Wordsworth, Shelley, Byron, and beyond: Romanticism in Britain 1790-1840

This course introduces you to the literature, history, and intellectual background of ‘Romanticism’. Focusing on works of British literature, we will examine the movement’s origins in gothic writing and the 18th-century cult of ‘sensibility’. We will explore how Romantic writers responded to contemporary historical events, including the French Revolution and industrialisation, and study the contributions of major and minor figures, including Charlotte Smith, Wordsworth, Blake, Byron, both Shelleys, Landon (L.E.L), and Carlyle. Tracing the influence of Romantic writing into the Victorian age, we will see how, in various ways, Romanticism has shaped the culture of ‘modernity’.