ENGLISH 365:

19th-Century British Poetry and Prose

John Constable, The Glebe Farm (1835)

FALL 2000

TEXT: The Longman Anthology of British Literature, Vol. 2


The Aims of this Course:

To familiarize you with the broad outlines of the traditional nineteenth-century British literary scene in poetry, with brief forays into prose, including fiction. Because the time is short and the literature vast, we will sample a limited number of authors rather than attempting a truly comprehensive survey. We will consider literature within the historical and cultural contexts of the century in general, and we will attempt to locate both individual works and larger "movements" within the broad history of ideas in culture as they were evolving in England and the rest of the world in the 19th century. As a result, we will necessarily consider also intellectual, philosophical, political, social and cultural developments in England during an age of determined imperialist expansion, revolutionary industrial and scientific progress, and increasingly diversifying intellectual and philosophical inquiry. Finally, because this is a relatively small class, we will engage in informed conversation about literature, reading, and culture within a variety of historical, social, critical, and intellectual contexts.

Some Initial Considerations about This Course:

English 365 is an introductory survey of some of the major poetry and prose written in the British Isles during the 19th century, which is usually defined as having begun at about the point of the French Revolution in 1789 and which often gets a variety of ending dates, from about 1901, when Queen Victoria died, to about 1914, when World War I began. According to traditional literary history, the first part of this period is known as the Romantic period; it too is usually understood to date from the 1780s to about 1832 (the year in which the First Reform Bill was passed). The last two-thirds of the century is known as the Victorian period owing to the long reign of Queen Victoria (1837-1901).

Because this course does not normally include the novel (or, as in this instance, includes only one or two shorter ones), we get a somewhat unrealistic view of the literature of the period for several reasons:

1. Traditional literary history usually regards poetry as the principal literary genre of the Romantic period. This view is not entirely correct, despite the remarkably large numbers of poems (and volumes of poems) published during the period. The period also saw very large numbers of novels (of varying quality), as well as a huge volume of periodicals in areas ranging from literary studies to moral and religious studies to professional self-improvement, to politics, economics, and social studies. Many of these reached a considerable readership through the increasingly popular circulating libraries. 
   
   
2. It used to be thought that the principal Romantic authors were five or six male poets, plus the successful novelist Sir Walter Scott. There were many successful, popular, and influential women writers, especially in fiction but also in the areas of poetry and drama. Only in recent years has there begun to be the sort of reassessment of the period that will begin to point us toward the period as it actually was for readers of the time.
   
   
3. The Victorian period was one of the great moments in the history of the novel in England, with authors like Charles Dickens, Elizabeth Gaskell, George Eliot, Anthony Trollope, William Makepeace Thackeray, Emily and Charlotte Brontė, and a host of others able to command large payments (and large press runs) for novels. Many of these novels (like those by Dickens, for instance, or Thackeray's Vanity Fair) originally appeared in installments in the periodical press. Because we do not cover the novel to any considerable extent in this course, we miss the chance adequately to assess the place of the novel within the developing literary culture of the period.
   
   
4. The Victorian period was also a time of great interest in history and science, and a great many publications appeared in those areas. While these were not usually strictly "literary" in character (Darwin's writings, for instance, or Macaulay on history), these works often had a significant impact on the culture as a whole.
   
   
5. Throughout the century, the arts (including architecture) flourished in England, in part because of the general economic prosperity enjoyed for most of the century by the nation (although not necessarily by all segments of the population). There was a good deal of "cross-fertilization" among the arts, so that works of literature often form part of an ongoing public dialogue with works in other areas of the national cultural and intellectual scene.
   

What You Can Expect to Do in This Course:

The Department of English has recently articulated its expectations about what sort of skills, activities, and experiences students should expect to gain or sharpen in courses at various levels of the curriculum. For courses at the 300 level (like this one), you should expect to do the following:

• engage in an intensive study of the subject matter of 19th-Century British literature, in both broadly inclusive terms and in more narrowly focused ones;
• be aware that there are a variety of theoretical and critical approaches to the materials we will study and be able to apply at least one of these approaches to our work;
• understand the purposes of primary and secondary research and be able to carry out research appropriate to the subject of this course;
• engage in critical academic discourse, both in the classroom and on paper, employing language and forms of discourse suitable to the assigned task and to an audience of educated adults.

