ESH7066

International Romanticism

Level 7 (30 credits)

The artistic energies and intellectual currents of the Romantic movement cross national boundaries and reflect the political and social upheavals of an increasingly globalised world. This module examines key works of English, Scottish, and European Romanticism and investigates the forms (paintings, poems, plays, novels, translations) through which Romantic ideas and literary practices were transmitted from one country to another. Diverse strands in British Romanticism, including works by Burns, Byron, Clare, Percy and Mary Shelley, Smith, Wordsworth, are analysed alongside continental texts in translation including Rousseau's Confessions, De Stael’s Corrine, Goethe’s Werther, and Foscolo’s Jacopo Ortis. Topics to be explored include confessional and fictional autobiography, the struggle between imperial power and national independence, the idea of cosmopolitanism in a period of revolution and war, and how travel and sociability facilitate international exchange.

Preparing for this module and approximate costs:

While there is no required advance preparation for this module, students would make their reading load a bit lighter for the semester ahead if they read a couple of the texts before we get started. 


I would recommend trying to read the first two books of Rousseau's Confessions (1790) and reading Goethe's, The Sorrows of Young Werther (1774). Please use the following editions for this reading:

Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Confessions , translated by Angela Scholar. Oxford World's Classics (2008). 

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, The Sorrows of Young Werther, translated by David Constantine, Oxford World’s Classics (2012).


The introductions to both of these editions will provide useful context for the module. 


The three essential primary texts for this course, if bought new, will cost approximately £30. Note that these costs can be significantly reduced by purchasing items second-hand or borrowing them from the Library. 

We will take one trip to the National Gallery in Week 3 so return tube travel to Zone 1 will also be required. 



 
Programme
Learning Context Long Seminar
Semester Semester 1
Assessment

1. Final Essay (4000 words) 100%

Contact

School of English and Drama, Queen Mary University of London
Contact: sed-information@qmul.ac.uk

Last updated on 24 July 2024 by Richard Coulton
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