LLE 4261 English Literature The Literature of the Victorian Age

2
nd
year English Minor
ECTS Credits: 5
nstructor: Dr. Octavian More,
Lecturer, English Department
Course descri!tion
The fourth installment of the series of courses in the history of English literature is dedicated to the study of
the landmarks of the second half of the 19
th
century, commonly described by such terms as Victorian Age
or realism. By combining the diachronic and thematic aroaches !ith the !orking methods of te"t
interretation, the lectures and seminars are intended to shed light on the rincial distinguishing traits of the
sirit of the age, as they !ere reflected in the literary !orks of the eriod, in its turn regarded as an age of
transition, contrasts, and conflicting forces. #ecial emhasis is laid on circumscribing the leading
hilosohical, ethical and socio$economic doctrines !hich shaed the mindset of the eriod %&tilitarianism,
liberalism, laisse'$faire caitalism(, together !ith their mirroring and criti)ue both in the fictional and non$
fictional !orks of the age. *hile the genre of choice forming the core reading is reresented by the no+el
%as it !as the referred medium !ith most Victorian !riters(, an imortant segment of the course is de+oted
to the oetry of the age, in an effort to highlight the di+ersity and multitudinousness of creati+e
reoccuations !ithin the in+estigated eriod.
At the end of the course, students are e"ected to sho! familiarity !ith the main characteristics of Victorian
fiction, oetry, culture, thought and ethos, being able at the same time to inoint the uni)ueness and
contributions of the !riters they ha+e studied !ithin the greater body of modern English literature.
Course !lanner
The di+ision into units has been done !ith a +ie! to a regular 1,$!eek semester. The actual organisation of
the course may change so as to allo! for unforeseen circumstances %calendar-holidays, ace of the lecturing
based on students. feedback, etc.(.
C1 27 Feb
/ntroductions. 0ourse re)uirements, attendance olicy, assessment and grading.
What is Victorianism? 1art 2ne3 Victorian England as the realm of conflicting forces %/(.
C2 6 Mar
What is Victorianism? 1art T!o3 1art 2ne3 Victorian England as the realm of conflicting forces %//(. The
main co$ordinates of Victorian literature. The 4o+el as the re+ailing genre.
C3 13 Mar
What is Victorianism? 1art Three 3 &tilitarianism and Antiutilitarianism. 5eremy Bentham, 5ohn #tuart 6ill,
6atthe! Arnold, 5ohn 7uskin.
C4 20 Mar
0harles 8ickens 3 social commentator, critic of Victorian ills, moralist.
C5 27 Mar
*illiam 6akeeace Thackeray. 7e+i+al of the ast +s. foreshado!ings of ost$modernism.
C6 3 Apr
0harlotte Bront9.s take on the !oman )uestion. :eminism and feminine !riting.
C7 10 Apr
;eorge Eliot and the no+el of ro+incial England.
C8 17 Apr
Emily Bront9 and the duality of the human syche.
C9 8 May
Thomas <ardy and the ne! mood of the late Victorian no+el.
C10 15 May
/ntroduction to Victorian oetry. 4eoclassicism and 7omanticism re+i+ed. 6atthe! Arnold and Alfred
Tennyson.
C11 22 May
7obert Bro!ning and the dramatic monologue. The 1re$7ahaelite aesthetics. 8ante ;abriel 7ossetti.
C12 29 May
To!ards ne! e"ressi+e modes3 ;erard 6anley <okins.
C13 5 June
0onclusions and closing discussions.
Se"inar
Attendance !olicy
As !ith all seminars, attendance is mandatory and !ill be recorded either by taking roll or by filling out
attendance sheets. #tudents may miss three of the classes !ithout enalty to the final grade, but only if they
ro+ide accetable reasons for their absence and suort them by additional roof %i.e. uni+ersity endorsed
documents(.
Those !ho fail to obser+e these rules !ill recei+e a = mark enalty to the grade on the final e"am.
Assess"ent
7eading the core te"ts for each class is mandatory. #tudents. obser+ance of this re)uirement !ill be checked
through question-answer sessions. :ailure to ro+ide satisfactory ans!ers on a constant basis may result in a
>.? enalty to the final grade on the course %conse)uently, rounding do!n the grade(. 2n the other hand,
ade)uate resonses may grant u to @ marks on the seminar %for details, see belo! the section 2+erall
marking scheme(.
Se"inar !lanner
S1 6 Mar / 13 Mar
Introducton! The Victorian AgeAsocietal and literary issues. /ndustrial re+olution, &tilitarianism,
8ar!inism and the shaing of a ne! !orld+ie!. The 0riti)ue of &tilitarianism. The no+el as a bourgeois
genre.
