Fall 2004: English 3450-001; CRN24356
Dryden, Swift, and Pope
TR 10-11.15 White 218 Hugh Ormsby-Lennon, SAC 466 Office Hours TR 2.30-3.45
COMMUNICATION. E-mail: hugh.ormsby-lennon@villanova.edu (this is best). Feel free to call me directly at home: 215-592-8102. A call there is more immediately effective than one to my office: x94655. For emergencies with papers, I have a home fax 215-238-1187, but please clear the transmission with me first.
I shall be using e-mail to communicate with the class on a regular basis. Please keep up to date. Students who have personal e-mail accounts (yahoo, hotmail &c) must still use Villanova web-mail to keep abreast of my communications. Please note that my home page has many links to sites that are of direct relevance to this class; visits to them will prove rewarding.
Both this syllabus and protocols for my classes can be directly accessed from my home page.
CLASS DESCRIPTION. The restoration of Charles II to the throne of England in 1660 inaugurated a new and exciting (if divisive) age. The impact of the king’s restoration upon literature was far-reaching. In prose, a new “plain style” established itself as the norm; in poetry, the “heroic couplet” became the form most commonly used; in drama, new varieties of comedy and tragedy were now acted indoors, with actresses assuming female roles that had previously been played by boys.
The era of John Dryden (1631-1700), Jonathan Swift (1667-1745), and Alexander Pope (1688-1744) was an intensely exciting one with spectacular changes in politics, religion, science, architecture, music, and culture. Dryden witnessed (from afar) the execution of Charles I in 1649. The aftermath of the Puritan Revolution (1640-1660) was experienced well into the eighteenth century. All three writers commented so extensively upon the events of their times that we may see them as “public” rather than as “private” writers.
In this class, we shall study Dryden, Swift, and Pope against the backdrop of their era. The court of Charles II, the Plague of London, the Great Fire of London, the rebuilding and growth of London, the Popish Plot, the Exclusion Crisis, the Glorious Revolution, the Hanoverian Succession, and Jacobite Rebellions will all provide a context for studying literary masterpieces. Just as importantly, we shall be concerned with the popular culture—fairs, pulp literature, astrology, religious cults—to which all three writers responded. In addition, we shall sample the works of some of their important contemporaries like Samuel Pepys, John Wycherley, and the Earl of Rochester. The engravings of William Hogarth will provide us with a vibrant sense of the physical world through which all of these writers moved, both indoors and outdoors.
Students are exhorted to read the introduction to “The Restoration and the Eighteenth Century” in the Norton Anthology (7th ed), I, 2045-2070, as well as the headnotes to the individual authors whom we shall discuss. Most highly recommended, too, are the headnotes in A Pepys Anthology; these are especially concise and informative.
To this remodeled version of a course I have offered regularly three new books have been added: John Cottingham’s brilliantly succinct Descartes, William Rankin’s comic-book Introducing Newton and Classical Physics (“the international bestseller”), and Iain Pears’ An Instance of the Fingerpost, the internationally best-selling thriller that dramatizes the politics, religion, and especially the medicine and science of the period. Each of these three additions is designed to highlight the relationship of science to literature during the era. That the Restoration was the most productive period of English science (if not of technology) Newton attests. The influence of Descartes was marked if controversial and Cottingham’s book will allow students to see how issues they have examined in CHS 1001 were played out in the intellectual life of the period. For both Descartes and Newton Swift, however, had the profoundest contempt. His contempt for Descartes was widely shared but his contempt for Newton was unusual.
