Fall 2017 - ENGL 327 E100

Studies in Romantic Literature (4)

Class Number: 5483

Delivery Method: In Person

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    Sep 5 – Dec 4, 2017: Wed, 5:30–9:20 p.m.
    Burnaby

  • Exam Times + Location:

    Dec 6, 2017
    Wed, 10:00–10:00 p.m.
    Burnaby

  • Prerequisites:

    Two 100 division English courses, and two 200 division English courses.

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

Addresses issues in Romantic literature in English. May include texts in a variety of genres and be organized according to various critical approaches.

COURSE DETAILS:

Frantic Novels, Sickly Tragedies, and Idle and Extravagant Verse: Romanticism and the Gothic

In the Preface to the 1800 edition of Lyrical Ballads, William Wordsworth laments the “degrading thirst after outrageous stimulation” responsible for the popularity of “frantic novels, sickly and stupid German Tragedies, and deluges of idle and extravagant stories in verse.” Like other writers in the period, Wordsworth directs his contempt at a mode of writing, latterly termed the gothic, that relied on suspense and superstition, elevating his own poetry by comparison. However, these writers also embraced the gothic in their own works, often at the moments when they objected to it the most vehemently.  

This course will trace the influence of the gothic on major writers and genres of the Romantic period, including canonical writers who have historically been viewed as antithetical to it. It will begin by considering authors who engaged critically with gothic romance in the 1780s, before tackling Ann Radcliffe’s runaway success, The Romance of the Forest (1791), which shaped much of the gothic writing in the decades that followed. Subsequent weeks will explore how the gothic mode provided a template for literary experimentation in the political writing of Mary Wollstonecraft; the poetry of William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Felicia Hemans, Lord Byron, John Keats, and Letitia Elizabeth Landon; the closet dramas of Joanna Baillie; and the fiction of Jane Austen and Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley.

Grading

  • Participation and Attendance 10%
  • Participation in Peer Review Workshop 5%
  • Group Presentation (30 mins) 15%
  • First Essay (4 pages) 15%
  • Second Essay (8-10 pages) 30%
  • Final Exam (Take-Home) 25%

Materials

REQUIRED READING:

Clara Reeve, The Old English Baron (Oxford World's Classics)
ISBN: 9780199549740

Ann Radcliffe, The Romance of the Forest (Oxford World's Classics)
ISBN: 9780192837134

Mary Wollstonecraft, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman and The Wrongs of Woman, or, Maria (Longman)
ISBN: 9780321182739

Lord Byron, Major Works (Oxford World's Classics)
ISBN: 9780199537334

Joanna Baillie, Plays on the Passions (Broadview)
ISBN: 9781551111858

Jane Austen, Mansfield Park (Penguin Classics)
ISBN: 9780141439808

Department Undergraduate Notes:

IMPORTANT NOTE Re 300 and 400 level courses: 75% of spaces in 300 level English courses, and 100% of spaces in 400 level English courses, are reserved for declared English Major, Minor, Extended Minor, Joint Major, and Honours students only, until open enrollment begins.

For all On-Campus Courses, please note the following:
- To receive credit for the course, students must complete all requirements.
- Tutorials/Seminars WILL be held the first week of classes.
- When choosing your schedule, remember to check "Show lab/tutorial sections" to see all Lecture/Seminar/Tutorial times required.

Registrar Notes:

SFU’s Academic Integrity web site http://students.sfu.ca/academicintegrity.html is filled with information on what is meant by academic dishonesty, where you can find resources to help with your studies and the consequences of cheating.  Check out the site for more information and videos that help explain the issues in plain English.

Each student is responsible for his or her conduct as it affects the University community.  Academic dishonesty, in whatever form, is ultimately destructive of the values of the University. Furthermore, it is unfair and discouraging to the majority of students who pursue their studies honestly. Scholarly integrity is required of all members of the University. http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/student/s10-01.html

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS