From the “smile of reason” to the “age of anxiety,” Literature 58 explores the development of the modern consciousness in literature, beginning with the late 1600s and extending to the early 20^th century. In focusing on representative major works of literature, the course traces patterns of continuity and change in four great, distinct, but interrelated periods of English literature: the Neoclassic, with its principles of order, harmony, wit, and reason; the Romantic, with its affirmation of nature, the imagination, and individualism; the Victorian, with its profound depiction of issues involving religion, empire, and the tensions of a rapidly changing society; and the Modernist, with its experimentalism and its renovations of tradition. Rather than pigeonholing the various authors we read, we will aim at a balanced sense of each writer’s individual qualities as well as his or her relationship to literary, political, and social history. While respecting the intensely varied character of the literary works we read, we will pay particular attention to certain pervasive themes: the individual’s relation to society; the purposes of literature; the role of religion in human life; and the relations between the sexes. These issues prefigure many of our present-day concerns with technology, social structures, spirituality, gender, and even the question of what it means to be human.

Requirements include two papers of approximately five to seven pages each (typed, double-spaced), two quizzes, a final examination, and regular participation in class discussion. Graduating seniors will write an additional essay in lieu of the final exam. The two essays will count for 60% of the grade, the quizzes for 10%, and the final (or, in the case of graduating seniors, the final essay) for 30%. Plagiarism—i.e., the use of someone else’s words and/or ideas as if they were your own—will result in an F and submission of the matter to the Academic Standards Committee of the College. Each student is allowed no more than two unexcused absences during the semester; each additional unexcused absence will lower your course grade by one step.

In addition to our regularly scheduled classes, we will have a couple of meetings outside of class, e.g., at the Athenaeum. From time to time, you will receive supplemental readings in handout form.

Students are urged to consult a virtual gallery of 18^th and 19^th century art related to this course. Go to my web site within the CMC faculty web site, click on “Syllabi and Course Web Sites,” and then click on the Lit. 58 link for a course description, various terms and a gallery of visual images relevant to the course. Your may also go to “Class Pages” at the bottom of the “Syllabi and Course Web Sites” page, click on “Class Pages” and then see further images listed under both Lit. 58 and Lit. 162. Both the Norton and Oxford anthologies that we are using also have excellent reproductions of art works pertinent to our readings.