READING LIST: please note acronyms
The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 7th ed. (Norton, 2000): NA
R. and L. Latham ed., A Pepys Anthology. (Univ. of California Press, 1999): PEP
John Dryden, Marriage-a-la-Mode, ed. D. Crane (Norton/New Mermaids, 1991)
William Wycherley, The Country Wife, ed. James Ogden (Norton/New Mermaids, 1991)
Lord Rochester, Poems, ed. P. Lyons (Everyman, 1996)
William Hogarth, Engravings, ed. S. Shesgreen (Dover, 1973): HOG
Jonathan Swift, Writings, ed. R. Greenberg and W. Piper (Norton, 1973)
William Rankin, Newton and Classical Physics (Totem, 2000)
John Cottingham, Descartes (Routledge, 1999)
Iain Pears, An Instance of the Fingerpost (Penguin, 1999)
SYLLABUS:
Aug 26 Introduction to the class
31 Introduction to the class
Sept 2 Introduction to the class
7 Hogarth’s illustrations to Hudibras HOG, 5-16; Samuel Butler, from Hudibras, NA, 2155-2161. Also examine Execution, Reward, Credulity, HOG, 70, 80, 95; How to read An Instance of the Fingerpost.
9 Saint Thomas of Villanova Day: Meet from 9.30-10.20
Pepys and the Restoration: PEP 3-9, 129-132, 143-153. 173-5, 273,138-42
Begin Rochester,“To his Sacred Majesty,” 3-4 ,“In the Fields of Lincoln’s Inn”48-9,“In the Isle of Britain,” 88-9, “On the King,” 96, “Nelly,” 99 “Dialogue,” 108
Sept 14-16 The “Reform of Numbers” and Royal Society
Familiarize yourself with the map of London: OA endpaper
Conclude Rochester.
Henry Vaughan, “Regeneration,” NA, 1617-9 (“unreformed numbers”)
Waller’s “On St James’s Park” (to be distributed)
Rochester, “A Ramble in St. James’s Park, 51-55.
Dryden, “To Dr. Charleton” (to be distributed)
Abraham Cowley, “Of Wit,” NA, 1676-8; “To Hobbes” and “To the Royal Society” (to be distributed)
Thomas Sprat, from The History of the Royal Society (to be distributed)
Pepys on the new science and old beliefs, PEP, 118-126, 167-173, 220-28
Hogarth, “Doctors,” HOG, plates 12, 35, 40, 53, 80
An Instance of the Fingerpost: noting the importance of wise women, witches, madness, transfusions, ideologies of science and of religion etc
Cottingham’s Descartes, 3-17; Rankin’s Newton (as much as possible)
Sept 21-23 London
Refamiliarize yourself with the map of London: NA endpaper.
Pepys on the Plague and Fire, 200-204, 118-26
Dryden, from Annus Mirabilis, NA, 2073-4; sample his “Prose Criticism,” NA, 2114-22
Dryden, “Mac Flecknoe,” NA, 2100-2106
Swift, “A Description of Morning,” “A Description of a City Shower,” Writings, 518-20
Hogarth, “Midnight Modern Conversation,” “Four Times of Day,” “Beer Street,” “Gin Lane,” HOG, Plates, 25, 42-5, 75-6
Sept 28-30: Dryden’s Marriage a la Mode in context
Dryden, Marriage a la Mode
Pepys as husband and theatre-goer, PEP, 58-57, 112-117
Rochester,“All my past life,” 35, “Against Constancy,” 15, “Woman’s Honour,” 50, “An Allusion to Horace,” 67-70,“The Mistress,” 80-1
Hogarth, “Marriage-a-la-Mode,” HOG, plates 51-56
Oct 5-7 Wycherley’s Country Wife in context
Wycherley, The Country Wife
Pepys’s wardrobe, amours, and jealousies, 72-75, 83-7, 247-254, 255-69
Rochester, “On Poet Ninny,” 37-8, “Regime de Vivre,” 46, “Vulcan, contrive me,” 66, “Signior D.,” 91-93
Hogarth, “The Rake’s Progress,” “Before and After,” HOG, plates 28-35, 37-8
October 12-14 Fall Break
[Diligent students will begin reading Swift’s Tale of a Tub &c, Writings, 263-420. Skip the “Apology” if it tires you Try to figure out why this is one of the world’s great masterpieces of satire–and a best-selling work of its own period. The Tale’s manifest and intentional difficulties have not prevented readers from responding to its brilliance even when they have not fully grasped its manifold meanings.]
