LITERATURE 3B
EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY BRITISH LITERATURE
Coordinator: Dr. Evert Jan van Leeuwen
LUCAS/English
Humanities Faculty
Leiden University
2014-15
GENERAL COURSE INFORMATION
COORDINATOR: Dr. Evert Jan van Leeuwen; address: Van Eyckhof 4; room 106b; email:
e.j.van.leeuwen@hum.leidenuniv.nl; phone: 071-5274117.
TUTORS:
Dr. Jan Frans van Dijkhuizen and Dr. Evert Jan van Leeuwen.
COURSE INFORMATION:
5 ECTS; level 300; language of instruction: English.
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
Literature 3B is a survey course, covering developments in British poetry
and prose fiction during the long eighteenth-century. The works in question will be read within
various aesthetic and historical contexts and will be discussed in light of key concepts such as
enlightenment, reason, decorum, the self, faith, the public sphere, sensibility and the imagination.
Because the novel is such a dominant literary form in our time, extra attention will be paid to the
genesis and development of this genre in the course of the eighteenth century. Other topics
covered are stylistic and thematic developments from Neoclassicism through Sensibility towards
Romanticism.
COURSE OBJECTIVES: By the end of the course students will have a firm general knowledge and
understanding of the major stylistic, structural and thematic developments in eighteenth-century
British literature, within various historical contexts. They will also have further developed their
academic research and writing skills by writing a short research paper.
COURSE LEVEL:
Students from all academic disciplines are allowed onto this course. Students
with no previous experience in the academic study of literary texts should be aware, however,
that Literature 3B is NOT an entry level (100) course, but a level 300 (intermediate level) course.
This means that the course content and objectives are designed for students who possess basic
skills in literary-critical reading, analysis, research and essay-writing. If Lit 3B is your first
course in literary studies, please contact your tutor early in the semester in order to discuss how
you can best prepare yourself for the tutorials, assignments and exams.
REQUIRED TEXTS:
• Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe (Penguin)
• Henry Fielding, Joseph Andrews (Oxford World’s Classics).
• Stephen Greenblatt, ed., The Norton Anthology of English Literature, 9th edition, Vol. I
and II; or, Volume C and D (Norton)
• Ann Radcliffe, Sicilian Romance (Oxford World’s Classics)
• Samuel Richardson, Pamela (Oxford World’s Classics)
• William Godwin, Caleb Williams (Oxford World’s Classics)
Because this is a 300 level course you are expected to be pro-active in your studies and to use a
dictionary or glossary of literary terms, or a literary terms handbook (Hamilton, Gray, Abrams,
Klarer, whichever one you own, or prefer) whenever you need to look up a literary-critical term
or phrase with which you are unfamiliar.
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THE BLACKBOARD SITE: All
relevant materials and information for this course will also be posted
on Blackboard. Please sign up to the site because you will be required to submit a digital copy of
your essay through Safe Assign on Blackboard. Your tutor may use Blackboard to email students.
EXAMINATION:
• One essay (1200-1500 words) that involves a small research component. This means that
you need to directly and explicitly engage with at least two secondary sources available
in the university library. The essay needs to be presented according to the rules of the
MLA style sheet. The essay has to receive a minimum grade of 6 to be accepted as a
completed coursework assignment. It counts for 25% of your final grade.
• A 120 minute written mid-term exam on the material covered in week 1-6 (35%), in
October 2014.
• A 120 minute end-of-term exam, covering the material from week 8-13 (40%), in
December 2014.
• Resit exams are in January 2015.
SUBMITTING YOUR WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT: During
the course you will write one essay. One
copy of this essay needs to be submitted as a hard copy (on A4 size paper) to your tutor. Submit
your essay with a staple in the top left-hand corner (plastic folders or any other unnecessary
binders will be confiscated!). If you do not submit the essay during the tutorial, please put a hard
copy in your tutor's pigeon hole (next to the English secretary’s office). If you cannot come to the
university to submit your essay in person, then you'll need to post it 2 days before the deadline to
this address: [your tutor's name], Leiden University, English Department, Postbus 9515, 2300 RA,
Leiden. The deadline for the essay will be posted on Blackboard in due course and is nonnegotiable. All students should also submit one digital copy of their essay via Safe Assign on
the Blackboard site, which will be scanned for plagiarism.
FILING YOUR WRITTEN ASSIGNMENTS: Make
sure you save a copy of every assignment you submit
for every course. Once in a while an assignment gets mislaid, goes missing, or is stolen from the
student pigeonholes. If you have a back-up copy at home, you only need to resubmit the assignment
and the problem is solved. If you do not have a back-up copy of your assignment, you may have to
start from scratch. When your assignment is graded and returned, store it away safely in a folder.
Never throw away a hard copy of an assignment that is returned to you with a grade and feedback.
Save all hard copy and/or digital versions of graded papers until you have received your final
degree. This way any issues concerning grades and feedback received for past coursework can be
easily resolved.
DEADLINES:
Deadlines are set so that students are able to finish all coursework on time before the
exam periods. Deadlines also exist to allow students to plan their studies ahead, and to allow tutors
to plan the marking of all coursework. Course work submitted on time will be returned on time,
which allows the student to be able to use the feedback to improve on the next assignment. Late
submissions may be accepted by your tutor but may not be corrected until the re-sit period. Here
follows a selection of often heard invalid excuses for late submission of course work: “my printer
did not work,” “I had to go on holiday because it was already booked,” “I had to do stuff at the
studentenvereniging,” “I had to do an assignment for another course,” “my dog ate my essay.”
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LITERATURE 3B: WEEKLY READING SCHEDULE
Week 1: Fictional biography: realism and romance in prose fiction.
Mandatory Lecture I: Tuesday 9 September, from 9.15-10.00, in Lipsius 005.
• Introduction to the course: reading, discussing, researching and writing about eighteenthcentury literature and culture (Van Leeuwen).
Reading for tutorial:
• Aphra Behn, Oroonoko (NAEL).
Study questions:
• Is Oroonoko a realistic or a romantic story?
• What is the narrator’s attitude towards slavery and the role of women within the African
culture she describes in Oroonoko?
• Consider Imoinda’s status as Oroonoko’s lover; they are in love, but are they equals?
• How does the story treat the political themes of colonialism and racism?
Week 2: Secret histories: sensationalism, desire and social critique in prose fiction.
Reading for tutorial:
• Eliza Haywood, “Fantomina; or, Love in a Maze” (NAEL).
• William B. Warner, “Novels on the Market,” in The Cambridge History of English
Literature, 1660–1780, edited by John Richetti. You can find and download this article
from the digital copy of the Cambridge History of English Literature, 1660-1780, which
is available via the university library catalogue.
Study questions:
• In what ways is Fantomina different to Imoinda as a lover; does her different social status
within the story have anything to do with this?
• How do Oroonoko and “Fantomina” compare in their representation and treatment of
gender and sexuality?
• Reflect critically on the style of “Fantomina.” How is it different in style to Oroonoko?
Week3: Fictional autobiography: religion and economics; the individual and society.
Reading for tutorial:
• Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe (Penguin).
Study questions:
• Is RC a novel, autobiography, travelogue, or confessional narrative?
• How would you characterise the nature of the important lessons that Robinson learns on
the island: practical, spiritual, psychological?
• With RC Defoe arguably created a modern myth, known as the “Robinsonade.” Can you
think of some reasons why this story became a modern myth?
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Week 4: Prose satire: politics, religion, science…misanthropy?
Mandatory Lecture II: Tuesday 30 September, 9.15-10.00, in Lipsius 005.
• The Lit 3B writing assignment: doing research, finding and using the proper secondary
sources (Van Leeuwen).
Reading for tutorial:
• Jonathan Swift, the abridged version of Gulliver’s Travels (NAEL).
Study questions:
• What is the object of satire in each of the four books of GT?
• What is relevant about the narrative structure of GT in creating the satirical tone?
• Why did Swift create little people, giants, floating islands and talking horses if he wished
to respond critically to British culture and the politics of his day?
Week 5: Towards the “modern” novel I: fiction as a vehicle for cultivating moral sensibility.
Reading for tutorial:
• Samuel Richardson, Pamela, pages 11 to 360 of the Oxford World’s Classics edition. You
may read it all if you prefer, of course, but you need to get to page 360 at least!
Study questions:
• Why did Richardson write his novel in the epistolary form?
• How exactly are letters different in style from other forms of writing?
• Is Pamela really afraid of Mr. B?
• Why does Mr B go to such extremes to “seduce” Pamela?
• What is the climax of the story, according to you, and when does it take place?
Week 6: Towards the “modern” novel II: Ridiculing the moral sense and society at large.
Reading for tutorial:
• Henry Fielding, Joseph Andrews (Oxford World’s Classics).
Study questions:
• How does Fielding’s narrative technique allow him to take a different perspective on the
characters and issues also explored in Pamela?
• What is important about the plot of the novel in underscoring its mock-heroic character?
