English 719
Wallace, Fall 2013
Studies in British Romanticism: Revolution and Rebellion
In The Marriage of Heaven and Hell, William Blake surmised that "The reason Milton
wrote in fetters when he wrote of Angels & God, and at liberty when of Devils & Hell, is
because he was a true Poet and of the Devils party without knowing it." Whether we
agree with Blake's aesthetic and political judgment or not, there can be no question that
the revolutions of the late eighteenth century, and the reactions for and against them,
were a primary driver of what was eventually named "Romanticism." In this course,
after a brief survey of Romantic culture, we will read into the period's extensive
literature of rebellion, revolution, and reaction. Our seminar discussions will be fueled
by your presentations of "problem papers," and the rest of the course work will consist
of a graduated series of assignments leading to the research essay and a conferencelength revision of that essay.
How to Find Me
Office: 3133 MHRA (it says "Department Head" beside the door)
Phone: 334-5311
E-mail: anne_wallace@uncg.edu
Hours: By appointment
Required Texts
Williams, Helen Maria. Letters Written in France, in the Summer 1790, to a Friend in
England. Ed. Fraistat & Lanser (Broadview 2001)
Burns, Robert. Selected Poems. Ed. McGuirk (Penguin 1984)
Wordsworth, William and Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Lyrical Ballads: 1798 and 1800. Ed.
Gamer & Porter (Broadview 2008)
Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. 3rd Edition. Ed. MacDonald & Scherf (Broadview 2012)
Austen, Jane. Persuasion. Ed. Linda Bree (Broadview 1998)
Hemans, Felicia. Records of Woman with Other Poems. Ed. Paula Feldman (Univ. Press of
Kentucky 1999; available as print on demand from UPK and from Amazon)
George Gordon, Lord Byron. The Major Works. Ed. Jerome McGann (Oxford 2008)
Clare, John. The Major Works. Ed. Eric Robinson et. al. (Oxford 1993)
More on Required Texts: please read
At this level of study, editions matter. For instance, the MacDonald and Scherf
Frankenstein uses the 1818 edition as its base text instead of Shelley's revised 1831
edition—or the intermediate 1824. We'll talk about why they did this, but the point is,
editions matter. These editions also include considerable supporting material chosen by
the knowledgeable editors, which in some cases will be required reading for this course.
Eng. 719, Wallace - 2
On the other hand, books are expensive. We won't read all of the large compilations of
Burns or Byron, and you can (probably) find the selections we read either online or in
other collections or anthologies. Any edition of Shelley that uses the 1818 text is ok—but
be sure that's the base reading text, because it is different from the once-standard 1831.
Any edition of the Austen is probably ok. I hope you'll buy the ones I've ordered (or
order them for yourself) because they are fine editions and it will make following class
discussion much easier. But if you can't because of expenses, I understand.
On the other hand again, you really cannot get along without the specific editions I've
chosen in these cases: Williams (hard to find, and I'll require part of the appended
material); Wordsworth and Coleridge (both versions of LB are included); Hemans (the
entirety of Records of Woman, rather than a selection from this volume); and Clare (not
only would some of my selections be hard to find but—well, you'll see). In these cases,
please do purchase the ones I’ve ordered.
The other required readings, which are identified in the Course Schedule below, will be
posted to our Blackboard class site in PDF.
You may wish to purchase A Companion to Romanticism, edited by Duncan Wu
(Blackwell 1998), from which I’ll draw a number of the other required readings. I have
not required this book because of its relatively high cost, and because I will not use
anything like all of it. You may want to look at the table of contents online to see
whether you think it’s worth purchasing for your library.
Coursework
Problem Paper (2-3 pages)
15%
Topics List
5%
Core Analysis (3-5 pages) +Bibliography 15%
Research Essay (~20 pages)
40%
Conference Paper Abstract (1 page or less) 5%
Conference Paper (8 pages)
20%
Problem Paper: you'll choose a week in which you'd like to present a "problem
paper" on the primary readings. This paper, which should be no more than three
double-spaced pages, describes an interpretative problem presented by the text(s). This
is not a thesis-driven argument for a particular interpretation, but the step that comes
before such an essay: the articulation of the problem itself, laying out the textual
difficulties as fully as possible without deciding on any "solution" (though various
possible solutions might be described). For instance, in Wordsworth's "Tintern Abbey,"
the speaker's relation to the sister that turns up near the end of the poem is quite vexed.
