Reverberations of Terror: 1789-1900 (ENGL20025)

This subject introduces 19th century political writing, tracing the cultures of radicalism, reaction and liberal reform that emerged after the French Revolution. It focuses on the age of mass resistance, and the often fearful reactions that dissent inspired in social and political elites. Dickens’s A Tale of Two Cities exemplifies the terror reverberating throughout the century, with its graphic crowd scenes and depictions of the underclass in revolt. We will examine literary responses to political issues including the 1790s pamphlet wars, Abolitionism, the Napoleonic Wars, the heroic age of popular radicalism, the Peterloo Massacre, Chartism, the Indian Mutiny‚ and the emergence of the women’s movement. Students will address the rise of realism and its overtly political agenda. They will consider fiction, poetry and political prose to discover how these different media informed each other. Students will encounter polemical writing alongside well-known canonical texts to gain an overview of the political climate of the long 19th century. On completion of this subject students will have gained an understanding of how this time of great change and uncertainty was captured in poetry and prose.