Prof. W. C. Nielsen    The Romantic Era



C. D. Friedrich, Sea of Ice
Kaspar David Friedrich, Sea of Ice (1823), Kunsthalle, Hamburg

Spring 2005
ENGL 346: 19th Century English Romantic Literature
MR 10:00 AM-11:15 AM (Enroll Code: 11226); Mondays DI 179; Thursdays DI 271
“The Romantic Era” (ca. 1780-1830)
<http://chss.montclair.edu/~nielsenw/e346.html>
<http://english.montclair.edu/>

Prof. Wendy Nielsen
Dickson Hall 324
nielsenw@mail.montclair.edu
Office Hours: MR 9-10, M 4-5, and by appt.

Texts available at University Bookstore:
Course description:

English Romanticism is the literary movement from ca. 1780 to 1830 famous for the revival of English poetry and landscape painting (Constable, Turner) as well as pamphlet wars and essayists (Burke, Paine). This is the turbulent age that gives birth to Mozart, Beethoven, and Napoleon, on the one hand, and the Gothic, Frankenstein, and melodrama on the other. We will cover major poets (Wordsworth, Shelley, Keats, Blake, Byron, and Coleridge) and important women writers (Mary Wollstonecraft, Mary Shelley, and Elizabeth Inchbald). Our reading, which covers diverse genres such as poetry, prose, the novel, and drama, will be organized around the political, social, and economic revolutions of the era, from the French Revolution to proto-feminism and from the abolitionist movement to public riots. Special emphasis is given to women writers and their response to debates and male writers. Course participants will leave with an appreciation for late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century British literary culture and the untamable depths of the “Romantic” period. Satisfies: 1b: pre-1900; 3: genre (fiction); 4c (women writers); 4e (class); Approved course: English Teacher Education/other British literature

Requirements--Respect, Integrity, Collegiality, and:
Please observe the following:
  • Your classmates and instructor benefit from your presence in class and full participation, which therefore counts for a substantial part of your grade.  Please be in class at the start of the hour with work completed. 3 absences are automatically excused, but failure to attend class beyond that number will affect your final grade. 
  •   Papers should be no longer or shorter than the length assigned and submitted on time. Use twelve-point type, in Times New Roman or CG Times (or 10 pt. in Veranda, etc.). Late papers will result in grade reductions. Never submit a paper without proofreading it carefully.
  • To teach students to avoid plagiarism, lectures will also include instruction in MLA documentation (online link) of all work. This course engages in questions of authorship, including web authorship (online link: web.html). Submitting work and words that are not your own will result in failing this course and disciplinary action by the Dean of Students. 
  • Accommodations are always arranged for students with disabilities. Please call, email, or see the instructor personally.   

  • Tentative Class schedule--Please check website <http://chss.montclair.edu/~nielsenw/e346.html> for updates
    Date
    Topic
    Readings/assignments due
    Biblio. / Outside Links
    1. R 1/20
    Course/student intro.; What is romantic? What is Romanticism? Rights of Man and Citizen (Fr.) and Declaration of Independence (US) See cell below for Mon.'s h.w. (unless otherwise noted, pg. numbers refer to Longman anthology)


    Unit I: Romantic Revolutions


    2. M 1/24
    Review; Class meets in DI 179! What is revolutionary and romantic about Romanticism? Romantic Art; Map of Britain; Godwin Circle
    Intro 1-29; W. Blake 112-18; M. Wollstonecraft 227-29; Godwin 91
    James Gillray; Romantic ChronologyBlake Archive
    3. R 1/27
    French Revolution
    H. M. Williams 56-66; Burke 67-76

