Eighteenth Century Literature and Romanticism

Course Content:

This module explores the major authors and literary themes of the ?long? eighteenth
century, from around 1700 to about 1820.

Texts are read in chronological order, starting with some of the satirical poetry and the
early novels from the first half of the century. The relationship is considered between
satire and society, and ask why the novel came into being at this time. The ?Age of
Sensibility? is then explored, reading sentimental poetry, prose, and drama to explore
what was meant by that important term, ?sensibility?, and considering the politics of
sensibility as it revealed itself in anti-slavery debates.

Discussion will focus on the work and career of Oliver Goldsmith, who wrote in all three
genres and can in many ways be seen to typify the period, especially in the shift from
satire to ?politeness?. The later eighteenth century was an ?Age of Revolution?. Radical
ideas such as women?s rights found their best expression in the work of Mary
Wollstonecraft, whose Vindication of the Rights of Woman is a founding text of modern
feminism. And it was an ?Age of Biography?: Boswell?s Life of Johnson and Godwin?s Life of
Mary Wollstonecraft, and their impact on later generations are discussed.

In the second semester, the poetry (and some prose) of the Romantic era is studied,
considering the extent to which it was a natural extension of the Age of Sensibility, as
well as some of the ways in which it was a new departure. Key themes will be the
aesthetics of ?taste?, identity and the idea of the ?Romantic self?, and the literature of the
Romantic sublime.

AUTUMN SEMESTER LECTURES:
The Long Eighteenth Century: an Introduction, Jonathan Swift: Satire and Society ,
Alexander Pope: Satire and High Society, Daniel Defoe and the Rise of the Novel #1,
Samuel Richardson and the Rise of the Novel #2, The Town and the Country , The
Sentimental-Satirical Novel, The Eighteenth-Century Stage, The Politics of Sensibility: the
Antislavery Debate, Mary Wollstonecraft, Feminism and Radical Enlightenment,
Biography and the figure of the Man of Letters.

SPRING SEMESTER LECTURES:
The Romantics: Who, What, When, Where, Why? , The Revolution of Taste 1:
Wordsworth, The Revolution of Taste 2: Coleridge, The Romantic Sublime,
Romantic Selves, European Romanticism 1, European Romanticism 2, John Keats,
Percy Shelley, The Byronic Hero.

Teaching:
Lectures/workshops and seminars

Assessment:
STUDY OPTION 1:
1. an unseen take-home exam (50%) - mixture of short, factual questions, close
reading exercises, and a short essay.
2. Essay of 2,500 words (50%).
STUDY OPTION 2:
an unseen take-home exam - mixture of short, factual questions, close reading exercises,
and a short essay (100%)
STUDY OPTION 3: Essay of 2,500 words (100%).

Study Option 1 = Whole Year
Study Option 2 = Autumn
Study Option 3 = Spring/summer