Authorised by Academic Registrar, April 1996
Synopsis This subject works in two directions; firstly, it aims at a thorough knowledge of a range of literary works written between 1790 and 1830, developing familiarity with and insight into the characteristic modes and structures of the romantic imagination, using also the literary and cultural criticism written by Wordsworth, Coleridge, Shelley and Keats. In works of imaginative literature, it studies the ideas of imagination and of literature, exploring the romantics' notions of organic form and originality, of nature and of natural genius, of innocence, moral evolution and the construction of the self, of religious consciousness and the recovery of paradise - and of the role of imagination in social revolution. And it will also explore works of romantic self-questioning, which through irony, satire and comedy, disbelieve the characteristic ideals invented in this period of revolution. Secondly, and coupled with this romantic exploration, the subject will provide, in both lectures and discussion, a study of the seminal role romanticism has played as both source and subject matter for modern literary theory, employing a number of theoretical approaches to illuminate the particular qualities and limitations of romanticism.
Assessment Seminar participation: 10% + Seminar paper (1500 words): 20% + Short essay (1500 words): 20% + Long essay (3000 words): 50% + An examination, counting for up to 50%, will be available; students whose written work is completed and whose participation is satisfactory are normally excused from the examination.