and Robert Burns
• Week 2: Poetry of William Blake
• Week 3: Poetry of William Wordsworth and ST Coleridge
• Week 4: Poetry of Robert Southey and ST Coleridge
• Week 5: Lord Byron and Sir Walter Scott
• Week 6: Library research sessions
• Week 7: Poetry of Anna Barbauld and Percy Shelley
• Week 8: Poetry of John Keats
• Week 9: Jane Austen, Persuasion
• Week 10: Representing Ancient Worlds
• Week 11: War and Exile
• Week 12: Sublime and Beautiful
• Week 13: Poetry of John Clare; review

Textbooks

English Romantic Poetry (Dover).

Jane Austen, Persuasion (Penguin).

Additional readings available through eReserve.

Graduate Attributes Emphasised

Scholarship, Critical thinking, Research.
View more information about Otago's graduate attributes.

Learning Outcomes

Students who successfully complete this paper will gain:

• A familiarity with significant writers, literary themes and literary genres of the British Romantic era
• An understanding of the historical and social contexts that helped shape Romantic literature
• Mastery of research skills required for advanced inquiry into British Romantic era literature

Assessment details

Assessment

• Internal Assessment: 60%
  • Assessment includes a major research project in which students conduct focused research on a topic in British Romantic era literature, create an annotated bibliography based on that research and then write an essay further exploring the topic.
• Final Examination: 40%

All students must take the two-hour exam during the exam period.