ENGLISH 625
NINETEENTH-CENTURY TRANSATLANTIC POETRY AND POETICS
FALL, 2008
PROFESSOR JASON R. RUDY
TTH 12:30-1:45PM
SUSQUEHANNA HALL, ROOM 3109
OFFICE HOURS: TTH11:20AM-12:20PM & BY ARRANGEMENT
OFFICE: SUSQ. 4131; EMAIL: JRRUDY@UMD.EDU
COURSE WEBSITE: http://www.englweb.umd.edu/englfac/JRudy/625Fall2008.htm
This course will read widely in nineteenth-century British and American poetry, with an eye
toward the transatlantic exchanges that undergird much of the era’s poetic theory. Among other
topics, we will address the politics of sentimental poetics; the connections (real and imagined)
between poetry and nationalism; the material conditions (printing presses, transatlantic voyages,
new technologies for communicating) that enabled transatlantic literary exchanges; and evolving
theories (often understood in national contexts) of poetic form. This will be both a “survey” of
the most important poetry and poetic theory written in the nineteenth century and a focused
enquiry into what might be called transatlantic poetic theory.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
TEXTS (available at the University Book Center)
The Penguin Book of Victorian Verse, ed. Daniel Karlin (Penguin; 0140445781)
Alfred Tennyson, Tennyson’s Poetry (Norton; 0393972798)
Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Aurora Leigh (Norton; 0393962989)
Walt Whitman, Poetry and Prose (Library of America; 1883011353)
Emily Dickinson, Complete Poems (Bay Back Books; 0316184136)
Gerard Manley Hopkins, Poems and Prose (Penguin; 0140420150)
Meredith McGill, ed., The Traffic in Poems (Rutgers University Press; 0813542308)
Course Packet (available only at the University Book Center)
GRADING
Participation
Presentation
Writing Assignments
40%
10%
50%
PRESENTATION AND WRITING ASSIGNMENTS
1. In-class presentation & bibliography (10%)
2. Close reading essay (4 pages, 15%)
3. Final essay, due 12/16 (8-12 pages, 35%)
You will sign up in pairs for a 10-minute presentation. There are two components to the presentation.
First, with your partner, you will research a key poetic term. You will offer to the class a history of the
term (check first the Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetic Terms) and an overview of the
theoretical and/or literary uses critics have found for that term. Please bring with you copies of a brief (no
more than two pages) annotated bibliography of your sources.
The second component of the presentation will involve a (brief) close reading of one passage from that
day’s reading. This close reading should illustrate what a more sophisticated understanding of your term
brings to the poem at hand.
After your presentation, you will write an essay that develops the close reading introduced in class. It will
be due in class one week following your presentation. Feel free to elaborate on your thoughts, or voice
contradictions / disagreements, or use class discussion to construct a more compelling argument. Unlike
the in-class presentations, the essays are not collaborative endeavors; you will be expected to work by
yourself on this project.
The final essay will be on a topic of your own choosing. A one-paragraph proposal for this topic will be
due in class on October 28th. You may use this essay to develop an argument about one of the texts from
the syllabus, or choose a nineteenth-century text of your own. A list of possible topics will be distributed.
ATTENDANCE & PARTICIPATION
Enthusiastic participation is expected at all times. Come to class with thoughts and questions about the
reading. It is expected that you will attend all classes, except in extraordinary circumstances.
PLAGIARISM
I will adhere strictly to University policy with respect to plagiarism. Students who plagiarize will fail this
class and will risk suspension from the university. Follow MLA guidelines for proper citation when
quoting passages and when paraphrasing ideas. Do not hesitate to speak with me if you have any
questions regarding this matter. I quote below from the University policy on academic honesty:
“The University of Maryland, College Park has a nationally recognized Code of Academic Integrity,
administered by the Student Honor Council. This Code sets standards for academic integrity at
Maryland for all undergraduate and graduate students. As a student you are responsible for upholding
these standards for this course. It is very important for you to be aware of the consequences of
cheating, fabrication, facilitation, and plagiarism. For more information on the Code of Academic
Integrity or the Student Honor Council, please visit
http://www.studenthonorcouncil.umd.edu/whatis.html.”
