This course entails a close study of the work of John Keats (1795-1821). Proceeding more or less chronologically, we will read some of his most popular works (such as the 1819 odes, a selection of sonnets, “The Eve of St Agnes”, and “La Belle Dame sans Merci”) and his long narrative poems (Endymion and the unfinished Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion) in the context of his life and ideas. Setting his letters alongside his poems, we will consider concepts such as negative capability and the “camelion poet”, Keats’s approach to beauty and truth, and influences from classical mythology and medievalism to Dante, Spenser, and Milton.
Readings
Barnard, John, editor. John Keats: The Complete Poems. 2nd ed., Penguin, 1977
The textbook for this course is John Barnard’s excellent edition of Keats’s complete poetry and selected letters; any readings not from this text will be provided. Andrew Motion’s Keats is the authoritative biography, highly recommended but not compulsory.
Assessment
- Attendance and participation (10%)
- Exam (40%)
- Portfolio of close readings (50%)
**Subject to change**
Prerequisites
- 200
- 290
Additional information
This course is repeatable for credit under different topic titles.
