The Shelleys and Keats in the Context of Romanticism
English 449: Major Authors of the Nineteenth Century
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Instructor: Dr. George Grinnell
Office: 177
Hours: W ednesday 1-3
Email: george.grinnell@ubc.ca
Course Description:
This course will place particular emphasis on works by John Keats, Mary WollstonecraftShelley, and Percy Shelley. In order to place their works in the context of the Romantic period,
we will begin the course with a survey of British literature and culture from 1789 to 1832. The
course will cover a range of forms, including the novel, poetry, journalism, autobiography,
political treatise, and drama. A central unifying theme of the course is the fascination shared
by Keats and the Shelleys—and their Romantic predecessors—with culturally-produced
conceptions of the British nation in a time of imperial expansion and social and political
upheaval. We will examine a number of works in which the idea of the nation is both
constituted and contested by notions of empire and the rights of subjugated peoples, political
and sexual propriety, the emergence of the bourgeoisie, the status of London, discussions of
terrorism, and the deeply gendered spheres of the public and the private. We will approach
these literary texts historically, as works which profoundly shape and are shaped by the
particular social and political energies of the age, just as we will also attend closely to the
persistent problems of reading and the opportunities for interpretation each text poses.
Required Texts:
The Broadview Anthology of British Literature: The Age of Romanticism
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
St. Irvyne / Zastrozzi by Percy Shelley
Lecture Schedule: Thursday 6-9pm
Assignment Structure:
Participation:
Close Reading:
Seminar Presentation:
Essay (2500-3000 words)
10%
20%
30%
40%
Information on Seminars:
These in-class presentations will be conducted individually or in pairs depending on the text and
will be approx. 15 minutes in length and will teach some aspect of the reading to the class. Presentations
conducted in pairs will be evaluated based equally on individual and overall performance. A sign up
sheet will be posted on my office door next week.
Academic Integrity:
The academic enterprise is founded on honesty, civility, and integrity. As members of this enterprise, all
students are expected to know, understand, and follow the codes of conduct regarding academic
integrity. At the most basic level, this means submitting only original work done by you and
acknowledging all sources of information or ideas and attributing them to others as required. This also
means you should not cheat, copy, or mislead others about what is your work. Violations of academic
integrity (i.e., misconduct) lead to the break down of the academic enterprise, and therefore serious
consequences arise and harsh sanctions are imposed. For example, incidences of plagiarism or cheating
usually result in a failing grade or mark of zero on the assignment or in the course. Careful records are
kept in order to monitor and prevent recidivism.
A more detailed description of academic integrity, including the policies and procedures, may be found
at http://web.ubc.ca/okanagan/faculties/resources/academicintegrity.html.
Late Policy
Assignments will not be accepted late unless accompanied by a doctor’s note. The
Essay will be penalized at a rate of 10% per day late and will not receive commentary if
not submitted on time.
