Course Objectives:

Through close reading and critical writing, we’ll come to understand the two Romantic works generally considered the strongest contenders for the title "greatest long poem in English since Paradise Lost," The Prelude by William Wordsworth and Don Juan by Lord Byron, in and of themselves, in comparison with one another, and in relation to their cultural contexts.

Required Texts:

    Byron—Don Juan, ed. T. G. Steffan, E. Steffan, and W. W. Pratt (Penguin)

    Wordsworth—The Prelude: The Four Texts (1798, 1799, 1805, 1850), ed. J. Wordsworth (Penguin). 

    Due to the complex textual issues, it’s essential that you work with this edition of the poem.

Course Requirements:

    1. Regular, well-informed class participation 20%

    2. Three 2-page explications 20%

    3. Take-home final exam essay 20%

    4. 10-15 page research-based paper on either poem or both 40%

Schedule of Meetings and Readings:

    May 21—Introduction to the course. Wordsworth, "Was It for this?", Byron, Preface, Dedication

    23—Wordsworth, Books, I-II (numbering refers to the 1805 Prelude), Byron, Canto I. First explication due.

    28—Wordsworth, Books 3-5

    30--Wordsworth, Books 6-8

    June 4—Wordsworth, Books 9-10

    6—Wordsworth, Books 11-13. Second explication due.

    11—Byron, Cantos II-III

    13—Byron, Cantos IV-V

    18—Byron, Cantos VI-VIII. Third explication due.

    20—Byron, Cantos IX-XI25—Byron, Cantos XII-XIV. Research paper due.

    27—Byron, Cantos XV-XVI

    29—Take-home final exam essay due.

Explications:

The explications should be brief, tightly focused interpretations of particular passages or details. They may be no longer than two double-spaced pages. Within this very limited space, I am interested in seeing your own critical insights emerge, so avoid consulting secondary sources for these papers. You may resort to a dictionary (preferably the OED) or to sources that provide factual or historical information.

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