Tintern Abbey

Instructor: Dr. Bridget Keegan
Office: Admin 228H
Phone: 280-3995
Email: bmkeegan@creighton.edu
Office Hours: By appointment; I will generally be available directly before and after our class as well.

The beginning date of the English Romantic period for many literary historians – 1789 – also marks the beginning of the Revolutionary period in France. The ideology and impact of the French Revolution and of the idea of revolution in general forms the subject of a large portion of the literature of the ensuing decades. Works as diverse as anarchist philosopher William Godwin’s psychological thriller Caleb Williams, William Blake’s visionary and prophetic poem cycles, William Wordsworth’s epic autobiography The Prelude, Percy Shelley’s unperformable drama Prometheus Unbound and John Clare’s enclosure elegies all register the variety of literary responses to political radicalism and interrogations of the questions of rights and freedom. But the period between the start of the French Revolution and the ascension of Queen Victoria in 1837 witnessed more than one type of revolution. More so than in any previous era, authors from socially-marginalized backgrounds were claiming a voice. Women authors such as Mary Wollstonecraft, the founding philosopher of modern feminism, published essays and novels to argue for equal access to education for women and men. Ann Yearsley, the "poetic milkmaid," rebelled against bourgeois patrons who would keep her laboring-class poetry "in its place." Other poets of laboring-class origins gained an increasingly popular readership: Robert Bloomfield’s georgic poem The Farmer’s Boy outsold Wordsworth’s and Coleridge’s Lyrical Ballads in 1800 (a work which itself tried to revolutionize poetic language precisely by imitating popular poetic forms and the language of the "common" man). It is also at this time that the English abolitionist movement takes shape and the slave trade was outlawed, with many poets and writers lending their voices to the cause. Finally, the period witnesses what we might today label as a "green" revolution – a reformulation in literature, philosophy, and science, of the understanding of the relation of humanity to the natural world. Indeed, we are currently witnessing a kind of revolution in the scholarly discussion of Romantic literature as the period is one privileged by the exciting new field of ecocriticism. Classic stories such as Coleridge "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" or Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein have been productively reinterpreted as allegories for the modern age about the humanity’s use and abuse of the environment.

Thus, countering a common stereotype of the Romantic author as that of the solitary genius, isolated from the world around him in pursuit of idealistic artistic aims, the work for this course aims to show the varieties and degrees of literature’s profound social engagement during this revolutionary era (and hence, to some degree, its links with the literature of the Augustan age). The authors of this age saw their work not merely responding to or passively representing the political, economic, and social developments around them, but as actively, honestly, and literally involved in producing such changes. To fully understand the scope of such an engagement, we will read widely and deeply from the more canonical Romantic authors (Wordsworth, Coleridge, Shelley, and Keats) as well as from Romantic-period authors whose importance cannot be neglected: from the founding philosophers of the age, William Godwin and Mary Wollstonecraft, to the many and significant women writers (Ann Yearsley, Dorothy Wordsworth, Jane Austen and Mary Shelley, to name only a few), to environmentally minded laboring-class writers such as John Clare.

To organize our thinking about key core texts, we will work to see the broader context within which they were produced, and for and against which the texts worked, I am providing a list of broad course themes – larger cultural issues and problems in which texts might be read. Each text we study will likely speak to several of these broader cultural issues.

COURSE THEMES
The following list is not meant to be exhaustive or final. It is meant only to encourage your thinking about the issues and events we will study this semester and meant to begin to sketch the topics and themes that the writers themselves were most concerned about. We will be refining our sense of these themes as we work together during the semester.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS
The following requirements are designed to serve several professional and scholarly purposes. For example, the response papers will help you to build a portfolio of ideas and research for future teaching, presentations and writing. The scholarship summaries will help to familiarize you with the variety of critical assessments of the texts under discussion. Your seminar paper should be written with a view toward publication, and students are strongly urged to consider submitting their finished work to a scholarly journal after the end of the semester.

Detailed descriptions of individual assignments are provided below.

WEEKLY DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Because this is a seminar, and not a lecture class, the course is heavily dependent upon the quality of engagement of all participants.  The majority of our class meeting time should be taken up with lively discussion of a variety of questions and topics raised by the text for that week.  In order to facilitate that discussion, each participant will prepare for each meeting a minimum of three detailed discussion questions for the group to debate.   You will need to post the questions by not later than 9pm on Monday to our Blueline Site for the class to review in advance of our discussions on Tuesday.  Please be sure to read your classmates' questions in advance as well.  You should be nominally prepared to offer starting thoughts and lead any discussion you questions foster.  That is to say, you should have thought about some possible answers to your own questions that you can suggest, as well as engaging the questions of others.  These questions will be graded each week (out of 10 points).

