The Visual and the Written in the 19th Century 3301-LB1021
The course is aimed at the first cycle students (BA programme)
This course aims at exploring various possibilities of interpretation that open up by juxtaposing the chosen works of the 19th century poetry with their visual representations by the leading artists of the age, mostly those connected with the Pre-Raphaelite school. The reading list of primary sources will include the poems of William Blake, John Keats, Alfred Tennyson, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Christina Rossetti, Robert Browning. These poems will be studied together with their illustrations by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, John William Waterhouse, Frank Cadogan Cowper, William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais, Laurence Housman, Arthur Rackham in order to see the complex relationships between the visual and the written form of artistic expression. Students will also read chosen fragments from longer texts of John Ruskin, Walter Pater, Robert Buchanan, defining the aesthetic context of the 19th century art. At the beginning of the course some time will be spent on revising the grounds of the ut pictura poesis debate and its position in the 19th century. Additionally, we will look at Victorian standards of art and establish the conventions normative for this period. Some time will be spent on discussing the establishing and the development of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and the reception that these artists received in Victorian England.While studying William Blake's poetry we will discuss the specific case on an artist illustrating his own poems. This will also lead to a discussion about Blake's vision of the states of Innocence and Experience and his views on femininity. Reading John Keats the students will explore the convention of the fatal woman and how it works in Keats's poetry, in addition to the themes of the imagination, dream and illusion. Chosen illustrations will enable us to see how the Victorian artists read and interpreted Keats. Tennyson's poetry will be a continuation of the discussion about gender and traditional male and female roles in society. Various visual interpretations of The Lady of Shalott will show the popularity of the poem among Pre-Raphaelite artists. This theme will be continued in the poetry and painting of Dante Gabriel Rossetti, with his ideal and fallen or fatal women and his elaboration of the notion of the Victorian angel in the house. Robert Browning's poetry will be used to talk about the concept of ekphrasis - verbal representation of the visual. Finally, Goblin Market by Christina Rossetti will sum up the discussion on femininity in the 19th century. Illustrations of various artists for the same poem will emphasise their contrary interpretations, thus enhancing the ambiguity of Rossetti's text. The course ends with a written open-questions test.
Type of course
Mode
Prerequisites (description)
Course coordinators
Learning outcomes
KNOWLEDGE:
The graduate has familiarity with:
- K_W01 advanced terminology, theory and research methods corresponding to the state of the art in the disciplines of literary studies and culture, particularly in reference to the nineteenth century, within the domain of English Studies
K_W04- Characterize on an advanced level the principles of research design in literary studies with special focus on the application of methods and tools in formulating research problems related to the interaction between literature and painting
ABILITIES
The graduate is able to:
- K_U01 apply advanced terminology, theory and research methods corresponding to the state of the art in the disciplines of literary studies and culture. particularly the nineteenth century, within the domain of English Studies
- K_U02 employ the methodology of literary and culture studies within English studies, respecting the ethical norms and copyright law
K_U11 design one’s own development, particularly by the completion of a research project in areas relevant to the course subject, like writing a BA thesis.
SOCIAL COMPETENCES
Students will be ready to:
K_K02 undertake life-long learning and personal development, applying skills and competences to select subjects and projects optimally suiting one’s personal interests
K_K03 value responsibility for one’s own work and respect the work of others, adhering to the professional and ethical norms in various projects and other activities undertaken at work, voluntary services, etc.
Assessment criteria
Final grade is determined by:
-ongoing assessment of the student's work during the semester: active participation in classes, presentation in class (optional); submission of 2-3 response papers during the semester.
-written test at the end of semester, in the form of open questions; the test may be administered in class or on the Moodle platform.
- test retake: in oral form
Three absences are allowed in a semester.
Practical placement
None
Bibliography
Berger, John. (1977) Ways of Seeing.
Bruder, Helen. (1997) ‘The Sins of the Fathers: Patriarchal Criticism and The Book of Thel’ from: William Blake and the Daughters of Albion
Eaves, Morris (2006) The Cambridge Companion to William Blake
Harrison, Anthony (1989) Parody and Ideology’ Studies in English Literature 1500-1900 29.4..
Harrisson, Charles (ed) (1998) Art in Theory 1815-1900: An anthology of changing ideas.
Heffernan, James (1993) Museum of Words. The Poetics of Ekphrasis from Homer to Ashbery.
Hill, Marylu. (2005) ‘Eat me, drink me, love me: Eucharist and the Erotic Body in Goblin Market. Victorian Poetry 43.4
Hilton, Timothy (1970) The Pre-Raphaelites.
Mash, J. (1995) The Pre-Raphaelite Women: Images of Femininity in Pre-Raphaelite art.
Pater, Walter Art for Art's Sake, Style (excerpts)
Pearce, Lynne (1991) Woman/Image/Text. Readings in Pre-Raphaelite Art and Literature.
Kathy Psomiades (1992) ‘Body’s Beauty: Gender Ideology and British Aestheticism’ Victorian Studies 36.1.
Riede, David (ed) (1992) Critical Essays on D.G. Rossetti.
Sturken, Marita, Lisa Cartwright (2009)Practices of Looking. Oxford University Press.
Swan, Karen (1988) 'Harrassing the Muse' from: Mellor, Ann. Romanticism and Feminism.
Treuherz, Julian (1993) Victorian Painting.
Additional information
Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system: