a) political and historical context:
"a time of political upheaval in places such as the current United States and France"
"literature dealing with colonies and revolution"
"some discuss the slave trade"
"discussion of empire, expansion"
"Thomas Jefferson" (Dissenting response: "Wasn't he American?"
pre-Industrial Revolution
b) relevant literary movements:
"the rise of Gothic literature or Gothic imagery"
"period before Romanticism"
"part of the Romantic era" (Dissenting voice: "I think most of the Romantic era is in the 19th century")
"move towards common language in poetry"
"I think the authors during this time focused on realism (this could be completely inaccurate)"
"before Emily Bronte...obviously post-Shakespeare"
"Age of Enlightenment"
"women authors become more prominent"
"Samuel Johnson"
"broadening of audience for literature (more available)"
c) important themes and subject matter:
"humanity and the rights of human beings [were] something featured in this period"
"class seemed to be an important theme"
"religious tracts"
"increase in exotic travel stories...the presence of willful women...court life...outcast culture"
"authors were interested in the individual"
"relevance of interpersonal/intrapersonal relations?"
"moral excellence was no longer a requirement in literature"
Respond to the post with your reflections on these responses to the question posed in class om Wednesday. Some issues you might want to consider: Is there anything missing? Should American authors be included in a course on "Later Eighteenth-Century British Literature"? Why or why not? Should texts that are considered part of Romanticism be included in this course? Why or why not? Which of the themes, literary movements, or relevant historical events listed above do you hope to learn more about in this course? Which issues seem less significant? What questions do you have so far about the later eighteenth century, based on what we've done so far?
You don't need to answer all those questions to get credit for this post! Pick the issue that interests you most, and write about that. You can also respond by taking issue (kindly and constructively, please!) with a classmate's response. Keep in mind that blog posts are meant to be brief and low-stress, but thoughtful.
Deadline: Friday (1/23), 9am.
8 comments:
"class seemed to be an important theme"
I agree with this statement, especially when thinking about "Holt Waters," which was the story of a poor woman drinking a rich woman's pee.
The main struggle for the rich woman is saving face in her social circle, while the struggle for the poor woman is working the fields and finding a drop to drink.
I'd like to learn more about the systems of class during the later C18.
I would like to explore the religious aspects of the literature and how it evolved. Also, I would like to learn more about how the writing styles changed from the beginning to the end of the time period we're studying.
I do believe American literature should be read as it still was a part of the British empire. The Revolution influenced many pieces of literature- be it supportive or unsupportive of Britain.
I'm most interested in the Age of Englightenment. I would like like to see the progress made and the change in subjects for the literature. Also I would like to learn about the comedy used in the literature of this period because I found "Holt Waters" humorous.
In another one of my classes this semester we briefly and tangentially outlined conventions of Romanticism. One of the key features discussed was the heightened agency of the characters, their ability to cause events and change the state of things.
Though I'm new to the subject, I feel like that idea connects with the way others made note of expanding audiences and the growing prominence of female authors in the later C18. I think it would be interesting to view early works from Romanticism and see what trends helped evolve that era. What issues or questions were raised that Romanticism answered?
I think that it would be very interesting to explore the theme of willful women and the stories of social outcasts. I think it would be interesting to see what it meant to be a social outcast at that time period. Was there an outcast community? Did the person choose to be an outcast or were they cast out of society such as Oscar Wilde? Also I think that the idea of willful women is interesting especially considering writers such as Mary Wollstonecraft and her A Vindication of the Rights of Women. I would like to see read about the social repercussions of her book. Did it make a change in the way courtly women were treated?
I think that American authors from this time period could be included in a syllabus for British literature. I have had several Brit. Lit. and European art history classes that have included American works. Though the American Revolution allowed independence for the U.S., there were still plenty of citizens who had been born or spent a majority of their lives in Britain. Therefore, they have had the proper experiences and lifestyles to include them in a category of British authors.
I think its interesting that someone put Samuel Johnson down as part of the "relevant literary movements". Going along with the exercise we did on Friday, Samuel Johnson seemed to be particularly important in the major-specific anthologies. Yet, he was not mentioned in our group's general education anthologies at all. Wasn't the later 18th century referred to as the "Age of Johnson"? Why would a general English curriculum leave him out?
I am interested in learning more about the emergence of Gothic Literature in works like Walpole's The Castle of Otranto. This genre seems of literature seems to be explored in this period and influenced later works by authors like Jane Austen and the use of gothic imagery in Northanger Abbey. Just the other day, I overheard my Shakespeare professor discussing the Gothic elements in the fourth Twilight novel. The point being that the development and influence of this genre of literature is far-reaching.
This is one of the first era-specific English classes I have taken and I'm curious as to what specifically sets this time period apart from other movements, like the preceding Enlightenment and Romanticism of the 19th century, and also why the late 18th century is seemingly less significant in literary history.
I do believe American authors of the time should be considered a part of British literature. Britain had a strong influence on the colonies, whether it was good or bad, and American literature certainly felt the effect.
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