Has she been there the whole time? If so, why is her presence not acknowledged until
the end? If not, then at what point does she enter? Is she indeed "there" at all? My
Eng. 719, Wallace - 3
example is somewhat clumsy, but the idea is that you are not answering the questions—
you're fully articulating the questions so that the class can consider the problem.
Topics List: about midway through the semester you'll turn in a list of at least
three possible topics for your research essay. These should be fairly well specified.
"Women and romantic poetry" won't cut it. You're looking for something more like
"ocean as representative of the sublime in Smith's poetry."
Core Analysis and Bibliography: the core analysis is the close reading of the
literary text(s) you'll be working with for your research essay, your own central
interpretative argument. The bibliography is preliminary, but should be in MLA style.
Most important, the two parts of this assignment are separate: the core analysis is
entirely your own interpretation, as yet un-integrated with your research.
Research Essay: this is an article-length literary critical essay, presenting your
interpretation of one or more of the assigned primary readings and situating that
interpretation in the ongoing critical conversation about the text(s).
Conference Paper and Abstract: once you've completed the research essay, you'll
cut it down to conference length—eight pages, in this case. The abstract is the even
shorter version of the argument, the one you'd submit to the conference you wanted to
attend. You'll present the abstract to the class.
I'll give you more extended assignment sheets for each of these (except the
problem paper and topics list, which are described pretty fully above).
Attendance: Since we have only 13 sessions, anyone who misses 3 sessions for any
reason will have his or her course grade reduced by a full letter grade. This does not
mean that I want you to come to class when you’re sick: it means that you should not
elect to miss class when you can be there. If you suffer serious or long-term (3+ weeks)
illness, or other lengthy personal difficulties, during this term, please talk to me about
the possibilities.
Submission of assignments: I prefer hardcopy submissions (sorry, trees!) for the
following short assignments: problem paper, topics list, and abstract. For the three long
assignments, I prefer electronic copies (Word or RTF): I've gotten to the point where
"track changes" comments are easier for me (not to mention more legible for you). "Due"
means due by the beginning of the class period on that date, or by the time indicated on
that date.
If the assignment is a week or less late, I’ll deduct 1/3 of a grade (for instance, A
becomes A-, or A- becomes B+). If you want to submit an assignment more than a week
after it is due, you’ll need to talk to me first.
Presentations: when you present your problem paper and your conference paper
abstract, please bring enough hardcopies for everyone in the class (including me and
yourself).
Eng. 719, Wallace - 4
Incompletes: I do not give incompletes except in genuine emergencies—serious illness
at the end of term, etc. Conflicts with other classes, difficulty finishing the assignments,
and so forth are not sufficient reasons for an incomplete.
Special Needs
Students with documentation of special needs should arrange to see me about
accommodations as soon as possible. If you believe you could benefit from such
accommodations, you must first register with the Office of Accessibility Resources and
Services on campus before such accommodations can be made. The office is located on
the second floor of the Elliott University Center (EUC) in Suite 215, and the office is
open 8am to 5pm, Monday - Friday. Telephone: 334-5440; e-mail: ods@uncg.edu.
Academic Integrity: I expect you to review the guidelines and list of violations at
http://academicintegrity.uncg.edu and to abide by the Academic Integrity Policy.
In this course, anyone who plagiarizes in any way, for any reason, will fail the
course. There is no such thing as "inadvertent" plagiarism at this level. If you are in
any doubt about how to present and document sources, for heaven's sake, ask me!!
Course Schedule
Texts posted to Blackboard (BB) are titled by author's name.
Only the starting page of the selected reading is usually shown.
Although I have not included them in the schedule, the editors' introductions are
helpful and informative, and I recommend that you read them for historical context. In
many of the editions there are also extensive supporting materials in the appendicies.
