Lehrende/r: Dr. Jochen Ecke
Veranstaltungsart: Proseminar
Anzeige im Stundenplan: BS 122
Semesterwochenstunden: 2
Unterrichtssprache: Englisch
Min. | Max. Teilnehmerzahl: - | 45
Anmeldegruppe: PS I BS
Prioritätsschema: Senatsrichtlinie Zulassung gemäß Richtlinie über den Zugang zu teilnahmebeschränkten Lehrveranstaltungen vom 07. März 2007. Nähere Informationen hierzu entnehmen Sie bitte www.info.jogustine.uni-mainz.de/senatsrichtlinie
Inhalt: "I must invent my own system, or be enslaved by another man's. I will not reason & compare: my business is to create", William Blake wrote in his epic poem Jerusalem in 1804. In a way, this bold statement sums up many of the attitudes prevalent during the Romantic era: a stubborn insistence on individuality, individual genius, even; the refutation of the scientific methods propagated by the Enlightenment (“reason and compare”); and the emphasis on the preponderance of all imaginative and creative activity. In this course, we will discuss these tendencies (and quite a few more) by having a look at some of the most famous works of poetry in the English language. We will consider the age’s initial fervor for revolution and subversion at the turn of the 18th century by having a look at examples from the works of Anna Laetitia Barbauld (“To a Great Nation”), Helen Maria Williams (“To Dr. Moore”) and William Blake (Songs of Innocence and of Experience). Then we will consider two major poetic forms that were highly popular during Romanticism: the ode, at the example of works by Percy Bysshe Shelley (“Ode to the West Wind”), John Keats (“Ode on a Grecian Urn”) and William Wordsworth (“Tintern Abbey”); and the ballad, with a closer look at Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s “Rime of the Ancient Mariner”. Finally, we will consider concepts of Romantic selfhood; Lord Byron’s dramatic poem Manfred will be our main focus for this part of the course. Our readings will be enriched by excerpts from the abundant critical and theoretical writings by a number of these authors, as well as by a selection of helpful passages from contemporary criticism.
Empfohlene Literatur: All the course texts are available for photocopying in a folder to be found in Frau Scheufler’s / Frau Mohr’s office (01-567); many of them can also be found in the Norton Anthology of English Literature. Please familiarize yourself with (at least some of) these texts before our third session. If you are looking for a worthwhile introduction to the topic, I recommend Michael Ferber's recent monograph. Ferber, Michael. The Cambridge Introduction to British Romantic Poetry. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2012.
