John Dryden, Stuart Laureate: Poetry and Politics in Restoration England (VS1) (U04084)

? Credit Points : 20 ? SCQF Level : 10 ? Acronym : LLC-3-U04084

This course encourages students to explore the polticis of literary writing during the Restoration. Taking as its central focus the post of Poet Laureate and it smost influential incumbent, John Dryden, this course investigates literature as a public discourse: its presentations of sex, gender, religion, and private and public identity. Beginning with a discussion of Dryden's celebrations of national events such as the restoration of Charles the Second, it goes on to examine his key part in the transformation of dramatic performance in the re-opened theatres, the political and propagandistic roles of his poetry during the crisis about royal succession in the 1670s and 80s, his engagement in the new modes of party politics, the continual tensions over religious belief, and his loss of the Laureateship in the aftermath of the Revolution. Students will also have the opportunity to consider how Dryden's practice and theory shaped the ways in which the literature of the period related to classical literary precedents and to other art forms such as painting and music.

Entry Requirements

? This course is only available to part year visiting students.

? This course is a variant of the following course : U04083

? Special Arrangements for Entry : Numbers are limited and students taking degrees not involving English or Scottish literature need the written approval of the head of English Literature.

? Costs : Essential course texts

Subject Areas

Home subject area

English Literature, (School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures, Schedule G)

Delivery Information

? Normal year taken : 3rd year

? Delivery Period : Semester 1 (Blocks 1-2)

? Contact Teaching Time : 2 hour(s) per week for 10 weeks

? Other Required Attendance : 1 hour(s) per week for 10 weeks

Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course successful students will have learned to explore the politicsof lterary representation in the late seventeenth centiry, in terms of both the theories of literature produced during the period and practical examples of literary writing. They will understand how literature functioned as a public discourse engaged both in part-political conflicts and celebrations of national identity. They will recognise and be able to debate how theories of literary production and of literatures relations with other art forms such as painting and music developed during the Restoration period and continue to shape the ways in which literature is considered today.