Victoria

English 6270/7270

Victorian Literature:

Victorian Prose Fiction in Context

Dr. Elvira Casal

Spring 2010

See below for tentative course description and list of texts (in progress)

 

More information will be posted after Thanksgiving.

 

Overview and Objectives:

The Victorian Period lasted from the 1830's until the first decade of the twentieth century. (Queen Victoria reigned 1837-1901.)  It was a time of great social and economic change brought about by industrialization and scientific discovery. Not entirely coincidentally, it was also an extremely fertile period in English letters. In those days before radio, television, telephone or computer, all distance communication and much entertainment depended on the written word.

This course is intended to introduce you to the Victorian period in general and the Victorian novel in particular. The Victorian era was in many ways the peak period of the novel as a genre. Many of the works that we now look at as "classics" were "popular literature" in the Victorian period.

However, we cannot study the Victorian novel in a vacuum. We will read works of representatives poets and non-fictional prose writers (and possibly a play or two) as well as novels and short stories. As we read and enjoy the work of Victorian writers, we will examine how these writers were reflecting on and responding to their changing world. 

List of Texts:

  • The Broadview Anthology of British Literature: The Victorian Era (This anthology has good introductions and most of the poems and non-fictional readings that you will need for the class.)

    NOVELS: (The list is still tentative and I have to decide on editions. Typically I go with editions such as Norton, Bedford or Longman than include essays and other secondary materials.)

  • Bronte, Charlotte. Villette
  • Dickens, Charles. Bleak House
  • Eliot, George. Middlemarch
  • Meredith, George. The Egoist
  • Trollope, Anthony. Dr. Wortle's School 

What to Expect:

We will meet once a week to discuss the readings. There will be an essay midterm and a final exam as well as a scholarly paper due. There will be some other smaller assignments (reports, discussion topics, etc.) that I will post later.

For more details, check here after Thanksgiving.

(Here are some links that might be useful .)

 


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