English 4540: Victorian Poetry and Prose
Fall 2008
CRN: 13593 11:00-11:50 MWF MAR 319
Dr. Dan Schierenbeck
Office: 336C Martin
Office Phone: 543-8696
Home Phone: 429-3263
E-mail: schierenbeck@umco.edu
Office Hours:
MWF 12-1, 2-3; F 10-11
and by appointment
Required Texts and Materials
Greenblatt, Stephen, Gen. Ed. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 8th ed. Vol E. New York:
Norton, 2006.
Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray. Ed. Michael Patrick Gillespie. 2nd ed. New York: Norton,
2007.
Course Description
The Victorian Age was an age of transition, an age of great social, political, and technological change in
Britain. We will examine how poetry and prose helped to shape and explain such changes. As we analyze
the cultural and social mediations nineteenth-century poetry and prose performs, we will pay particular
attention to their generic and rhetorical strategies.
Objectives
Students who complete this course will gain an understanding of the major authors, titles, genres, and
critical terms of the Romantic era as well as its historical and cultural context. Specifically, this course
fulfills levels two and three of the literature goals for English majors. In their presentations, exams,
response papers, and formal papers students will focus on analyzing literature on their own and/or with
the help of scholarly sources for its historical, cultural, and social influences (Literature Goal, Level 2). In
these assignments, they will also use appropriate critical methods in synthesizing personal insight into a
literary work with an awareness of the work’s context in literary history (Literature Goal, Level 3). In
their research paper, students will integrate research/documentation principles, analysis of scholarly
sources, and personal beliefs into valid arguments (Research Goal, Level 3).
For students pursuing a BSE-English, this course addresses the following MOSTEP Competencies:
3.2
3.6
3.7
3.8
3.9
4.3
4.8
4.9
a broad spectrum of narrative and expository reading materials, including works written
specifically for young adults, encompassing different topics, themes, genres, and nonfiction;
as well as a broad historical and contemporary spectrum of United States, British, and world
literature, including a range of cultures, male and female authors of various cultures and
ethnic origins.
the characteristics of literary types and forms.
how to help students think critically about what they read.
methods for promoting personalized reactions to reading and the value of sharing those
responses.
a variety of critical approaches to interpreting texts.
use of evidence and documentation.
technology used to enhance learning and reflection on learning
how to help students develop the capacity to listen so they comprehend, analyze, consider,
respond to, and discuss spoken material, non-fiction, fiction, dramatic works, and poetry.
Teacher Education Conceptual Framework
As a cornerstone of the institution for over 130 years, the University of Central Missouri’s Teacher
Education Program shapes teachers and other school professionals who are well grounded in theory,
display competence in content knowledge, and are prepared with strategies to ensure success for all
learners. The Teacher Education Program prepares individuals as professional educators for an everchanging, culturally diverse population, provides support and service to schools in meeting their present
and future challenges, and promotes research and scholarly activities. Teacher education is a campuswide responsibility, a commitment that reflects the honor and worth of serving in a vital profession.
Student Requirements
Class Participation (10%): You will be expected to come to class prepared to discuss the readings.
[Class participation is expected of graduate students but will not be a portion of their grade.]
Responses (20%): To help you become a more active reader and a more engaged participant in
classroom discussion, you will complete at least eight informal response papers. These responses must be
at least one and a half pages long and must be typed. Response papers are informed records of your initial
or predominant reaction to a text. You should look for aspects of the text that generated strong feelings in
you (pleasure, hatred, confusion, depression, etc.) and explore how your set of assumptions, values, and
practices of reading–which are informed by your experiences as a reader and as a human being–either
conflict with or mesh with the assumptions, values, and ideas of the text. I also may occasionally give you
specific questions that may guide your responses. The responses are due on the same day that we discuss
the aspect of the reading that you have chosen. Due dates for these assignments are left up to you, but you
must submit at least four responses before the midterm. [Graduate students must complete at least twelve
informal response papers, and at least six before the midterm. These responses must be at least 2 pages
long and provide more sophisticated analysis of the texts.]
Keystone Essay (10%): This essay should be at least 1000 words (typed, double-spaced, MLA format)
and will cover a poem. The essay will be due on September 29. As you read through the text, look for a
specific passage (as short as a word or sentence) or symbol that interests, intrigues, or confuses you.
Spend the rest of the paper explaining why that passage is important and what you think it may mean–
why it is a “keystone” for constructing an interpretation of the text. In other words, you should move from
the meaning of a specific passage to the meaning of the entire text. A strong essay will focus on a single
passage, explain why that passage is important and how and it fits with the theme of the text. Also, strong
essays will use plenty of specific evidence from the text along with thoughtful analysis. [Graduate
students will complete two keystone essays, which will be 20% of their grade. Their essays must be at
least 1200 words long and must provide a more sophisticated analysis of the texts. The first essay will
have the same due date as the undergraduate students. The second essay is due on November 10.]