______________________________________________________________________________
Schedule of Readings and Assignments
W eek One
Introductions
“The Age of Romanticism” from Anthology
John Keats, “Ode on M elancholy”
Percy Shelley, “M utability,” “Sonnet [Lift not the Painted Veil]”, “To
W ordsworth”
Social, Political, and Poetic Revolutions
W eek Two
Edmund Burke, from Reflections on the Revolution in France (1790)
Thomas Paine, selections from The Rights of Man (1791)
M ary Wollstonecraft, from A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792)
M ary Robinson, from A Letter to the Women of England (1799)
Anna Letitia Barbauld, “The Rights of W oman”
W eek Three
Helen Maria Williams, from Letters Written in France (1794)*
Elizabeth Inchbald The Massacre (1792)*
W eek Four
W illiam Wordsworth, Preface and selections from Lyrical Ballads (1802)
Samuel Taylor Coleridge, “Frost at Midnight”
W illiam Blake, from Songs of Innocence and Experience (1794)
Hannah More, from Cheap Repository Tracts (1798) *
Close reading Assignm ent Due Friday February 1
Home and Empire
W eek Five
W eek Six
W illiam W ordsworth, “London, 1802"
W illiam Blake, “London”
Thomas de Quincey, from Confessions of an English Opium-Eater (1822)
(pages 444-459; esp. 444-446 and 458-459)
Anna Letitia Barbauld “W est End Fair” and “Song for the London Volunteers”*
M ary Robinson, “London’s Summer M orning”
M ary Prince, The History of Mary Prince, A West Indian Slave, Related by herself
(1831)
Reading Week
W eek Seven
Percy Bysshe Shelley, “The M ask of Anarchy,” “Song to the M en of England,”
“England in 1819,” “On the Medusa”*
Samuel Bamford, Passages in the Life (1843)
Felicia Hemans, “The Homes of England”
W eek Eight
George Gordon, Lord Byron “Darkness”
Thomas Campbell, “The Last M an”
M ary Shelley, from The Last Man (1826)
John Keats, “To Autumn”
Subject to Others
W eek Nine
M ary Shelley, Frankenstein
W eek Ten
Percy Shelley, St. Irvyne
Percy Shelley, “Adonais”
W eek Eleven
Percy Shelley, from A Defence of Poetry, “M ont Blanc,” “Triumph of Life”
W eek Twelve
John Keats, “On First looking into Chapman’s Homer,” “To Homer,”
“La Belle Dame Sans M erci” & “The Belle Dame Sans M ercy”
“Lamia”
W eek Thirteen
John Keats, “Fall of Hyperion” (Cantos 1 & 2)
“On Seeing the Elgin M arbles,” “Ode on a Grecian Urn,” “Ode to Psyche,”
“Ode to a Nightingale,” Letter (page 741-2)
Essay Due: By April 16 th (Submitted to my office before 4pm)
____________
* Indicates a reading that will be made available electronically via email or WebCt, or via
hard copy on reserve in the Library. Precise details and locations for these readings tba.
ENGL 409 Seminar Schedule
W eek 7
Percy Bysshe Shelley, “The M ask of Anarchy” ________________________ & _________________________
Percy Bysshe Shelley, “Song to the Men of England” _________________________________
Percy Bysshe Shelley, “England in 1819” ___________________________________________
Percy Bysshe Shelley, “On the Medusa” __________________________________________
Felicia Hemans, “The Homes of England” ___________________________________________
W eek 8
George Gordon, Lord Byron “Darkness” and Thomas Campbell, “The Last M an” _____________________
M ary Shelley, from The Last Man (1826) __________________________ & ____________________________
John Keats, “To Autumn” _______________________________
W eek 9
M ary Shelley, Frankenstein ________________________________ & ________________________________
M ary Shelley, Frankenstein _________________________________ & ________________________________
W eek 10
Percy Shelley, St. Irvyne ___________________________________ & ________________________________
Percy Shelley, “Adonais” __________________________________ & ________________________________
W eek 11
Percy Shelley, from A Defence of Poetry _______________________ & _________________________________
Percy Shelley, “M ont Blanc” ________________________________& _________________________________
Percy Shelley, “Triumph of Life” ____________________________ & ________________________________
ENGL 449 Seminar Schedule
W eek 12
John Keats, “On First looking into Chapman’s Homer” ___________________________________
John Keats, “To Homer” ________________________________
John Keats, “La Belle Dame Sans M erci” & “The Belle Dame Sans M ercy”
_____________________________________ & ____________________________________________
“Lamia”
______________________________________ & __________________________________________
W eek 13
John Keats, “Fall of Hyperion” (Cantos 1 & 2) _________________________ & ______________________
John Keats, “On Seeing the Elgin M arbles”
_____________________________
John Keats, “Ode on a Grecian Urn” ____________________________________
John Keats, “Ode to Psyche” ___________________________________________
John Keats, “Ode to a Nightingale” _____________________________________