Romantic Poets

elective courses

The main objective of this course is to offer a possibility of in-depth analysis of Romantic poetry on the wide cultural background. The course proposes to make students familiar with poetry of canonical Romantics such as Blake, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Shelley, Keats, Byron, as well as with texts by less widely read poets, such as J. Clare, M. Robinson, Ch. Smith. Apart from the best known poems by these authors, we will also discuss prose essays which strongly influenced the world view in the Romantic period. The emphasis will be put on the leading ideas, issues and texts characteristic for the Romantic literature. We will read and discuss Romantic theories of poetry, analyse the role of the poet and the reader, deal with specific concepts of the Romantic aesthetics - the sublime, the picturesque, the beautiful. Different responses to the topics of nature, the Orient, the Gothic, sensibility will be discussed. Additional reading will be assigned for each week of the course.

The main objective of this course is to offer a possibility of in-depth analysis of Romantic poetry on the wide cultural background. The students will read and analyse canon texts by the English Romantics. The course proposes to make students familiar with poetry of canonical Romantics such as Blake, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Shelley, Keats, Byron, as well as with texts by less widely read poets, such as J. Clare, M. Robinson, Ch. Smith. Apart from the best known poems by these authors, we will also discuss prose essays which strongly influenced the world view in the Romantic period. The emphasis will be put on the leading ideas, issues and texts characteristic and influential for the Romantic literature. We will read and discuss Romantic theories of poetry, analyse the role of the poet and the reader, deal with specific concepts of the Romantic aesthetics - the sublime, the picturesque, the beautiful. Different responses to the topics of nature, the Orient, the Gothic, sensibility will be discussed. In the case of the poetry of W. Blake a relation between his verbal and visual art. will be explored, and we will analyse Blake's poems together with his engravings. Also, the students will get familiar with the chief ideas of Blake, such as the notion of Innocence and Experience, his views on religion and spirituality. When discussing W. Wordsworth and his role in the Romantic period, his concepts of the poet and poetry, nature, spirituality, egotistical sublime will be discussed. Reading S. T. Coleridge we will notice differences between his and Wordsworth's idea of imagination and inspiration and discuss Coleridge's symbolism, the Gothic, and his use of archetypes. Poetry of J. Keats will offer a different view on the concept of the poet and creating poetry, and on the basis of one of his poems the romantic topos of the femme fatale will be analysed. Reading P.B. Shelley we will discuss Romantic fascination with the Orient and with the idea of the fragment. Finally, a text by G. Byron will review some issues characteristic for Romantic aesthetics and will provide an example of the Byronic hero. Apart from the canonical texts, the students will also read a number of background chapters/ essays and additional reading will be assigned for each week of the course. The course ends with an exam.

Butler, James A. Poetry 1798-1807: “Lyrical Ballads” and “Poems, in Two Volumes” from: Gill, Stephen (ed). The Cambridge Companion to William Wordsworth. Cambridge University Press (2003).

Curran, Stuart (ed.), Cambridge Companion to British Romanticism (1993).

Dyson, A.E., Lovelock, J. The Road of Excess: Blake’s Songs of Innocence and Experience. In: Masterful Images. Palgrave Macmillan, London (1976).

Łuczyńska-Hołdys, Małgorzata, Coghen, Monika. “Wstęp. Poza definicją”, from: Nowe oblicza romantyzmu brytyjskiego. Eseje na dwusetlecie. Warszawa: WUW (2022).

Łuczyńska-Holdys, Małgorzata. "Elfin Grot and Manna Dew:

La Belle Dame Sans Merci” , from: Soft-Shed Kisses: Re-visioning the Femme Fatale in English Poetry of the 19th Century. Cambridge Scholars Publishing (2013)

Makdisi, Saree. Reading William Blake. Cambridge University Press (2015).

Roe, Nicholas (ed.), Oxford Guide to Romanticism (2005).

Shiner Wilson, Carol and Joel Haefner (eds). Re-Visioning Romanticism. British Women Writers, 1776-1837. University of Pennsylvania Press (1994)

Simpson David. “Romaticism, Criticism and Theory”, from: S.Curran, The Cambridge Companion to British Romanticism. Cambridge University Press (1993).

Wu, Duncan (ed.), Romanticism: The Critical Reader (1995).

At the end of the course students:

KNOWLEDGE:

-develops awareness of symbols of culture and their role in understanding literature

- knows basic concepts concerning English Romantic poetry

- is familiar with the most important poetic texts of the period

- is aware of various interpretative possibilities of these texts

ABILITIES:

- can apply basic/advanced methodology for literary studies.

- can discuss characteristic features of English Romantic poetry as well as of individual poets

- can analyse romantic poems with the use of aesthetic and philosophical concepts which enhance understanding of the texts

- can demonstrate his familiarity with divergent interpretative possibilities

ATTITUDES:

- estimates importance of Romanticism for future literature and culture of England

- learns attentiveness and tolerance for different interpretations

Final grade consists of:

- grades for two short response papers, assigned during the semester, in the form of Moodle tasks, and for active participation in classes (50%);

- final written test, in the form of open questions (the test will be based on material discussed in classes, primary texts and with background reading) (50%).

- test retake: in oral form

Three absences are allowed in a semester.

None