In order to help you envision the level and specificity of questions you should compose and bring to class, I have created a Sample Questions sheet (linked toward our first readings of the semester).  I offer these to you as possible models, and I thank Natalie Roxburgh for supplying these for us.

SCHOLARSHIP SUMMARIES
Three times during the semester you will sign up to present summaries of recent published scholarly essays or chapters of scholarly books, devoted to texts and issues covered by the course. Hopefully, we will thus be able to hear the views of other scholars about each of the texts/authors we study. You may not summarize any of the readings already assigned as Required or Recommended. It is best to choose a critical essay about an author or related topic that interests you (and that you might wish to consider for your final paper). Thus, if you are interested in impact of the abolition movement on Romantic literature, you could read a chapter of Sonia Hofkosh’s and Alan Richardson’s Romanticism, Race, and Imperial Culture. In addition, several of the editions I have chosen (such as any of the Norton of Bedford Critical Editions on the reading list), already include representative scholarly essays as part of the supplemental materials, and these also would be entirely appropriate for you to use for scholarship summaries. The Mellor and Matlak anthology includes a very good general bibliography (1421-28); the Norton Critical editions also include extensive bibliographies of secondary resources as well. Finally, I am happy to consult with you to help you locate secondary scholarship that might be of interest to you. Please do not hesitate to contact me privately.

Each summary will begin with a full MLA-style citation of the work you are summarizing (points will be taken off for improper documentation). You will then write a 2-3 page (600 words approximately) summary of the secondary scholarship you have read. Distill the main points of the author’s argument and provide information about the sources of evidence. If you wish, you may also briefly comment on your estimation of the effectiveness of the author’s interpretation, analysis or argument, provided you provide specific points of question and qualification as well as alternative avenues of approach. You should be prepared to present your summary to the class for group discussion. Please also post these to the class Blueline site by 9pm the night before class. As in all work for the course, the basics of mechanics and style still apply. These will be graded on a 10 point scale.

If you are not familiar with MLA style, you need to be. If you are not already familiar with the MLA online Bibliography, you need to be. If you have questions about these, please see me privately.

FINAL ESSAY
At the end of the semester, you will write a full-length scholarly essay that incorporates original interpretation, demonstrates skills in close reading and analysis, and successfully integrates relevant external research and scholarship to fully explore a topic that you have developed, based on the reading done during the semester. You must write on a subject related to the readings and topic of the course (e.g., you may not write your essay on a 20^th century French writer). I am happy to consult with you privately to help you brainstorm a possible topic to explore. You may wish to skim ahead on the syllabus, if, perhaps one of the authors or topics toward the end of the semester might interest you (e.g., Jane Austen or Mary Shelley).

In order to facilitate the paper writing process, I will ask you to provide a prospectus to me before the semester, in which you will propose a topic for the final paper and provide a rough plan of research. We will also use our final class period as a writing workshop.

PLEASE NOTE: This paper should be approximately 25 pages in length. It may be a couple (i.e. TWO) pages more or less than that, but substantively fewer pages (or a paper of 15 pages) is not acceptable and will severely affect your grade. If you find that your topic only generate 10 pages of writing, you should reconsider your topic.

You are required to use proper documentation (MLA style), making sure that your final draft is free of errors in grammar, spelling, punctuation, and style. Be sure to revise your essay attentively, taking care to make your argument logical and easy to follow. When you are rewriting, pay particular attention to style and mechanics. PROOFREAD YOUR ESSAY CAREFULLY. You may wish to have a friend also proofread. Errors of inattention, such as typographical flaws, are easily avoided. When they are left in a paper due to carelessness, they distract and often irritate the reader, making her less willing to follow your argument. Such errors are a signal to the reader that you do not care about your writing. All essays should be typed, double-spaced on standard 8 1/2 x 11 paper. Top, bottom and left margins should be 1", with the right margin (unjustified) approximately 1" also. Type size should be standard 10 or 12 point and printed in letter quality. Put your name and course number in the upper right corner. Do not number the first page, but put a number in the upper right corner of all following pages. All papers should have an appropriate title on the first page. You do not need a binder, folder, or title page. Do not staple your pages; use a paper clip to hold them together.

I am happy to meet with you at any time to discuss possible paper topics, review outlines and thesis statements, and (with adequate advance notice) look over substantial drafts. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or need further guidance in writing these major essays.

Write your paper with a view toward publication in a scholarly journal. You are participating in a wider community of scholars, both in the class and beyond. If, after the semester has ended, you wish to pursue publishing your essay, I would be happy to work with you in selecting journal to which you may wish to submit your essay and going through the professional process of submitting scholarship for consideration for publication.

