| Unit name | From Romance to the Novel |
|---|---|
| Unit code | ENGL20205 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | I/5 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | Professor. Archibald |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
None |
| Co-requisites |
None |
| School/department | Department of English |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts, Law and Social Sciences |
This diachronic course looks at the rise of the novel from a broad historical perspective, offering students the chance to connect the work they do on romance for the compulsory second year Medieval and Renaissance Literature units in a comparative study of the changing fortunes of the romance genre over 1700 years, and of its relationship to the novel. The unit raises important questions about the evolution and popularity of literary genres in relation to their social and intellectual contexts, about the impact of growing literacy and the printing press, and about the significance of the gender of both authors and readers. Authors to be studied include Apuleius, Marie de France, Chaucer, Malory, Shakespeare, Sidney, Spenser, Bunyan, Margaret Duchess of Newcastle, and Fielding.
Aims:
The aim of this unit is that students should acquire a good grounding in the literary history of the romance from the classical period to the eighteenth century, and develop skills in close reading and in comparative criticism. They will study the evolution of this important literary genre in its historical, social and intellectual context, and of critical debates about definitions of romance. They will explore the way that major romance themes such as the quest and the reunion of separated families are handled in different periods, and the many purposes for which romance may be used (including political and religious propaganda). They will consider the impact of increasing literacy and the introduction of printing. They will also consider gendered responses to romance, both by authors and by readers, and compare works on key themes by male and female writers. Throughout the course they will be engaging with past and present critical debate about the definitions of romance and novel.
At the end of this course, students will be familiar with the main characteristics of the romance genre from the classical period to the Seventeenth Century, and with the rise of the novel in the Eighteenth century. They will have acquired an understanding of the main critical debates about the definitions of romance and novel, and of the most enduring themes which appear in variations in both romance and novel. They will have developed skills in close reading and in comparative criticism. In studying the fluctuating popularity of romance over the centuries, they will have increased their knowledge of the historical, social and intellectual contexts in which romance was written, of the growth of literacy and of printing, and of the ways in which the romance form was exploited and adapted for political or religious. They will also have gained an understanding of changing attitudes to women as both readers and writers of romance.
One seminar per week, plus 1-to-1 discusion in Consultation Hours where desired.
Two essays (2,000 words and 4,000 words).
