31146 - English Literature 2 (M-Z)

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course students will be acquainted with the lineaments of English literary history. They will be able to read, understand and translate texts from English into Italian, and to deal with some basic critical methods and tools, in order to elaborate comments and critical opinions on the literary texts read during the course.

Course contents

The Natural, the Human, the Supernatural, and the Sublime in Nineteenth-Century literature.

The sustained intense interest in the beautiful and the sublime only become a defining feature in the eighteenth century and the Romantic era, when a number of important thinkers turned their attentions to the principles and problems of aesthetic. At the same time, what had been formerly identified mainly as aspects of writing become more profoundly associated with the natural world. The term “sublime” is indicated as “things of nature” that “affect the mind with a sense of overwhelming grandeur or irresistible power; calculated to inspire awe, deep reverence, or lofty emotion, by reason of its beauty, vastness, or grandeur.” (Oxford English Dictionary). The course will explore how the natural, the human and the Supernatural are represented through the lenses of the Sublime by English writers in the Nineteenth century in various literary genre: starting from a theoretical discussion on the origin of the Beautiful and the Sublime, together with the Picturesque (E.Burke and W.Gilpin) and how these theoretical concepts are applied in prose (M.Wollstonecraft and A.Radcliffe), the course will investigate the relation between the Natural and Supernatural in poetry (William and Dorothy Wordsworth; S.T.Coleridge, C.Smith, A.L. Barbauld, P.B.Shelley, J.Keats); the doppelgänger imagery and the duality of human nature in the novel (M. Shelley; B.Stoker); and the dark side of human self in the theatre (J.Baillie and Lord Byron).

The course is divided in two parts:

A) English History, Literature and Culture from the Eighteenth to the Nineteenth century.

B) The theoretical discussion on the origin of the Beautiful and the Sublime, together with the Picturesque (E.Burke and W.Gilpin) and how these theoretical concepts are applied in prove (M.Wollstonecraft and A.Radcliffe), the course will explore the relation between the Natural and Supernatural in poetry (William and Dorothy Wordsworth; S.T.Coleridge, C.Smith, A.L. Barbauld, P.B.Shelley, J.Keats); the doppelgänger imagery to explore the duality of human nature in the novel (M. Shelley; B.Stoker); and the dark side of human self in the theatre (J.Baillie and Lord Byron)

Readings/Bibliography

A) Primary sources:

A) Testi primari:

Theory: (extracts on-line)

E. Burke, A Philosophical Enquiry upon the origin of our ideas of the sublime and beautiful (1757)

W. Gilpin, Three Essays on Picturesque Beauty (1792)

Prose: (extracts on-line) - choose 1 of the two authors:

A.Radcliffe, The Mysteries of Udolpho (1794)

M.Wollstonecraft, Letters Written During a Short Residence in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark (1796)

Poetry: Choose n. 3 poets and n. 2 poems for each authors:

William and Dorothy Wordsworth; S.T.Coleridge, C.Smith, A.L. Barbauld, P.B.Shelley, J.Keats (see materiale didattico on-line)

Novels:  (choose one novel)

Mary Shelley, Frankenstein (1818)
Bram Stoker, Dracula (1897)

Teatro : (choose one play)

J. Baillie, De Monfort (1798)

Lord Byron, Manfred (1817)

B) Manuali e Antologie:

B) Literary History and Anthologies:

History of English Literature:

L. M. Crisafulli e K. Elam (a cura di), Manuale di letteratura e cultura inglese, Bologna, BUP, 2009 ( Il Settecento; Romanticismo e I Vittoriani) 

L. M. Crisafulli (a cura di), Antologia delle Poetesse Romantiche Inglesi, 2 vols., Carocci 2003. (Biblioteca LLSM, scaffale Baiesi) - schede bio-bibliografiche solo delle potesse incluse nel corso

English Editions :

The Norton Anthology of English Literature, vol.  II.  

The Broadview Anthology of British Literature, "The Age of Romanticism", second ed., Broadview Press 2010. 

The Cambridge History of English Literature, ed. J.Chandler, Cambridge UP 2009. 

C) Secondary reading:

It will be posted before the beginning of the course

D) General Reference on Romanticism:

S. Curran, ed., The Cambridge Companion to Romanticism, Cambridge University Press 1993.

Fredrick Burwick, gen. ed., The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Romanticism (3 vols.), Blackwell 2012.

M. Ferber, ed., The Cambridge Introduction to British Romantic Poetry, Cambridge UP 2012.

J. Moore, J.Strachan, eds., Key Concepts in Romantic Literature, Palgrave 2010.

J.M. Labbe, ed., The History of British Women's Writing, 1750-1830, Vol. V, Palgrave 2010.

PLEASE DOWNLOAD "MATERIALE DIDATTICO ON-LINE" AS MANDATORY READING

Teaching methods

Frontal lessons in English: introduction of the literary period from the eighteenth century to the Victorian age; reading and analysis of the primary sources by English writers.

Assessment methods

The evaluation of the students' competencies and abilities acquired during the course consists in a written work at the end of the course for those students who attended classes regularly. For those who do not attend classes, the exam consists in an oral examination.

The written test is divided into two parts: the first will be made of multiple choice and short open questions concerning the literary history of the period from the Eighteenth century to the Victorian period; the second part will refer to the specific reading list of the syllabus.

For those students who will not take the written test, the exam will consist in an oral interview. This oral interview has the aim of evaluating the critical and methodological ability of the students in relating literary history, critical approach to texts and authors analysed during classes. The student must demonstrate an appropriate knowledge of the literary history from the Eighteenth century to the Victorian period in order to carry out the exam with the second part, which consists in the analysis of a given text and its critical contextualization.

Those students,who are able to demonstrate a wide and systematic understanding of the issues covered during classes, are able to use these critically and who master the field-specific language of the discipline will be given a mark of excellence. Those students who demonstrate a mnemonic knowledge of the subject with a more superficial analytical ability and ability to synthesize, a correct command of the language but not always appropriate, will be given a satisfactory mark. A superficial knowledge and understanding of the material, a scarce analytical and expressive ability that is not always appropriate will be rewarded with a ‘pass' mark. Students who demonstrate gaps in their knowledge of the subject matter, inappropriate language use, lack of familiarity with the literature in the program bibliography will not be given a pass mark.

Teaching tools

Frontal lectures with power point projections and dvd.

Office hours

See the website of Serena Baiesi