S2 20 Mar / 27 Mar
Inte""ectua" re#pon#e# to a con$"ctn% &nd#et! Thomas 0arlyle and the ortrait of the hero as a strong
man. 6atthe! Arnold3 culture and anarchy +s.culture in anarchy. 5ohn #tuart 6ill and the rinciles of
modern liberal thought.
S3 3 Apr / 10 Apr
Socety and t'e nd(dua" and t'e )ctoran no(e"! The criti)ue of utilitarianism. 0harles 8ickens. stance
on the condition of England3 Hard Times. *'e no(e"#t a# +puppet,&a#ter- and t'e .or"d a# a #pectac"e
o$ (anty! *illiam 6akeeace Thackeray3 Vanity Fair. <istory demistified3 Henry Esmond.
S4 17 Apr / 8 May
/ua"#tc pattern# n t'e )ctoran no(e"! 6orality +s. free !ill, and reason +s. assion in 0harlotte
Bront9.s Jane Eyre. 4ature +s. culture and the ressure of elemental forces3 Emily Bront9.s Wuthering
Heights. The Bront9 sisters bet!een tradition and inno+ation3 feminine +oices, narrati+e e"erimentation,
transfigurations of the gothic, myth and symbolism.
S5 15 May / 22 May
*'e re((a" o$ tra%edy! Thomas <ardy3 #choenhauerian essimism in Tess of the dUrberi!!es.
S6 29 May / 5 June
0oetry a# an a"ternat(e to +t'e narratn%- o$ rea"ty. 7e$+aluation%s( of the ast and e"lorations of ne!
e"ressi+e aths. 7omantic and neo$classical elements in the oetry of 6atthe! Arnold and Alfred
Tennyson. 7obert Bro!ning and the merits of the dramatic monologue. The reoccuation !ith form and
formal inno+ations. 8ante ;abriel 7ossetti, the 1re$7ahaelite Brotherhood and their legacy. &shering in a
ne! age in oetry3 ;erard 6anley <okins.
#$erall "ar%ing sche"e
The final grade takes into account students. erformance in both the maBor course and the seminar, as
follo!s3
*ritten e"am3 C> D %C marks(
#eminar3 @> D %@ marks, of !hich = marks for articiation and 1 mark for attendance(
&i'liogra!hy
Core te(ts )any edition of these te(ts is acce!ta'le*:
Alfred Tennyson, "dy!!s of the #ing3 The 1assing of Arthur, "n $emoriam3 EV/ %FF#o careful of the tyeG
but no.(, 0rossing the Bar.
0harles 8ickens, Hard Times% *illiam 6akeeace Thackeray, Vanity Fair% Henry Esmond&
0harlotte Bront9, Jane Eyre&
8ante ;abriel 7ossetti3 The Blessed 8amo'el, The House of 'ife3 4utial #lee.
Emily Bront9, Wuthering Heights&
;erard 6anley <okins3 The *indho+er.
5ohn #tuart 6ill, (n 'iberty% The )ub*ection of Women&
6atthe! Arnold, +u!ture and ,narchy% -oer .each&
7obert Bro!ning3 6y East 8uchess, 1orhyria.s Eo+er.
Thomas 0arlyle, (n Heroes/ Hero-Worshi0/ and the Heroic in History.
Thomas <ardy, Tess of the dUrberi!!es&
&ac%+u! sources:
Allen, *alter. The Eng!ish 1oe!. Eondon3 1enguin, 19?H.
0hesterton, ;. I. The Victorian ,ge in 'iterature. 4e! Jork3 <enry <olt and 0omany, 191@.
8aiches, 8a+id. , +ritica! History of Eng!ish 'iterature& Vo!ume ""2 The 3estoration to the 4resent -ay.
6andarin, 199,.
;alea, /leana and 0rKciun 6ircea. ,n ,ntho!ogy of +ritica! ,00roaches to the Victorian 1oe!. 0luB$
4aoca3 0entrul de multilicare a &ni+ersitK ii Babe $Bolyai, 19HC.
;alea, /leana. Victorianism and 'iterature. 0luB$4aoca3 8acia, =>>>.
8a+id, 8eirdre, ed. The +ambridge +om0anion to the Victorian 1oe!. 0ambridge3 0ambridge &1, =>>1.
7adu, Adrian. 4erce0tions of Victorian 'iterature. 0luB$4aoca3 0asa 0Kr ii de tiin K, =>1,.