    4. M 1/31
    Review: French Revolution; VRM; Godwin and Anarchism
    M. Wollstonecraft 76-84; Godwin 91-6; Bring 3 discussion questions to class (will be collected)
    5. R 2/3
    French Revolution
    Paine 84-91; Coleridge 582-86
    6. M 2/7
    Review; Proto-Feminism: VRW  M. Wollstonecraft 229-54; Bring 3 discussion questions to class
    Dissenters on VictorianWeb & 1017)
    7. R 2/10
    The Woman Question; 277: Blackboard Creative Writing Ex.
    Barbauld, Polwhele et al. 269 [NEW!] + 272-80; Radcliffe, More et al 284-301
    Mary Robinson, A Letter to the Women in England; Women Romantic-Era Writers
    8. M 2/14
    Review: Blackboard; Women & Revolution; Romantic Theater; Inchbald, The Massacre
    Inchbald, The Massacre (online: Acts I-III) BWP: O'Quinn
    9. R 2/17
    Slave Narratives; Essay 1: Romantic Revolutionaries assigned; W. Indies Political Map
    Equiano (BBC link) & Prince 159-73;  Haitian Revolution: Interesting Facts; American Slave Narratives; LOC: Born in Slavery
    10. M 2/21
    Essay 1; Songs of Innocence and Experience [Blake Archive]; E. B. Browning; Abolitionism; Dr. Oldfield on BBC Prospectus due; Blake "Little Black Boy" (121); "The Chimney Sweeper" (122); D. Wordsworth, Clarkson, et al. 198-213 British Abolition Movement; Triangle Trade
    11. R 2/24
    DI 277: Authorship and Citation; Peer Review; Editing Techniques [Blackboard]
    Draft of Essay 1: Romantic Revolutionaries
    12. M 2/28
    The World of Romantic Poetry: Pandemonium
    Essay 1: Romantic Revolutionaries due

    Unit II: Romantic Poetry

    British Poetry at UVA
    13. R 3/3
    Lyrical Ballads: Preface; "Simon Lee;" " . . . Tintern Abbey"; "Lucy Gray"; sign up for Essay Groups Wordsworth 336-40; 352-62; 365-67 Romantic  Circles
    14. M 3/7
    Blackboard Discussion
    "The Rime of the Ancient . . . " 526-44
    15. R 3/10
    Lyrical Ballads;   "This Lime-Tree Bower . . . "; "Kubla Khan"; Essay 1 returned Coleridge 520-21, 524-26, 545-47

    16. M 3/21
    Library Tutorial (Room 110 in Sprague Library)
    J. Fetzer, "Romantic Irony" (Blackboard/online)
    17. R 3/24
    The Prelude I, X EG 1 due; Wordsworth 388-403, 429-38 Romantic Natural History
    18. M 3/28
    Review; Women Writers Respond EG 2 due; M. Robinson 221-25; Shelley 462-63; D. Wordsworth 465-69, 478-84; Withdrawal Deadline 3/29 The Orlando Project
    19. R 3/31
    "To one . . . ;" "Ode on a Grecian Urn" EG 3 due; Keats 852-54, 856, 882-83, 900-04, 913-15; Byron 791-92
    Elgin Marbles controversy (BBC); Romantic Circles
    20. M 4/4
    Bb Peer Review; Citing Secondary Sources; "Hymn . . . "; "Mont Blanc"
    EG 4 due; P. B. Shelley 752-60
    Mont Blanc assignment
    21. R 4/7
    PBS: "England in 1819"; Defence of Poetry; peer review
    Shelley 761, 801-10; Bring draft of essay revision to class / Post to Bb

    22. M 4/11
    Byron; "She Walks in Beauty" + other in-class poems; the Byronic Hero  Revision of essay due; Byron 600-02 et al. 638-47
    23. R 4/14
    Don Juan (from Canto I) Essay returned Byron 667-87, 747-51; Bring 3 discussion questions to class


    Unit III: Frankenstein


    24. M 4/18
    Review; Shelley, 1818 and 1831 prefaces of Frankenstein
    MW Shelley 1-38; 169-73 MWS Chronology
    25. R 4/21
    Shelley, Frankenstein; PBS on Frankenstein MW Shelley 39-67; 185-86; Optional revision due

    26. M 4/25
    Review; Student Questions; Shelley, Frankenstein
    MW Shelley 68-101; Bring 3 discussion questions to class

    27. R 4/28
    Shelley, Frankenstein; Christopher Small
    MW Shelley 103-34; 205-08

    28. M 5/2
    Shelley, Frankenstein; Course Concl: Final Review; Last day to submit material for credit
    MW Shelley 135-56; Optional/Extra Credit for Participation Grade: Revision of Essay[s] (incl. orig.) + Discussion Questions as Portfolio
    Finals Week
    Final: Frankenstein, Women Writers, and Romanticism (take-home exam)
    Monday 5/9, 10:45-12:45 in 324 Dickson; no exams accepted after this date