EVALUATION OF CLASS PARTICIPATION
Because this is a seminar, the quality of the class for everyone is in large part dependent on the quality of preparation and visible engagement of each individual participant. While a seminar format creates an atmosphere that naturally facilitates regular discussion, I offer below some more concrete descriptions different levels of participation and classroom citizenship. Please realize that although you may have prepared the readings, and may be actively listening to others, if you do not actively demonstrate your preparation and ideas in discussion, there is no way to see and hence evaluate the quality of your preparation and participation.

Below are guidelines to help you attain the participation grade you desire:

A Level: These students are visible and obvious class leaders. Such a student contributes consistently, regularly and enthusiastically to class discussion. But such a student also does not dominate. Talking a lot doesn't guarantee an A. Rather, talking in a way that develops the conversation, builds on the comments of others, and is thoroughly grounded in the text under discussion. A-level participants don't ramble. Perhaps the most noteworthy characteristics of the A participant is that s/he always has very clear evidence from the text (being able to point to relevant passages and concrete details). Moreover, s/he doesn't just talk to the instructor. S/he engages everyone in the class, asks questions or builds on the comments of others, and addresses others' remarks as well as promoting his or her own position. These students are excellent and exceptional in their performance in every class.

B Level: These students contribute regularly to each class meeting. The B-level student has much in common with the A student; what differentiates the two is the degree of consistency of performance. The B student is sometimes a class leader, but not always. The B student is reliable in giving concrete evidence and details, but less specific than the A student. S/he always does good work, usually engages others, but may not do so every class meeting. These students are above average in their contributions in terms of both content and delivery.

C Level: These students give useful and relevant ideas and opinions ; however, they may not tie their ideas with evidence from the text or they may not contribute very frequently. The C student only rarely engages others in the class by asking questions or furthering points. These students are very obviously not the class leaders, although they come prepared to all class meetings and are productive members of the class. They are average in their work, doing only what is required but no more.

D Level: These students are physically present and actively listen, but do not contribute with any regularity, or if they do, their contributions are vague and not carefully articulated. Their preparation and participation is never reliable and they do not make an effort to engage with others in the class.

F Level: These students are often absent. If they attend regularly, they are obviously and frequently unprepared and inattentive. An F-level student may also be one who makes insulting and unproductive comments, talks while others have the floor, or engages in other disruptive or disrespectful behavior. Numerous absences or flagrant rudeness should guarantee a failing grade.

ATTENDANCE
Your success in this course is predicated upon your active presence in each class meeting. Frequent absences will adversely affect your final grade. Tardiness, even of a few minutes is inconsiderate toward the entire class. It is your responsibility to attend every class meeting on time. Because we meet only once a week, after more than three absences you risk automatic failure of the course. Also, be aware that tardiness or early departure from three (3) classes is the equivalent of one (1) absence.

STATEMENT ON ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
It is an infringement of academic integrity to cheat on a test or exam, to use papers downloaded off the internet or kept in fraternity or sorority files, or copied from printed books and journals. Plagiarism refers to the use of other people’s ideas (including those of other students and published authors) that are improperly documented, so as to give the reader the impression they are your own. Taking a sentence or paragraph from a work is as bad as copying the entirety of the essay.

The penalty for plagiarism is a failing grade for the course. Graduate School policy also requires that instructors report all incidents of plagiarism to the Dean’s Office. The Dean’s office has the right to impose stronger penalties up to and including expulsion. The Dean’s office keeps a record of confirmed plagiarism cases, and must respond honestly when a graduate program or potential employer attempts to verify a student’s record.

Simply put: there is never a situation where cheating or plagiarism is the right choice. If you are having problems, or feel that you can’t cope, see me first and we will figure out a solution.

Please note: "Double submissions" (i.e., the submission of work written for another course or instructor in college or graduate school), no matter if revised or altered, will be considered a violation of academic honesty and the penalties the same. If you have any questions about these issues, please do not hesitate to ask me for guidance.

REQUIRED TEXTS
The following texts are available at the Creighton University Bookstore. Please note that those texts marked with an asterisk are cases where it is important to class work to have the specified edition.

Anne Mellor and Richard Matlak, British Literature, 1780-1830 0-15-500260-0

William Goodwin. Caleb Williams, Norton. 0393 00861 4

Mary Wollstonecraft, Maria or the Wrongs of Woman. Norton. 0393 311694

William Wordsworth and S.T. Coleridge, The Lyrical Ballads, (eds, R. L. Brett and A.R. Jones) Routledge. 0-415-063884

William Wordsworth. The Prelude. Norton Critical. 0-393-09071-X

**Samuel Taylor Coleridge, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner Bedford Critical Edition 0-312-11223-8

Jane Austen, Mansfield Park. Norton Critical Edition 0393967913

Percy Bysshe Shelley. Shelley's Poetry and Prose. Norton Critical. 0-393-091643

Mary Shelley, Frankenstein. Norton Critical. 0-393-96458-2

John Keats. Major Works. Oxford 978-0192840639

**John Clare. I Am: The Selected Poetry of John Clare. Farrar, Strauss and Giroux 978-0374528690

CLASS SCHEDULE
Be sure to come to class having thoroughly read all assignments and prepared all materials due for that day. Your active participation in seminar discussion is vital to the success of the course.