Midterm Exam and Final Exam (40%): The midterm and final will be on the texts and contexts of the
nineteenth-century novel. The midterm may consist of a take-home exam and an in-class portion. The inclass portion will consist of identifications and possibly an essay. [The graduate students will be expected
to write substantially longer, more sophisticated, and more developed essays and exam answers].
Paper (20%): You will write an essay (at least 10 pages) that provides a detailed argument about a
particular primary text or texts. This essay should provide a reading that combines formal analysis of the
text with a demonstration of how the text reflects its historical context. You also need to situate your
reading within the critical and theoretical debates that surround this text. [Graduate student papers must
be at least 15 pages long and will be expected to achieve a deeper and more sophisticated understanding,
especially of the historical contexts and the critical and theoretical debates].
Grading
Final grades will be assigned as follows:
A
B
C
D
F
90-100%
80-89%
70-79%
60-69%
Below 60%
Attendance
You are expected to attend class, engage with the reading assignments, and participate in class discussion.
All exams and other assignments are designed to the advantage of those who attend class and participate.
Any work that is due for the class period that you miss will receive a zero. If you must miss class,
remember that you are responsible for finding out what you may have missed (including any discussions
of texts, changes in the reading schedule, and so forth).
Plagiarism and Academic Misconduct
Any student found engaging in an act of academic dishonesty will receive a zero for the assignment and,
consistent with the severity of the violation, may also receive a “F” for the course and be recommended
for removal from his/her degree program or for suspension from the University. Academic dishonesty
includes plagiarism and cheating. For full definitions of these offenses, please see the UCM
Planner/Handbook, 2008-2009, pgs. 139-45.If you have any further questions, please see me.
Writing Center
UCM operates a writing center that assists students in all stages of the writing process. The Writing
Center is located in Humphreys 116 and the phone number is 643-4367. I strongly encourage you to take
advantage of this free service during the semester. Note: You may get help on your writing only from the
instructor or from tutors working at the Writing Center.
Library
Get help @ your library! You may access your library account, the online catalog, and electronic
databases from James C. Kirkpatrick Library’s website at http://library.ucmo.edu. For research assistance
you may contact the Reference Desk:
Phone: 543-4154
AIM: JCKLReference
Email: reference@libserv.ucmo.edu
RefChat: http://library.ucmo.edu/chat
Special Accommodations
Students with documented disabilities who are seeking academic accommodations should contact the
Office of Accessibility Services, Union 220, (Voice and TTY) 660-543-4421.
Final note: If you have any question, comments, or concerns about this class, please feel free to contact
me.
Class Schedule
Week 1
W 8/20
Introduction to Course; Introduction to Victorian Era
F 8/22
Spiritual Crises: Evolution, (1539-53); Carlyle from Sartor Resartus (1006-11)
Week 2
M 8/25
Carlyle, from Sartor Resartus (1011-24); Mill, from Autobiography (1070-1077);
W 8/27
Huxley, “Agnosticism and Christianity” (1436-39); Newman from Apologia Pro Vita Sua
(handout); Carlyle, Past and Present (handout); Tennyson, “Ulysses” (1119), from In
Memoriam Prologue-15, 19, 27-30 (1139-48; 1152-54)
F 8/29
Tennyson: From In Memoriam: 34-35; 39; 47-48; 50, 54-59; 70-72; 78, 82-84; 86-89 (115461; 1162-69)
Week 3
M 9/1
No Class–Labor Day
W 9/3
Tennyson: from In Memoriam: 93-96; 99; 103-109; 115; 118-21; 123-24; 126-27; 129Epilogue (1171-89); “The Two Voices” (handout); Clough, “Epi-straussism,” “The Latest
Decalogue,” and from Dipsychus” (handout)
F 9/5
Arnold, “The Scholar Gypsy” (1361); “Thrysis” (handout); “Memorial Verses” (1358); E.
