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Unit information: Romantic Poetry and Poetics in 2024/25

Please note: Programme and unit information may change as the relevant academic field develops. We may also make changes to the structure of programmes and assessments to improve the student experience.

Unit name Romantic Poetry and Poetics
Unit code ENGLM3009
Credit points 20
Level of study M/7
Teaching block(s) Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12)
Unit director Professor. Bennett
Open unit status Not open
Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units)

None

Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units)

None

Units you may not take alongside this one

None

School/department Department of English
Faculty Faculty of Arts

Unit Information

Why is this unit important?

The unit examines British literature through the lens of nature, culture and society in the ‘age of revolutions’. We focus on the remarkable wealth of original poetry and other writing published between c.1780 and c.1830 – a period that saw the American and French revolutions; war with France; Paine’s radical Rights of Man and Wollstonecraft’s ground-breaking Rights of Woman; the Irish rebellion against British colonial rule; the abolition of the slave trade; increasing urbanization and industrialization; the invention of the steam-powered printing press; and other key political, cultural, and technological developments. Literary and aesthetic breakthroughs such as the Romantic ‘revolution’ in poetic language, generic deformations and reformulations, the aesthetics of the sublime, the invention of modern gothic, experiments in poetic form and advances in poetics and literary theory are considered within the wider historical and cultural contexts of gender, class and nationhood, and an emerging ecological sensibility.

How does this unit fit into your programme of study?

This unit provides an advanced introduction to the study of British literature of the Romantic period (c.1780-1830). It is a key unit for our students wishing to follow the ‘Romantic and Victorian Literature’ pathway.

Your learning on this unit

An overview of content:

This unit will provide a foundation for the study of writing in the Romantic period, particularly the poetry. It will introduce students to the basic ideas and texts for: an understanding of canonical Romantic poetry; recent debates surrounding definitions of Romanticism as a literary movement; the contemporary reception of Romantic writers. Historical and cultural contexts will be explored, as will the issue of so-called ‘confessional’ poetry as it pertains to a number of writers to be considered on the course.

How will you be different:

Students will engage in depth with a wide range of writers from the Romantic period, as well as with critical and theoretical debates about their work in the context of key historical and cultural factors.

Learning Outcomes

At the end of this unit a successful student will be able to:

  1. appreciate the range and variety within Romantic literature, as well as display an advanced understanding of the key literary, historical and cultural developments of the Romantic period
  2. gain a sense of the current shape of Romantic studies and some of the recent preoccupations of the field
  3. write critically about literary texts, deploying different methodologies for reading literary texts historically
  4. further develop their skills in research, analysis, independent thinking and communication

How you will learn

Teaching will be delivered through a combination of synchronous and asynchronous activities. These can include seminars, lectures, class discussion, formative tasks, small group work, and self-directed exercises. The combination of these different learning activities will help students build confidence and practical skills when addressing key research problems associated with textual scholarship.

How you will be assessed

Tasks which do not count towards your unit mark but are required for credit (zero-weighted):

1000 word presentation (0%)

When assessment does not go to plan

When required by the Board of Examiners, you will normally complete reassessments in the same formats as those outlined above. However, the Board reserves the right to modify the form or number of reassessments required. Details of reassessments are normally confirmed by the School shortly after the notification of your results at the end of the academic year.

Resources

If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.

If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. ENGLM3009).

How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks, independent learning and assessment activity.

See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.

Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit. The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.

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