Spring 2009

E 363K • Classic to Romantic

Course Description

This course will address the cultural shift away from neo-classical values that purportedly occurred in England (and in Europe and America) from the mid-eighteenth century through early nineteenth century. We will begin by reading the work of Pope, Johnson, and Reynolds in an attempt to define neo-classicism. We will spend a good deal of time discussing the emotionally-charged work of the “poets of sensibility” at mid-century and then view the film version of Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility. We will read two bizarre and sensational gothic novels, Matthew Lewis’'s The Monk and Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, interspersed with romantic poetry deriving from the gothic. Finally, we will survey the various “romanticisms” of Wordsworth, Coleridge, and Keats.

Grading Policy

Two 5-page essays, 25% each; three 2-page memos, 30%; one revision memo, 10; participation, 10%.

Texts

Price, ed., Restoration and Eighteenth Century,
M. Lewis, The Monk
M. Shelley, Frankenstein
Austen, Sense and Sensibility
Course packet

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