ENGL 352 - Studies in Romanticism

Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)

  In-depth study of Romantic-era texts with the option of pursuing a select group of writers under the rubric of a specific genre, methodological approach, topic or theme. This course aims to deepen students’ expertise in one or more of the topics covered in ENGL 248 .

Topic for 2025/26b: Myths of Creation and Apocalypse in Romantic Literature. This course examines Romantic-era adaptations of Christian myths of creation and apocalypse. The 1818 version of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein invokes the words of John Milton’s Adam on its title page: Did I request thee, maker, from my clay to mold me man, did I solicit thee from darkness to promote me? Meanwhile, Shelley’s final novel, The Last Man (1826), details a vision of earthly apocalypse, and likewise invokes a phrase from Milton: Let no man seek henceforth to be foretold what shall befall him or his children. What motivated the Romantic obsession with themes of creation and destruction? What resources did these writers find for their explorations in texts of the past? In seeking answers to these questions, we trace the intertextual lines connecting Frankenstein’s creature to Milton’s Adam, all the way back to the Adam of Genesis; and we pair readings of the Book of Revelation with apocalyptic writings by Mary Shelley, William Blake, and Lord Byron. Thinking historically, we examine how industrialization in England was charging eschatology—that is, the study of Christian visions of doomsday—with urgency for Romantic writers, just as scientific innovation was raising ethical questions about creation and “progress.” Thinking theoretically, we attune to the questions about sex and gender that the Christian creation myth inevitably raises, considering trans readings of Genesis (by Leah DeVun and other scholars) alongside the traditional sexual and gender politics of Milton’s Paradise Lost. This course is suitable for students pursuing the following pathways: “Creative Writing and Literary Forms,” “British and American Literary History,” and “Gender, Sexuality and the Body.” Katie Gemmill.

Prerequisite(s): Open to Juniors and Seniors with two units of 200-level work in English, or with permission of the instructor.

This course satisfies the pre-1900 or the REGS requirement for the English major.

One 2-hour period.

Course Format: CLS