About what I expect from you:

While I do not expect you to be familiar with any of our material in advance, I do expect you to know how to read literary works with some insight and sophistication about both subject matter and the formal features of the genres. I expect you to come to class, to talk about what you read, and to share with one another as we try to make greater sense of the material we will study over the course of the semester. This will require some effort from everyone. It is generally assumed that preparing for one's university courses requires at minimum about three hours for every hour of class meeting time. That is probably about accurate for this course; if you cannot or will not make that sort of time commitment for preparing for classes, you may want to think about whether you should remain in the group.

English 365 is both an Essential Studies and an Integrative Studies course.

As explained in detail in the Undergraduate Bulletin, Essential Studies (ES) courses are intended "to provide students a context for understanding the breadth of human endeavor." In the Humanities this is understood to mean "knowledge of literary, philosophical, or religious efforts to interpret and illuminate human experience."

Courses which are designated as Integrative Studies (IS) are part of a University requirement "intended to engage students in actively developing their ability and desire to analyze, evaluate and communicate complex material and positions." These courses are specifically intended to enhance the following skills:

• Critical Thinking (objective and subjective), through a variety of approaches in which students investigate arguments, engage in research, gather data, perform qualitative and quantitative analysis, and assess conclusions.
• Writing (formal and informal), on which the instructor comments, used to explore substantial problems in the subject area and report the results of critical and creative thinking.
• Oral Expression in the classroom through discussion, group and individual reports, and other activities that provide students opportunities to share creative work, describe research, or explore important issues.
• Analysis of Controversies concerning the subject matter of the course in which students investigate concepts and hypotheses open to question.
• Exploration of Assumptions underlying beliefs and concepts relevant to course content and of processes for examining those assumptions, so that students understand and establish control over those ideas they bring to their study of the subject matter.
• Inquiry through Course Content into the Origins, Bases and Consequences of Intellectual Bias though which students will understand the particular perspective on the world employed in the academic discipline of the course.
• Consideration of Human Diversity appropriate to the subject matter of the course so that students can explore the ways in which cultural differences shape conceptions about the subject matter and discern the intellectual and pragmatic effects on human groups of the subject matter and ideas related to it.

In order to receive credit for this course (that is, to "pass"), you will need to participate actively in all the activities described above, all of which are integral to this course. There will be plenty of opportunities to do so, but because the University requires that all Integrative Studies courses follow all these guidelines, I am required in turn to enforce the expectations they reflect. You should know, by the way, that I fully and enthusiastically support all these expectations, which seem to me to constitute minimal expectations for courses in the Humanities at the college or university level.

Course Requirements and Grade Standards:

1. A Midterm Examination, written in class on Thursday, 5 October. This exam will include both "objective" questions (involving names, dates, details of texts and contexts, passages from required reading, and classroom discussions) and an essay question (you will be able to choose from two or more possible topics). This examination counts for 25% of your course grade.

2. A Comprehensive Final Examination (i. e., covering all the course materials) written during Final Examination week. This exam will include both "objective" questions (involving names, dates, details of texts and contexts, passages from required reading, and classroom discussions) and two essay questions (you will be able to choose from multiple topics). This examination counts for 35% of your course grade.

3. A detailed Course Portfolio, which will include both reading notes and supplementary research and study materials. The portfolio is described in detail in a separate part of the information packet. This portfolio will count for 40% of your course grade.

A Note on Class Participation:

In keeping with the letter and the spirit of the Integrative Studies requirement, I consider your participation in our group work to be a vital part of this course, especially since the small size of this course is specifically intended to facilitate discussion. You can expect your final course grade to reflect the extent to which you have made consistent, helpful, and thoughtful contributions to our work.

And Another on Attendance:

I fully agree with the university's policy (see the Student Handbook and the Schedule of Classes) not to permit any absences from classes. Class meetings are important for many reasons, and to miss them is to miss a significant component of the class that cannot be "made up" in any way. We all get sick or have emergencies, of course. My policy is to ignore as many absences as there are class meetings in one week: in this case that means two. Absences beyond two will result in the loss of half a letter grade for each such absence.

Comments, Questions, etc.:

My door is open to you, and I'll be glad to chat with you. I will maintain my announced regular office hours, unless an emergency arises, in which case I will post a note. If these times are impossible for you, we can often make an appointment for some mutually convenient time.

Stephen C. Behrendt, Fall 2000

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