Wordsworth and Coleridge: Lyrical Ballads

An introduction to and close reading of the Lyrical Ballads , one of the most radical and innovative volumes in British Romantic literature. We will pay special attention to the aesthetic, historical, ethical, and political dimensions of the text, patiently working through the poems and prefaces, as well as reading antecedent texts, in order to understand why the book was an experiment for its authors, and what are its enduring effects on our contemporary moment.