LIT651   I want a hero: Romantic and Victorian Epic   (30 credits)

Description

Herbert Tucker, following the Romantic poets' esteem for the genre, refers to the epic as `the last rite of passage to full poetic majority, the summative test of art'. This module proposes to examine the knotty problem of epic in the Romantic and Victorian period, encouraging students to consider the vital though testing presence of the epic across the long Nineteenth century. Students will explore lesser known works by well-known poets, such as The Excursion and Laon and Cythna, The Ring and the Book, and Aurora Leigh. As well as featuring poets such as Wordsworth, Shelley, Browning, and Barrett Browning, students will explore a range of contexts, from artistic and aesthetic, to politics, culture, and gender. Formative assessment will consist of a short abstract and class presentation (based on their abstract). Summative assessment is by a 5000-word essay based on their abstract and presentation.

Reading List