This lecture course is specifically intended for Art History students; it explores correspondence between Victorian poetry and the visual arts (mainly painting and engraving). It also examines major critics such as Ruskin and Pater, cultural axiology and the pragmatic development of demands from the publishing industry and art market coinciding with the widening of audiences.
Objectives
Through the study of a chronological selection of poems and their illustrations – or even reversed forms of illustration such as ekphrasis -, students will acquire greater knowledge of an exceptional era in British art and develop new skills to analyse both text and image. Periods covered extend from the 1830s with Tennyson to the 1890s with Wilde. Essay writing skills will also benefit.
This course requires fundamental interest in art history, literature, Britain and Victorian times. It demands a keen eye and ear for personal interpretation and commentary, the ability to connect previously acquired knowledge in general European culture – all the way from Plato - with more specific course contents and a capacity to listen and memorize. A taste for biography and anecdote will equally help.
Weekly two-hour lectures delivered in English are based on the study of pairs (one poem and its illustration) posted one week ahead on the ICP platform. This includes detailed textual/visual analysis of both works and the exploration of commentary perspectives based on the key notion of correspondence—its presence, absence, mode or degree. The overall aim is to reveal underlying problematics and possible theses preparing students for the writing of essays. While magisterial tuition is prominent, individual reaction and questioning is always invited. A general introduction is also provided in the first two weeks.
Assessment and Final Grade
Course validation depends entirely on a two-hour written examination at the end of the semester. This requires the writing of an essay in English based on the study of the subject pair, i.e. poem and its illustration.
Course Requirements
Regular attendance and weekly preparation work are necessary for success; likewise with further reading and watching of recommended sources—passive listening and taking of notes is not enough. Training oneself for essay writing via systematic drafting of outlines or sample introductions is also very useful. Asking questions, looking up references, finding alternative illustrations, searching for Victorian-related documentaries, exploring symbolism—taking initiatives is the key word.
Bibliography
BEVIS, Matthew. The Oxford Handbook of Victorian Poetry. Oxford: OUP, 2013.
GOLDMAN, Paul. Victorian Illustration. London: Lund Humphries Publishers Ltd., 2004.
POULSON, Christine. The Quest for the Grail: Arthurian Legend in British Art 1840-1920. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1999.
PRAZ, Mario (1896-1982). Mnemosyne. The Parallel Between Literature and the Visual Arts. Oxford: OUP, 1970.
RICKS, Christopher. The New Oxford Book of Victorian Verse. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2008.
Libraries
Practical information