OFFICE HOURS
Come talk to me! Bring questions about your papers, thoughts on the reading, suggestions for the class –
or just come to chat. If you cannot make my office hours, I will meet you at a mutually-convenient time.
It is in your best interests to make the most of this one-on-one time.
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CLASS SCHEDULE
(H) = Handout
(W) = On-line at Blackboard / Elms
(P) = Course Packet
(V) = Penguin Book of Victorian Verse
Week 1 (9/2 and 9/4): Introduction to Victorian Poetics
I. Class overview and introductions
II. J. S. Mill, “What Is Poetry?” (H)
William Wordsworth, “Tintern Abbey” (H)
Alfred Tennyson, “Mariana”
Isobel Armstrong, “Introduction: Rereading Victorian Poetry” (W)
Meredith McGill, introduction to The Traffic in Poems
Week 2 (9/9 and 9/11): Romantic Aftermaths
I. Felicia Hemans, from Records of Woman: “Arabella Stuart,” “Properzia Rossi,” “Indian Woman’s
Death Song” (P)
Alfred Tennyson, “The Lady of Shalott”
John Keble, “Inaugural Lecture” (P)
Sir Henry Taylor, “Preface” to Philip van Artevelde (P)
II. William Cullen Bryant, “Essay on American Poetry” (W)
Bryant, “The Ages,” “Thanatopsis” (P)
“American Poets” (1844), from Littell's Living Age (P)
Virginia Jackson, “Bryant; or, American Romanticism”
Week 3 (9/16 and 9/18): Transatlanticisms
I. Paul Giles, “British-American Literature: Paradoxical Constitutions, Civil Wars” (W)
Virginia Jackson, “American Victorian Poetry: The Transatlantic Poetic” (W)
Amanda Claybaugh, introduction to The Novel of Purpose (W)
II. Ralph Waldo Emerson, “The Poet” (P)
Thomas Carlyle, “The Hero as Poet. Dante; Shakespeare” (P)
E. C. Stedman, from Victorian Poets (P)
Michael Cohen, “E. C. Stedman and the Invention of Victorian Poetry” (W)
Week 4 (9/23 and 9/25): Poems of Protest
I. Lydia Sigourney, “The Suttee,” “Cherokee Mother,” “Indian’s Welcome to the Pilgrim Fathers” (P)
Sarah Louisa Forten, “The Slave Girl’s Farewell,” “The Grave of the Slave” (H)
Wendy Dasler Johnson, “Reviving Lydia Huntley Sigourney” (W)
II. Elizabeth Barrett Browning, “The Runaway Slave at Pilgrim’s Point” (V)
Tricia Lootens, “Publishing and Reading ‘Our EBB’: Editorial Pedagogy, Contemporary Culture,
and ‘The Runaway Slave at Pilgrim's Point’” (W)
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Week 5 (9/30 and 10/2): Generic Confusions
I. Tennyson, The Princess (Prologue to Part IV)
II. Tennyson, The Princess (Part V to Conclusion)
Week 6 (10/7 and 10/9): Poetic Theorists I
I. Alexander Smith, “Glasgow” (V)
Sydney Dobell, from Balder (P)
W. E. Aytoun, from Firmilian (P)
Robert Browning, “My Last Duchess,” “Fra Lippo Lippi” (V)
Matthew Arnold, “Preface” to the 1853 Poems (P)
Arthur Hugh Clough, “Recent English Poetry” (P)
II. Coventry Patmore, from Essay on English Metrical Law (H)
Patmore, “Departure,” “The Toys,” “Magna Est Veritas” (V)
Week 7 (10/14 and 10/16): Poetic Theorists II
I. Edgar Allan Poe, “The Philosophy of Composition” (P)
Poe, “The Raven,” “The Bells,” “Ulalume” (P)
Eliza Richards, “Outsourcing ‘The Raven’: Retroactive Origins” (W)
II. Sidney Lanier, from The Science of English Verse (P)
Lanier, “Psalm of the West” (P)
Week 8 (10/21 and 10/23): Poetic Theorists III
I. Gerard Manley Hopkins, “Author’s Preface,” “The Wreck of the Deutschland,” “The Loss of the
Eurydice,” “The Windhover,” “Felix Randal,” “Harry Ploughman”
Hopkins, early diary entry (Sept 24, 1863); journal entries (1871-1875)
Hopkins, letters: to Robert Bridges (May 13, 1878); to R. W. Dixon (Oct. 5, 1878); to A. W. M.
