English 841 Spring 2004 Joseph Viscomi
Thurs: 6:00-8:30 office GL 504 962-8764
Greenlaw 321 office hrs. Tues 12:00-2:15
jsviscom@email.unc.edu & by appt.
TEXTS: Revolutions in Romantic Art and Literature, Course Packet [Kinko’s, under Viscomi]
Blake, William. The Marriage of Heaven and Hell (copy H). Ed. G. Keynes, Oxford
University Press, 1975.
The William Blake Archive: <http://blakearchive.org>
ART RESERVE: Books and Art Catalogues on Reserve in Art Library, Hanes Art Center, under catalogue number [see separate sheet]
RARE BOOK RESERVE: Facsimiles of William Blake’s Illuminated Books on Reserve in Rare Books, Wilson Library
GASKIN LIBRARY RESERVE (Greenlaw, 5th floor): Many of the books and readings at the Art Library are also in Gaskin, as are books on romanticism with articles on graphic arts, lyrical poets, landscape painting. There are also many articles in folders, some assigned reading and many to assist you in your research.
For Advanced Research:
Index for 18th-Century Periodicals and Journals on MicroFilm in Davis Library: Z692.S5.U56.1981
Bibliography of 18th-Century Aesthetics, ed. John Draper. Davis PE 25 A5 HEFT 71
in Gaskin, article folder.
see also bibliography in Peter de Bolla’s Discourse of the Sublime
in Gaskin, article folder
for essays in printed journals that are online http://www.jstor.org/, access from unc libraries only
NB. “cp” refers to course pack page numbers and not the page numbers of the articles in the course pack; “pp” refers to page numbers in books and articles on reserve.
1/13 Introduction to course:
1/20 Drawing as Paradigm, Print as Reproduction
concepts of taste, originality, models, education, spontaneity, translation, and deception
Reynolds on sketches, from Discourse VIII (handout and cp 110)
Gilpin, Essay on Prints, cp 202-224
Gilpin, from Three Essays, cp 146-7, 153-173 [essay 3, On Sketching Landscapes]
Selection of comments on prints and drawings, cp 286-87
1/27 Technical and aesthetic origin of Blake's illuminated printing:
slide lecture on engraving and other print technologies
Blake, Prospectus for illuminated books, cp 296
Blake’s letters: 1818 to Turner, 1827 to Cumberland, cp 330
Critical comments on Illuminated Printing, cp 319
Landseer, Lecture III, cp 348-69
Viscomi, “Illuminated Printing,” http://sites.unc.edu/viscomi/illuminated_frameset.htm
ART REFERENCE:
Gascoinge, How to Identify Prints, pp 1a-c; 5a-d, 6a-c,
7a-c, 9a-c, 10a-c, 12, 14-17, 21-26; glossary and vocabulary
GASKIN LIBRARY
Wilton, The Print in England, essay on Art and Genius, pp 6-11 (folder)
Blake, The
Early Illuminated Books (vol. 3 of 6 vol. Blake Trust series) Introduction,
pp. 9-15
Viscomi, “William Blake, Illuminated Books, and the Concept of Difference”(folder and
http://sites.unc.edu/viscomi/concept.htm)
Eaves, “Blake and the Artistic Machine” (folder)
Optional: Viscomi, Blake and the Idea of the Book, chapters 1-15
RARE BOOK RESERVE WILLIAM BLAKE ARCHIVE
Selection of Illuminated Books browse Works in Archive, use various features
Essick and Viscomi, “Inquiry into Blake’s Method of Color Printing,” Blake/An Illustrated Quarterly (Winter 2001/02): 73-102. www.ibiblio.org/jsviscom/inquiry
Essick and Viscomi, “Blake’s Method of Color Printing: Some Responses and Further Observations,” Blake/An Illustrated Quarterly (Fall 2002): 49-64.
