This course will focus on the culture of spectacle in the Romantic period, covering a wide range of genres including drama, the novel, as well as poetry, reviews, and satirical prints. We will explore the different meanings of ‘spectacle’ and their impact on the contemporary understanding of the self. Gender will be a central topic, as we will examine how spectacle affected constructions of femininity and masculinity. We will look at sensational publications, the birth of celebrity culture, and royal scandals, as well as the city, nature, and historical events as ‘spectacles’. We will address such as issues as the French Revolution, the crowd, and forms of state power that rely on spectacle. A strong emphasis will be placed on the visual culture of the period. We will analyse canonical texts whose publication shocked contemporary audiences, such as Matthew Lewis’ Gothic sensation The Monk (1796), Lord Byron’s Don Juan (1819), as well as lesser-known texts that captured the Romantic imagination such as Pierce Egan’s Tom and Jerry in London, Mary Robinson, and Letitia Landon. The main objective of this course is to explore how the notion of spectacle impacted the Romantic period in very rich and diverse forms, especially the notions of the self and privacy.
Most of the reading material will be available on Moodle. Students should purchase a copy of the following texts:
Jane Austen, Mansfield Park, ed. Kathryn Sutherland (Penguin)
Matthew Lewis, The Monk, ed. Christopher MacLachlan (Penguin)
Credit requirements are regular attendance, active participation, and an end of term paper of 3,000 words. More than two unexcused absences disqualify students from gaining credit.
On successful completion of the course, students will have acquired in-depth knowledge the Romantic period and become familiar with canonical and lesser-known works. They will have engaged in close analysis of the texts in class. They will have learned to evaluate texts critically in the form of research papers and to use both textual evidence and secondary sources to develop scholarly arguments.