MM = Mellor and Matlak’s British Literature, 1780-1830

1/20: Course Introduction. The paradox of Romantic Revolution -- looking forward and looking backwards - the Ballad form. You may wish to begin reading Caleb Williams (it's long).  Sign up for Scholarship Summaries for the Semester.

1/27:  Required: "The French Revolution and the Rights of Man" (MM 9-28);"Society and Political Economy" (MM 85-98); William Godwin, Caleb Williams.
Scholarship Summary: Katie

2/3: Required: Mary Wollstonecraft: Maria, or the Wrongs of Woman. "The Rights of Woman" (MM 31-52); Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin (MM: 366-415; 425-9)
Recommended: Sensibility (MM 141-5)
Scholarship Summary: Erin, Katie, Krystal

2/10: Required: Hannah More (MM 200-1, 216-222), Ann Yearsley (MM 261-71), Robert Burns (MM 354-64). John Clare, especially ‘Helpstone’, ‘Dawnings of Genius’, ‘The Village Minstrel’, ‘The Moors’, ‘The Progress of Rhyme’, ‘The Pettichap’s Nest’, ‘To the Snipe’, ‘The Lament of Swordy Well’, ‘Sonnet Sequence on the Fox and Badger’, ‘Recollections of Journey from Essex’, ‘Lines – I Am’, "Sonnet – I Am’, ‘To John Clare’

2/17: Required: William Wordsworth and S. T. Coleridge, The Lyrical Ballads. Be sure to read the essential "Preface" (included in this edition at the end of the volume). You should know this entire collection inside and out; however, be sure to read carefully the following texts: "Simon Lee," "Anecdote for Fathers," "We Are Seven," "The Thorn," "The Idiot Boy," "Expostulation and Reply," "The Tables Turned," "Lines written a few miles above Tintern Abbey," "Strange fits of passion," "Song: She dwelt among th’ untrodden ways," "A slumber did my spirit seal," "Lucy Gray,""Nutting," "Three years she grew," "The Old Cumberland Beggar," "A narrow girdle of rough stones," Michael.
Recommended: Dorothy Wordsworth (MM 658-69)
Scholarship Summary: Gerhard

2/24: Required: S.T. Coleridge The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (read 3-89 in the Bedford Edition); Coleridge (MM: 680-93; 694-8; 709-30; 745-61)
Recommended: "Science and Nature" (MM:105-111; 121-3); you are also encouraged to read any of the scholarly essays included at the end of the Bedford edition.
Scholarship Summary: Sam, Krystal

3/3: Required: William Wordsworth (MM 593-605); Wordsworth, The Prelude (Books 1-4). Read the text for the 1805 version, though be sure to glimpse at any significant changes made to the 1850 version
Recommended: David Hartley (MM 112-13); Edmund Burke (MM 134-7); William Gilpin (MM 138-40)

3/10: Spring Break - Class Cancelled

3/17:  Required: Wordsworth, The Prelude (Books 5-end). Again, focus on the 1805 version, but continue to note significant changes made to the 1850 version (such as the wholesale excision of the Vaudracor and Julia segment from Book 9).

3/24: Required: DeQuincey, Confessions of an English Opium Eater (MM: all pages on DeQuincey)
Final Paper Prospectus Due

3/31: Required: Jane Austen, Mansfield Park
Recommended: "Slavery, The Slave Trade, and Abolition in Britain" (MM: 53-82)
Scholarship Summary: Erin, Sam

4/7: Required: Percy Bysshe Shelley, especially, ‘Mont Blanc’, ‘Ozymandias’, ‘Ode to the West Wind’, ‘To a Sky-lark’, ‘Sonnet: England in 1819’, ‘Adonais’, ‘A Defence of Poetry.'
Scholarship Summary: Gerhard

4/14: Required: Mary Shelley, Frankenstein.
Scholarship Summary: Katie, Sam, Krystal

4/21: Required: John Keats, especially ‘Sleep and Poetry’, ‘On Seeing the Elgin Marbles’, ‘La Belle Dame Sans Merci’, ‘Ode to Psyche’, ‘Ode on Indolence’, ‘Ode to a Nightingale’, ‘Ode on Melancholy’, ‘To Autumn’, ‘Bright star’, ‘This living hand’; selections from the letters (MM 1261-1277 and 1308-1311)
Scholarship Summary: Erin, Gerhard

4/28: Last Class. Paper Workshop and any closing matters.