19th-Century Poetry

Undergraduate catalogue

This survey of 19th-century British poetry will explore the ways in which Victorian poetry and poetic form influenced and were influenced by national movements: education, empire, voting reform, gender relations, and the rise of technology. It will consider how the afterlife of 19th-century poetry haunts our interpretation of early 20th-century poetry, and re-historicize Victorian poetics amid the vibrant and complicated tapestry of the 19th century. Students will read poems by Tennyson, D.G. Rossetti, Christina Rossetti, Barrett Browning, Browning, Swinburne, Hardy, Clough, Bridges, and Hopkins. Two 90-minute seminars.