http://www.rochester.edu/college/eng/blake/response/text.html
2/3 William Blake: The Marriage of Heaven and Hell (copy H, in Oxford, also in Blake Archive)
GASKIN LIBRARY:
Blake, The Early Illuminated Books,
introduction and commentary to The
Marriage
(copy F), pp. 113-140
2/10 William Blake: The Marriage of Heaven and Hell (copy H)
Hazlitt, On Imitation, cp 391-2, On Originality, cp 429-32
Blake letters, 1799 to Trusler and to Cumberland, cp. 321-23
Coleridge, On Poesy and Art (on imitation and copy) cp 370-74
WILLIAM BLAKE ARCHIVE
The Marriage of Heaven and Hell, copies C, D, F, H, I
GASKIN LIBRARY:
Viscomi, “The Evolution of The Marriage of Heaven and Hell” parts I, II, III (folder)
(also online in Collected Essays, under “Blake in the 18th and 19th Centuries”: http://sites.unc.edu/viscomi/frontend_page.html)
Eaves, “Romantic Expressive Theory” (folder)
2/17 technical and aesthetic context for illuminated printing revisited: Blake’s art theories
Reynolds, Discourses III, IV, VI, VII, cp 55-109;
Hazlitt, on Reynolds, Genius and Originality, Imitation of Nature, the Ideal, cp 407-19
Hazlitt, Why the Arts are not Progressive, cp. 389-90
Blake's Annotations to Reynolds (c. 1808) cp 297-314
Blake, from the Descriptive Cat (1809) and Laocoon, cp
315-17 (option: for complete
DC, see Erdman edition of Blake’s
poetry in the Blake Archive)
Blake, Public Address (c. 1809) cp 289-95
GASKIN LIBRARY:
Introduction and Commentary on Laocoon in Milton a Poem
(vol. 5 of Blake Trust
series)
Read, “The Context of Blake’s Public Address” (folder)
Eaves, “Inquiry into the Real and Imaginary Obstructions …” (folder)
Eaves, “The Sister Arts in British Romanticism” (folder)
Hipple, The Beautiful, the Sublime, and the Picturesque, section on Reynolds (folder)
2/24 The Sublime, the Beautiful, and the Picturesque
Burke: A Philosophical Enquiry , cp 1-38
Gilpin, Three Essays, cp 123-173
GASKIN LIBRARY
Bicknell, Beauty, Horror and Immensity , preface to catalogue (folder and catalogue)
Barrell, “The Republic of Taste,” in Barrell’s The Politics of Art Theory from Reynolds to Hazlitt (folder)
Eaves, review of Barrell (folder)
Part I of Bolla’s The Discourse of the Sublime (folder)
Hipple, on Burke (folder)
Kroeber , “Romantic Historicism: the Temporal Sublime” (folder, book)
RARE BOOKS, WILSON LIBRARY, EXHIBITION ON ROMANTICISM
Take home reports for Part I due.
ORAL REPORTS:
3/2 The Picturesque in practice
slide lecture on the development of watercolor painting, 1760-90
Gilpin, Two Essays, cp 183-201; The Amateur’s Assistant, cp 230-35
Cozens, The New Method, cp 225-64 + illus.
Craig, Aiken, and reviews attacking the Picturesque, cp 265-73
Hazlitt, On the Picturesque and Ideal, cp 433
ART RESERVE (* Gaskin Library):
Bicknell, Wordsworth’s Guide to the Lakes,
(introduction, itinerary, chronology; look at the pictures)
Wilton, Pars' Journey Through the Alps
Wilcox, British Watercolors
*Wilcox, Line of Beauty
*Wilton, British Watercolor s, 1750-1850
(examine Smith, Sandby, Towne, Pars, J.R. Cozens, A. Cozens)
* Parris, Landscape in Britain, browse through
Rosenblum, Romantic Art in Britain,
browse through
Wordsworth, et. al, Wordsworth & the Age of English Romanticism, parts 4-5
ORAL REPORTS:
Spring Break 3/5-15
3/16 workshop in drawing
Cozens' The New Method; art supplies: large sheets of drawing
paper and transparent papers, black ink and large watercolor
brushes, pencils
3/23 Watercolor Painting
slide lecture on Girtin, Cotman, Turner, Constable
Turner, Constable, handout
Hazlitt, On the Pleasure of Painting, cp 420-28
ART RESERVE (* Gaskin Library):
Wilcox, British Watercolors
Butlin, Gadney, *Parris, *Rosenblum: browse
Wordsworth and the Age of English Romanticism, part 6
GASKIN LIBRARY
Wilton, British Watercolors, 1750-1850, (entries on Girtin, Cotman, Turner,
