ENG 360: ROMANTICISM

This course investigates the rationale behind Berlin’s bold claim for this period of literary history. We cover the major writers in the Romantic tradition, (1789 to 1848) with primary emphasis on British authors, and to some extent, those from continental Europe and America. Since Romantics often actively opposed certain beliefs and values of the previous era, we spend time differentiating them from Neoclassic/Enlightenment writers. We also look to ways in which subsequent, so-called ‘Realist’ writers, in their turn rejected stylistic and ideological tendencies of the Romantics. Finally, we look to the impact of Romanticism as it has been sustained through modern texts. As a final project, students will explore connections of Romantic literature with one of the following: painting, architecture, painting, music, and philosophy.