Bronte, “Remembrance” (1313); “The Prisoner. A Fragment” (1315); “No coward soul is
mine” (1317)
Week 4
M 9/8
R. Browning, “Caliban upon Setebos” (1296-1303); “Karshish, The Arab Physician” (1289);
“Fra Lippo Lippi” (1271-1280)
W 9/10
Arnold, “Dover Beach” (1368); “Stanzas from the Grande Chartreuse” (1369); Carlyle, from
Sartor Resartus (handout); Tennyson, “Tithonus” (1125)
F 9/12
Arnold, “The Buried Life” (1356); “Isolation. To Marguerite” (1354); “To Marguerite—
Continued” (1355)
Week 5
M 9/15
Industrialism: Progress or Decline? (1556-80); Carlyle, from Past and Present (1029-33)
W 9/17
T Mill, “On Liberty” (1051-60); “Locksley Hall” (1129); “The Lotos-Eaters” (1119);
F 9/19
E. Browning, “The Cry of the Children” (1079); “The Runaway Slave at Pilgrim’s Point”
(1085-92); Morris, “How I Became a Socialist”
Week 6
M 9/22
E. Browning, Sonnets from the Portuguese (1084-85); “To George Sand: A Desire” (1083);
“To George Sand: A Recognition” (1083); “Mother and Poet” (1106-09)
W 9/24
Arnold, “Preface to Poems” (1374-84); Carlyle, “Heroism” (handout); Tennyson, “The
Coming of Arthur” (1190); “The Passing of Arthur” (1201)
F 9/26
Tennyson, “Guinevere” (handout); Morris, “The Defense of Guinevere” (1483)
Week 7
M 9/29
E. Browning, “Aurora Leigh” (1092-1106) and (handout)
W 10/1
Newman, “The Idea of a University” (1033-41); Huxley, “Science and Culture” (1429-36);
Arnold, “Literature and Science” (1415-27)
F 10/3
Arnold, from “The Function of Criticism at the Present Time” (1384-97)
Week 8
M 10/6
Mill, “What is Poetry” (1044-51); Browning, “Essay on Shelley” (Handout)
W 10/8
Arnold, from Culture and Anarchy (1398-1404); “The Study of Poetry” (1404-14)
F 10/10
Midterm
Week 9
M 10/13
The “Woman Question” The Victorian Debate About Gender: (1581-1806); Mill, from The
Subjection of Women (1061-70)
W 10/15
Ruskin, from Modern Painters (1320-24); from The Stones of Venice (1324)
F 10/17
Tennyson, “The Lady of Shalott” (1114); “Mariana” (1112); from The Princess (1136)
Week 10
M 10/20
D.G. Rossetti, “The Blessed Damozel” (1443); C. Rossetti, “In an Artist’s Studio” (1463);
D.G. Rossetti, “My Sister’s Sleep” (1147); Jenny (1449)
W 10/22
R. Browning, “Porphyria’s Lover” (1252); “My Last Duchess” (1255)
F 10/24
R. Browning, “The Bishop Order His Tomb” (1259); “A Toccata of Galuppi’s” (1262)
Week 11
M 10/27 Morris, “The Haystack in the Floods” (handout); D.G. Rossetti, “The Woodspurge” (handout);
from The House of Life: “The Sonnet” (1457); “Nuptial Sleep” (1458)
W 10/29
D.G. Rossetti, from The House of Life: “Silent Noon” (1458); “Soul’s Beauty” (1458);
“Body’s Beauty” (1459); “The Kiss” (1718)
F 10/31
Meredith, from Modern Love: 1, 2, 17, 49, 50 (1440-42)
Week 12
M 11/3
C. Rossetti, “Song” (She sat) (1460); “Song” (When I am dead, my dearest) (1461);
“After Death” (1461); “Dead before Death” (1462); “Cobwebs” (1462); “A Triad”
(1462)
W 11/5
C. Rossetti, “An Apple-Gathering (1464); “Winter: My Secret” (1465); “Up-Hill”
(1465)
F 11/7
C. Rossetti, “Goblin Market” (1466-78); “No, Thank You, John” (1478); “Cardinal
Newman” (1480); Paper Proposal Due
Week 13
M 11/10 Swinburne, “Hymn to Proserpine” (1496); “Ave atque Vale” (1500);
W 11/12
Swinburne, “Hermaphroditus” (1499); “The Leper” (handout); “A Forsaken Garden” (1775)
F 11/14
Field, [Maids, not to you my mind doth change] (1638); [A girl] (1639);
“Unbosoming” (1639); [It was deep April, and the morn] (1639); “To Christina
Rossetti” (1640); “Eros” (1641)
Week 14
M 11/17 Henley, “In Hospital” (1642); “Invictus” (1643); Mary Elizabeth Coleridge “The Other Side
of the Mirror” (1791); “The Witch” (1792)
W 11/19
Levy, “A Minor Poet,” “Xantippe,” “Magdalen” (handout); Pater, from Studies in the
History of the Renaissance (1507-13)
F 11/21
Perspectives: Aestheticism, Decadence, and the Fin de Siecle (handout); Paper Due
Week 15
M 11/24 No Class–Thanksgiving
W 11/26
No Class–Thanksgiving
F 11/28
No Class–Thanksgiving
Week 16
M 12/1
Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray
W 12/3
Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray
F 12/5
Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray
Week 17
W 12/14: Final Exam (8:00-10:00)