Baillie (May 22, 1880); to Robert Bridges (Sept. 25, 1888)
II. CLASS CANCELLED
Week 9 (10/28 and 10/30): Nationalisms
I. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Hiawatha – through Book 10 (P)
Kate Flint, “Is the Native an American? National Identity and the British Reception of Hiawatha”
II. Longfellow, Hiawatha – completed (P)
Tavia Nyong’o, “Hiawatha's Black Atlantic Itineraries”
Week 10 (11/4 and 11/6): Poetess Studies I
I. CLASS CANCELLED
II. Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Aurora Leigh – Books I-III
Laura Mandell, “The Poetess Tradition” (W)
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Week 11 (11/11 and 11/13): Poetess Studies II
I. Aurora Leigh IV-VI
Reviews by H. F. Chorley, George Eliot, W. E. Aytoun, Coventry Patmore, and John Nichol
II. Aurora Leigh VII-IX
E. C. Stedman, “Elizabeth Barrett Browning” (P)
Week 12 (11/18 and 11/20): American Epic
I. Lucy Larcom, from An Idyl of Work (P)
Mary Loeffelholtz, “Mapping the Cultural Field: Aurora Leigh in America”
II. Walt Whitman, 1855 Leaves of Grass
Whitman, “A Backward Glance O’er Travel’d Roads”
Week 13 (11/25 and 11/27): Whitmania
I. Whitman, “I Sing the Body Electric,” “Spontaneous Me,” “Scented Herbage of My Breast,”
“Whoever You Are Holding Me Now in Hand,” “We Two Boys Together Clinging,” “As I
Ebb’d with the Ocean of Life,” “Vigil Strange I Kept on the Field One Night,” “The Wound
Dresser”
Algernon Swinburne, “Whitmania” (P)
Max Cavitch, “Audience Terminable and Interminable: Anne Gilchrist, Walt Whitman, and the
Achievement of Disinhibited Reading” (W)
II. THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY
Week 14 (12/2 and 12/4): Fleshliness
I. Algernon Swinburne, “A Cameo,” “The Garden of Prosepine,” “Love and Sleep” (V)
Robert Buchanan, from “The Fleshly School of Poetry” (H)
II. Christina Rossetti, “Goblin Market” (V)
Week 15 (12/9 and 12/11): Dickinson and Co.
I. Emily Brontë, “Remembrance,” “High waving heather ’neath stormy blasts bending,” “The night is
darkening round me,” “I’m happiest when most away,” “How still, how happy! those are
words,” “Upon her soothing breast,” “No coward soul is mine” (V)
Emily Dickinson, “Success is counted sweetest,” “Bring me the sunset in a cup,” “A Wounded
deer—leaps highest,” “Safe in their Alabaster Chambers,” “Wild Nights—Wild Nights,”
“‘Hope’ is the thing with feathers,” “There’s a certain Slant of light,” “A single Screw of
Flesh,” “I felt a Funeral, in my Brain,” “A Clock stopped,” “I cannot dance upon my Toes,” “A
Bird came down the Walk”
Michael Moon, “No Coward Souls: Poetic Engagements between Emily Brontë and Emily
Dickinson”
II.Emily Dickinson, “After great pain, a formal feeling comes,” “I died for Beauty—but was scarce,”
“I heard a Fly buzz—when I died,” “It was not Death, for I stood up,” “I started Early—took
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my Dog,” “I like to see it lap the Miles,” “Our journey had advanced,” “The Tint i cannot
take—is best,” “The Brain—is wider than the sky,” “I cannot live with You,” “I dwell in
Possibility,” “Essential Oils—are wrung,” “Because I could not stop for Death,” “My Life had
stood—a Loaded Gun,” “A Light exists in Spring,” “Split the Lark—and You’ll find the
Music,” “There is a Zone whose even Years,” “Further in Summer than the Birds,” “At Half
past three, a single Bird,” “Great Streets of silence led away,” “A Route of Evanescence,” “The
Moon upon her fluent route,” “In winter in my Room,” “My life closed twice before its close,”
“The earth has many keys”
Dickinson Electronic Archive: Manuscripts, editions, letters (W)
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