(We will return to the mock-heroic in week 8).
• If this novel is a story about Joseph Andrews, then why do the adventures of Parson
Adams take up so much narrative space?
• How is Fanny different from Pamela; how is Lady B different from Mr. B?
Week 7: a 120-minute mid-term exam on the material covered in weeks 1–6.
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Week 8: Eighteenth-century poetry I: Alexander Pope – a neoclassical master
Mandatory Lecture III: Tuesday 28 October, 9.15-10.00, Lipsius 005.
• Essay Structure, Style and Presentation as well as a Q&A session for students on all
aspects of research and essay writing (Van Leeuwen).
Reading for tutorial:
• Alexander Pope, The Rape of the Lock (NAEL).
Study questions
• What is the speaker’s attitude towards his subject in RoL?
• How does Pope use the heroic couplet in RoL to create satire?
• Reflect critically on Pope’s allegorical image of a woman’s mind as the Cave of Spleen.
Week 9: Eighteenth-century poetry II: melancholy sensibilities and philosophical meditations.
Reading for tutorial:
• Thomas Gray, “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard” (NAEL).
• Charlotte Smith, the sonnets from “Elegiac Sonnets” (NAEL).
• Anna Letitia Barbauld, “A Summer Evening’s Meditation” (NAEL).
• Blake, “London,” “The Lamb,” “The Tyger,” “The Chimney Sweeper” [innocence] and
“The Chimney Sweeper” [experience] (NAEL).
• John Brewer, “Sentiment and Sensibility,” in the Cambridge History of English Romantic
Literature, edited by James Chandler. You can find and download this article from the
digital copy of the Cambridge History of English Romantic Literature, which is available
via the university library catalogue.
Study questions:
• What is so appealing about the rather morbid themes these poems explore?
• How successful is the short lyric poem as a vehicle for philosophical meditation?
• Reflect critically on the relation between the form and content of these poems.
Week 10: Eighteenth-Century Poetry III: the moment of Lyrical Ballads.
Reading for tutorial:
• Wordsworth, “Lines Written in Early Spring,” “We Are Seven,” “Simon Lee,” “Lines
Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey” (NAEL).
• “Preface to Lyrical Ballads” (NAEL).
• Susan J. Wolfson, “Wordsworth’s Craft,” in the Cambridge Companion to Wordsworth,
edited by Stephen Gill. You can find and download this article from the digital copy of
the Cambridge Companion to Wordsworth, available via the university library catalogue.
Study questions for Week 10:
• What is the relationship between nature and the human figures it in these poems?
• Exactly what kind of individual responses to the environment do these poems explore?
• Are these poems truly individual emotional responses, or can you detect an engagement
with a broader political or social issue as well?
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Week 11: Gothic sensations in sublime landscapes.
Reading for tutorial:
• Ann Radcliffe, A Sicilian Romance (Oxford World’s Classics).
Study questions:
• Compare the plot of SR to that of Pamela and think about how the marriage issue is
treated differently in both texts.
• In relation to Pamela and Joseph Andrews, how does Radcliffe treat the important
concept of (female) sensibility?
• What structural, thematic and/or stylistic elements make SR a Gothic novel?
Week 12: The novel of purpose – radical philosophy and social critique in fiction.
Reading for tutorial:
• William Godwin, Caleb Williams, volume 1: the story of Falkland and Tyrrel (Oxford
World’s Classics).
• The section titled “The Revolutionary Controversy and ‘The Spirit of the Age,’” (NAEL),
which contain short excerpts from the political writings of Price, Burke, Wollstonecraft
and Paine.
Study questions:
• How can the story of Falkland and Tyrrel be read as a fictionalisation of the revolutionary
debate?
• What political ideologies do these two landed gentlemen represent?
• What does the plight of Emily Melville reveal about Godwin’s idea of the right of women
in late eighteenth-century British society?
Week 13: The novel as thriller; or, paranoid sensibilities.
Reading for tutorial:
• William Godwin, Caleb Williams , volume 2 and 3: the story of Falkland and Caleb.
Study questions:
• How is a proper understanding of Emily Melville’s plight in volume 1 relevant for a
proper understanding of Caleb’s plight in volume 2 and 3?
• Who, or what, is the force of evil in in this story?
• What does the conclusion of the story reveal about Godwin’s attitude towards the political
status quo in the 1790s?
• Submission Deadline: submit a hard copy of your essay during the final tutorial!
Week 14: Catch-Up Week
Week 15/16: a 120 minute end-of-term exam on the material covered in weeks 8–13
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