Romanticism was the first great self-declared movement in literature. Its influence was immense, from painting to architecture to garden design to fashion and music, but its major legacy was in poetry. This course will give you the main contexts, in idealist philosophy, revolutionary politics, aesthetics and history, follow the poets and assess their work. In particular, we will trace the troubled relationship of Coleridge and Wordsworth, closely examine the poetry of Keats, look at the major themes (landscape, nature, language, politics, madness, and the sublime), the role of female poets and writers, and explore the complicated legacy of Romanticism in poetry through the Twentieth Century. In particular, in each session, we shall undertake close readings of representative individual poems in seminar format, establishing connections between theory and practice.
British Romantic Poetry
This is an In-person course which requires your attendance to the weekly meetings which take place in Oxford.
Overview
Programme details
Courses starts: 24 Jan 2024
Week 1: Romantic precursors. Pastoral. Blake, Chatterton
Week 2: What was romanticism? Philosophy, Art, and Revolution
Week 3: Lyrical Ballads, Wordsworth and Coleridge
Week 4: Keats 1
Week 5: Keats 2
Week 6: John Clare
Week 7: Later Wordsworth, Dorothy Wordsworth
Week 8: Byron and Shelley
Week 9: Late Romantics: The Victorians. Poetry by Women
Week 10: Romantic lineages and influences
Recommended reading
All weekly class students may become borrowing members of the Rewley House Continuing Education Library for the duration of their course. Prospective students whose courses have not yet started are welcome to use the Library for reference. More information can be found on the Library website.
There is a Guide for Weekly Class students which will give you further information.
Availability of titles on the reading list (below) can be checked on SOLO, the library catalogue.
Preparatory reading
- Cambridge Companion to British Romantic Poetry / Chandler, James
- Romanticism: An Anthology / Wu, Duncan
Digital Certification
To complete the course and receive a certificate, you will be required to attend at least 80% of the classes on the course and pass your final assignment. Upon successful completion, you will receive a link to download a University of Oxford digital certificate. Information on how to access this digital certificate will be emailed to you after the end of the course. The certificate will show your name, the course title and the dates of the course you attended. You will be able to download your certificate or share it on social media if you choose to do so.
Fees
| Description | Costs |
|---|---|
| Course Fee | £257.00 |
| Take this course for CATS points | £10.00 |
Funding
If you are in receipt of a UK state benefit, you are a full-time student in the UK or a student on a low income, you may be eligible for a reduction of 50% of tuition fees. Please see the below link for full details:
Tutor
Dr Giles Goodland
Giles Goodland has published several books of poetry and has taught for the OUDCE for several years.
Course aims
To introduce the major contexts and themes of Romantic poetry.
Course objectives:
- To contextualise Romanticism as a movement, and to show what it meant in terms of the actual poetry.
- To encourage you to closely read and analyse poems of this period, making connections with wider contexts.
Teaching methods
Classes will usually be structured around a presentation of the major themes and ideas, often with visual accompaniment, followed by a seminar-type discussion based around reading material that will have been sent the week before. Your participation will be encouraged, and you will be expected to make your own short presentations, and to be part of any follow-up discussion.
Learning outcomes
By the end of the course you will be expected to:
- have a good knowledge of Romantic poetry, its history, contexts, and influence;
- be confident in presenting and discussing ideas around Romanticism;
- have a deeper insight into the poetry itself.
Assessment methods
You will be encouraged to make short presentations on poems or on defined aspects of the subject. A written essay will be expected at the end of the course.
Students must submit a completed Declaration of Authorship form at the end of term when submitting your final piece of work. CATS points cannot be awarded without the aforementioned form - Declaration of Authorship form
Application
To earn credit (CATS points) for your course you will need to register and pay an additional £10 fee per course. You can do this by ticking the relevant box at the bottom of the enrolment form or when enrolling online.
Please use the 'Book' or 'Apply' button on this page. Alternatively, please complete an enrolment form (Word) or enrolment form (Pdf).
Level and demands
Students who register for CATS points will receive a Record of CATS points on successful completion of their course assessment.
To earn credit (CATS points) you will need to register and pay an additional £10 fee per course. You can do this by ticking the relevant box at the bottom of the enrolment form or when enrolling online.
Coursework is an integral part of all weekly classes and everyone enrolled will be expected to do coursework in order to benefit fully from the course. Only those who have registered for credit will be awarded CATS points for completing work at the required standard.
Students who do not register for CATS points during the enrolment process can either register for CATS points prior to the start of their course or retrospectively from the January 1st after the current full academic year has been completed. If you are enrolled on the Certificate of Higher Education you need to indicate this on the enrolment form but there is no additional registration fee.
Most of the Department's weekly classes have 10 or 20 CATS points assigned to them. 10 CATS points at FHEQ Level 4 usually consist of ten 2-hour sessions. 20 CATS points at FHEQ Level 4 usually consist of twenty 2-hour sessions. It is expected that, for every 2 hours of tuition you are given, you will engage in eight hours of private study.