Oct 19 Conclude Wycherley’s Country Wife in context
Oct 21 NO CLASS–I shall be speaking on Swift at an academic conference
October 26–28: Politics, Aesthetics, Philosophy, Criticism
Dryden, Absalom and Achitophel, NA, 2075-99; a difficult masterpiece, but concentrate upon lines 1-83, 150-86, 543-67, 631-681, 723-810, 939-1031; passages from Absalom and Achitophel, Part II (to be distributed)
Dryden, “A Song for St. Cecilia’s Day,” “Alexander’s Feast,” NA, 2106-2113
Rochester, “A Satire against Mankind,” 27-32
[Try to read Pope, “Essay on Criticism,” NA, 2509-2525]
Swift, “Meditation,” “Tritical Essay,” Writings, 421-6.
Hogarth, “Analysis of Beauty,” “Battle of the Pictures,” HOG plates 50, 84-5.
October 28: First Paper Due (see below for details); conferences will be arranged to discuss revisions of this essay as a requirement for a “writing enriched” course.
November 2-4, 9-11, 16-18, 23 Swift in Context
Nov 2, 4, 9 Swift, A Tale of a Tub (skip the “Apology”), Battel of the Books (skim this unless you are really having fun),Writings, 263-396. Concentrate, initially, on the opening “Prolegomena” (275-301) and the “Digressions” in the Tale
Backgrounds to London, Grub Street, pulp literature, fairgoing
Hogarth, “Southwark Fair,” “Distrest Poet,” “Bedlam,” HOG, plates 27, 41, 35
the religious “tale” in A Tale of a Tub, Writings, culminating in The Mechanical Operation of the Spirit; riff The Tatler 230, 448-52 (on language); ruminate upon “An Argument against Abolishing Christianity, 460-471.
Cottingham, Descartes, 18-35
Swift on astrology, “The Bickerstaff Papers,” Writings, 426-441.
Hogarth, “The Sleepy Congregation,” “Credulity, Superstition and Fanaticism,” 36, 95
Nov 16, 18 Begin reading Gulliver’s Travels in preparation since the poems we shall discuss in class are short. Swift’s Poems, Writings, 522-79. We shall pay particular attention to “The Progress of Beauty,” “Stella’s Birthday” (1719 + 1721 + 1727), “The Lady’s Dressing Room,” “A Beautiful Young Nymph Going to Bed,” “Strephon and Chloe,” “Cassinus and Peter,” “Verses on the Death of Dr. Swift.” Students should bear in mind potential comparisons both with Dryden and Lord Rochester.
Lady Montagu, NA, 2588-90: a poetical answer to Swift
Hogarth, “A Harlot’s Progress,” “Before and After,” HOG, plates 18-23, 37-8.
Nov 23 Swift, Gulliver’s Travels, Books I & II; “A Modest Proposal,” Writings, iv-124, 502-509
Thanksgiving Recess
Nov 30 Swift, Gulliver’s Travels Books III & IV, Writings, 127-260
Rankin, Newton; Cottingham, Descartes
December 2-7: Pope on Women and on Society
Pope, The Rape of the Lock, NA, 2525-44 [Dedicated students should also read Epistle to Arbuthnot, extracts from the Dunciad, To a Lady] 2563-73, 2573-79, 2593-2599]
Dec 9 Conclude Pope. Retrospective of Class. What has An Instance of the Fingerpost taught us?
FINAL EXAMINATION: FRI. DEC. 17, WHITE 118, 1.30-4.00
FINAL PAPERS DUE
A Suggestion about Films Students are encouraged to see a series of movies/videos that will help bring the period to life: Barry Lyndon ( a Kubrick masterpiece), Dangerous Liaisons, Gulliver’s Travels (the TV mini-series with Ted Danson, Mary Steenburgen and James Fox as the villainous “Master Bates”), Joseph Andrewes, Ridicule, The Three Musketeers, The Four Musketeers, Tom Jones (another masterpiece) and Restoration. Tell me what else I might add. You are encouraged to compose a paper exploring cinematographic approaches to the period.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
A detailed explanation of grades, attendance policies, mode of teaching, conferences, expectations of academic honesty, writing center visits, classroom etiquette, and other topics will be found in the “Protocols” on my home page. Pro tem these protocols can be accessed in the final section of my syllabus for 1050-028.
