ENGL 5134: Studies in Eighteenth-Century Literature

Reinventing Literature:
New Rhetoric and the Literature of Feeling

Professor Radcliffe

Introducing the emergent field of "the history of reading," this seminar examines the New Rhetoric founded in 18th century Scotland and its consequences for literature. Among these was the introduction of English as a college subject; we'll read seminal rhetorical works by the very first professors to teach English literature: Adam Smith (The Theory of Moral Sentiments), James Beattie (On Fable and Romance), and Hugh Blair (Lectures on Rhetoric and Belles Lettres). The New Rhetoric was also involved with inventing the idea of creative writing, which established poetry, essay, and novel as the preeminent literary forms. We'll look at how these cultivated a new kind of reader in classic works by Henry Mackenzie, Oliver Goldsmith, Thomas Campbell, and Charles Lamb. We'll look at how this development changed the nature of reading and writing in the romantic era, leading to a ten-fold increase in the number of literary works being published and an equivalent increase in the size of the reading public. Course requirements include class participation (40%) and a 15-20 pp. reseach paper (60%).

Required Texts:

Adam Smith, The Theory of Moral Sentiments.

Hugh Blair, Lectures on Rhetoric and Belles Lettres.

Henry Mackenzie, The Man of Feeling.

Charles Lamb, Essays of Elia.

James Hogg, The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner.

Optional Texts:

Robert Crawford, Devolving English Literature (1992).

John Brewer, The Pleasures of the Imagination: English Culture in the Eighteenth Century (1997).

William St. Clair, The Reading Nation in the Romantic Period (2004).

ETexts:

Goldsmith, The Deserted Village

Burns, The Cotter's Saturday Night

Rogers, The Pleasures of Memory

Campbell, The Pleasures of Hope

Beattie, On Fable and Romance

Scott, Lay of the Last Minstrel

Carlyle, The Hero as Man of Letters

Provisional Syllabus:

January 14 Introduction
January 21 Adam Smith: Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759).
January 28 Smith: Adam Smith: Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759).
Henry Mackenzie: The Man of Feeling (1771).
February 4 Adam Smith: Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759).
Henry Mackenzie: The Man of Feeling (1771).
February 11 Hugh Blair: Lectures on Rhetoric and Belles Lettres (1783): I-X.
Oliver Goldsmith: The Deserted Village (1770).
Robert Burns: The Cotter's Saturday Night (1786).
February 18 Hugh Blair: Lectures on Rhetoric and Belles Lettres (1783): XI-XIX.
Samuel Rogers: The Pleasures of Memory (1792).
February 25 Hugh Blair: Lectures on Rhetoric and Belles Lettres (1783): XX-XXIV.
Joseph Addison: The Spectator: Nos 411-14 (1712).
March 1-9 Spring Break
March 10 Hugh Blair: Lectures on Rhetoric and Belles Lettres (1783): XXXV-XLVII.
Thomas Campbell: The Pleasures of Hope (1799).
March 17 James Beattie: On Fable and Romance (1783).
Walter Scott: Lay of the Last Minstrel (1805): Canto I.
March 24 Walter Scott: Lay of the Last Minstrel (1805): Cantos II-VI.
March 31 William Craig: Michael Bruce (1779).
Henry Mackenzie: Life of Thomas Blacklock (1793).
Walter Scott: Oliver Goldsmith (1824).
Thomas Carlyle: The Hero as Man of Letters (1841).
April 7 Charles Lamb: Essays of Elia (1823).
April 14 Charles Lamb: Essays of Elia (1823).
April 21 James Hogg: Confessions of a Justified Sinner (1824).
April 28 James Hogg: Confessions of a Justified Sinner (1824).