Again, even if I have not listed these, you will wish to browse through them for
additional context.
I reserve the right to change these assignments as needed, including the addition of
readings and written assignments.
Aug. 22
29
Introduction to the course. Readings for today’s discussion:
Perry, “Romanticism: The Brief History of a Concept,” and Duff, “From
Revolution to Romanticism: The Historical Context to 1800” [BB]
Bring your top 3 choices for a problem paper (Sept. 12-Oct. 31
meetings), typed out and in hardcopy, please.
Shaw, “Britain at War: The Historical Context” and Behrendt, “The
Romantic Reader” [BB]
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Sept.
Oct.
5
Williams, Letters Written in France, in the Summer 1790: main text (61-150);
Appendix A, "Excerpts from Later Volumes" ( 151-90); Appendix G, "The
French Revolution: Selected Early Responses" (263-89), with particular
attention to the excerpt from Burke
12
Burns, selections still to be confirmed: my desk copy is on its way. I expect
they will include: "A Poet's Welcome to his Love-Begotten Daughter,"
"The Fornicator," "To a Mouse," "To a Louse," "Here Stewarts Once in
Triumph Reigned," "Afton Water," "Farewell to the Highlands," "Ae Fond
Kiss," "The Gallant Weaver," "When Princes and Prelates," "Scots Wha
Hae," "A Red, Red Rose," "Is There for Honest Poverty," "Charlie He's my
Darling," "It Was a' for our Rightful King," "Oh Wert Thou in the Cauld
Blast." The appendix on Scottish history and literature before Burns will
be helpful to you.
Curran, "Introduction to The Poems of Charlotte Smith"; Smith, "The
Emigrants" [BB]
19
List of possible Research Essay topics due.
Wordsworth and Coleridge, Lyrical Ballads: all of the 1798 edition (pp. 47167); note differences between 1798 ed. and Volume I of 1800; "Hart-Leap
Well" (293), "There was a Boy" (299), the so-called "Lucy poems" (316-8,
356-7), ''Nutting" (354), "Poems on the Naming of Places" (375-384),
"Michael" (386)
26
Shelley, Frankenstein
3
Austen, Persuasion. I recommend that you browse through the various
Appendices: they are all brief and helpful. Appendix F may be
particularly helpful in contextualizing the naval officer charcters and the
attitudes toward them.
10
Core analysis and preliminary bibliography due. Reading and writing
literary criticism (readings TBA).
[Monday and Tuesday, October 14-15, Fall Break]
17
Hemans, Records of Woman: all of the poems in the title section (pp. 7-86);
"The Homes of England" (89), "The Sicilian Captive" (90), "The Landing of
the Pilgrim Fathers in New England" (133), "The Palm-Tree" (139)
24
Byron: "Ode to Napoleon Buonaparte" (251), "Prometheus" (264), "Stanzas
to [Augusta]" (266), "Darkness" (272), "Manfred" (274) Childe Harold's
Pilgrimage, Canto the Fourth (145)
Eng. 719, Wallace - 6
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Nov.
7
Clare: “Helpstone” (1), "To a Rosebud in Humble Life" (10), “Proposals for
Building a Cottage” (27), “[A Copse in Winter]” (28), “Helpston Green”
(62), "Sunday Walks" (76),“Carless Rambles” (103), "To the Rural Muse"
(104), “The Cottager” (133), “The Mores” (167); "The Nightingales Nest"
(213), "The Ravens Nest" (218), "The Morehens Nest" (219), "[In the hedge I
pass a little nest]" (242); "Animal Poems" (244-49), "The Flitting” (250);
from the prose, the excerpts on class (445-51) and "[Grammar]" (481)
No Class
Monday, Nov. 11, 4:00 p.m. : Research Essay due
14
"iRomanticism": bring your choice of short poem or prose excerpt from a
Romantic period text not assigned in this class. We'll read them aloud and
explain/discuss our choices.
21
Last day of class, believe it or not!! Presentation of abstracts
28
No Class - Thanksgiving Day
Friday, December 6, 4:00 p.m.: Conference-length RE due
That's all, folks!