This is a writing enriched class. Students will meet in conference with the instructor to discuss revisions to their first draft paper prior to its resubmission. When writing their papers, students should consult such relevant links from my home page as “Helpful Hints for Writing Essays” and “Quotation.” In the former, I allude frequently to Richard Lanham’s “paramedic method” from Revising Prose. This is an outstanding guide to writing well; I encourage students to buy it.
Grades will be based on the first paper (4-6 pp; 25%), its revision (15%), final paper (6-10 pp; 25%), contributions to class discussion (15%), and final examination (20%). Since there will be no quizzes or mid-term examination, poor performance on the final will militate against a student’s reception of a good grade. (Poor performance will suggest that a student’s reading has been tardy, superficial, or desultory.) The final will be open book (bring the kitchen sink!) and will consist of two parts: (i) identification (with appropriate commentary on style and theme) of representative passages from the works that we have read together; (ii) a comparison of two sections of prose from An Instance of the Fingerpost which will illuminate themes developed in the course and (iii) an essay question on one or more engravings from Hogarth (to be named at the examination) which invites you to consider them in conjunction with literary works or themes from our semester’s reading.
The first paper (4-6 pp) is due on Thursday October 28th. You are invited to write on one of the following topics but you should feel free to propose others (for example, on the film Restoration or on other movies that you have viewed).
1. Compare two short poems (or extracts from longer poems) or two passages of prose or a passage of prose and a short poem (or extract) in such a way as to highlight themes from the period that have been discussed thus far in the course. You may wish to explore contrasts between hudibrastics, pindarics, lyrics, and the heroic couplet.
2. Explore Restoration attitudes to marriage and sexuality in connection with those presented in Dryden’s Marriage a la Mode, Wycherley’s Country Wife, and works by Pepys and Rochester which we have read in conjunction with those plays. Were women as powerless as some scholars have led us to believe? You may concentrate upon one work and make necessary allusions to others.
3. I have only recently begun to assign works by Pepys and Rochester in order to illuminate the Restoration and early works by Dryden. Discuss the usefulness of these two new additions to the syllabus of the course. The weaker link (if any)? Be frank (but coherent). You may prefer to discuss three completely new arrivals: Descartes, Newton, An Instance of the Fingerpost.
Topics (as well as a due date) for the term paper will be established during class discussion after the completion of the first paper. In the interim, here are some suggestions.
4. Compare Dryden’s verse portrayal of Zimri (Absalom and Achitophel, lines 544-68) with Samuel Butler’s prose character in “A Duke of Bucks” (to be distributed) in the context of Dryden’s Discourse on Satire, NA, 2120-21. You should also consult either the Encyclopaedia Britannica (11th ed) or the Dictionary of National Biography for the life of the Second Duke of Buckingham (make sure you have the right one!). How well does literary imagination of Dryden and Butler square with historical fact? How have the authors embellished or illuminated the historical record.
5. Compare the portrayal of women by two bachelors, Jonathan Swift and Alexander Pope. Are the perpetrators of these works as sexist as they have been charged? Here the section “Debating Women,” NA, 2584-2605 will be helpful as will portions of Pepys’s Diary.]
6. Develop a topic on A Tale of a Tub and Swift’s related writings, Clear the topic with me before you begin tackling it,
7. Paddle your own essayistic canoe with my blessings and encouragement. For example, you may want to write on An Instance of the Fingerpost, highlighting what it has taught you about the period. I exhort you to develop your own topics if none of those set out above pleases you.
I actively solicit student input.