| Instructor: Dr Julia Gardner |
OBJECTIVES
Students in this module will gain:
- Introduction to literary vocabulary and strategies of literary criticism
- Experience in responding to literature through analytical and argumentative writing
- Ability to identify and articulate a critical problem within a text that leads to the formulation of a persuasive argument about that text
- Practice in methods of close reading literary texts in a manner alert to nuances of language and genre
- Introduction to historical and cultural backgrounds of various texts
TOPICAL INTRODUCTION
From Gothic tales of madness and desire, to Jane Austen's arch observations on courtship, to Oscar Wilde's articulation of "the love that dare not speak its name," the period from the 1790s to the 1890s saw the development of many attitudes, conventions and representations that continue to influence thinking about love - and its possible outcomes - even today. In this course, students will learn to bring various interpretive strategies to bear on their reading of both canonical texts and lesser-known works as we consider the ways love, desire and marriage are represented in English literature.
"If you think, from this prelude, that anything like a romance is preparing for you, reader, you never were more mistaken." So says the narrator of Charlotte Bronte's novel, Shirley. Students of this course would do well to heed this cautionary opening: rather than reading these works simply as "love stories," one of our objectives will be to read carefully to determine the many kinds of cultural work performed by literary representations of love and desire. For example, how do issues of race, class and culture complicate the seemingly simple equation of "love and marriage?" What happens when conventions of marriage are not observed? To begin answering these and other questions, we will read two texts that approach the subject humorously: Jane Austen's Emma and Oscar Wilde's play, The Importance of Being Earnest. Students will begin to develop a vocabulary from which to discuss and analyse works of literature, and see examples of the classic marriage plot. Readings for the second half of the course offer a marked contrast to the standard marriage plot. Whereas the rituals of courtship and marriage were the source of comic critique in Austen and Wilde, readings in the second half of the course sometimes portray these same rituals as potential sources of horror or violence. In determining why such different representations might be used, issues of genre and its connections to ideology will come into play. Finally, we will read texts that challenge and expand conventional representations of love and/or marriage. Readings will include Le Fanu's "Carmilla," Christina Rossetti's "Goblin Market," and Singaporean short stories from the late nineteenth century.
Throughout the course, students will develop their own skills as readers of literature. No previous study of literature is required, although students are strongly encouraged to complete the Critical Thinking and Writing module before taking this one. Performance will be assessed by the following means: three formal essays (one short, two medium), informal response papers, and class participation.
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