Constable);
Reynolds, Constable’s England
Rosenthal, Constable: The Painter and His Landscapes
Shanes, Turner: The Great Watercolors
Kroeber, “The Clarity of the Mysterious and
the Obscurity of the Familiar: Friedrich
and Turner” (folder)
Meisel, “The Material Sublime: Martin, Byron, Turner, and the Theater” (folder,
book)
ORAL REPORTS:
3/30 Samuel Taylor Coleridge
lyrical poetry, handout
“On the Principles of Genial Criticism,”cp 375-386
GASKIN LIBRARY:
Simpson, “Romanticism, Criticism, and Theory” (folder, book)
Keach, “Romanticism and Language” (folder, book)
Magnuson, “Politics of ‘Frost at Midnight’” (folder, book)
Woodring, “What Coleridge Thought of Pictures” (folder, book)
ORAL REPORTS:
4/6 William Wordsworth's lyrical poetry
Advertisement to the Lyrical Ballads, cp 332
poems from the Lyrical Ballads, cp handout
Gilpin, Observations on the River Wye, cp 174-182
GASKIN LIBRARY
Swingle, “Wordsworth’s ‘Picture of the Mind’” (folder, book)
Johnston, “The Politics of ‘Tintern Abbey’” (folder, book)
Abrams, “On Political Readings of Lyrical Ballads” (folder, book)
ORAL REPORTS:
4/13 Wordsworth cont.
Preface to Lyrical Ballads, cp 333-44
"On the Sublime and Beautiful," cp handout
excerpts from the Prelude, cp handout
GASKIN LIBRARY
Kroeber, “Beyond the Imaginable: Wordsworth and Turner” (folder, book)
Johnston “The Triumphs of Failure: Wordsworth’s Lyrical Ballads
of 1798” (folder,
book)
ORAL REPORTS:
4/20 Wordsworth cont.
excerpts from the Pedlar, cp handout
excerpts from the Ruined Cottage, cp handout
excerpts from the Prelude, cp handout
GASKIN LIBRARY
Johnston, “The Romantic Idea-Elegy: the Nature of Politics and the Politics of Nature”
(folder)
4/27 Wordsworth cont. (optional).
Requirements: short essay answers to a study question on sections 1 and 2, which will be due 2/24 and 3/30, and a 15 minute oral report. One essay.
The essay is due at the end of the semester but will be developed concurrent with the class. The paper can be on any of the poets, artists, critics, or printmakers of the period, or any interdisciplinary topic, that is, a comparative analysis of works in various media, or on any relevant aesthetic issue, theme, subject, or concept, including a further development of study or exam questions or of your oral report. The paper can be a collaborative, creative, and/or multi-media Web project. I will expect you to discuss your ideas for papers with me and with other members in the class.
Study questions for Parts I, II, III. These questions can also be used as topics for your class paper.
Part I. For the first take home reports, answer two of the following questions in 4 or more pages. Due 2/24.
1. Discuss the ways in which Blake and Landseer agree and disagree about the state and status of printmaking in England in the Romantic period.
2. What is Blake's idea of books, prints, and/or readers in The Marriage of Heaven and Hell?
3. Discuss the ways in which text and/or illustrations of The Marriage of Heaven and Hell or The Book of Urizen comment on the creative process, perception, or the usurpation of originals by imitations.
4. Reynolds recommends "not the industry of the hands, but of the mind." Discuss in detail what he means by this and why he advocates this position.
5. Blake states "How very Anxious Reynolds is to Disprove and Contemn Spiritual Perceptions." Explain what Blake means by this and why he says it.
6. Both Blake and Reynolds are concerned with the way that art is taught and perceived. Examine some of the main topics, like inspiration and genius, on which they agree and disagree.
7. Discuss how Blake and Hazlitt agree and disagree regarding theories of Reynolds or on the topics of progress in the arts, imitation, genius, and originality.
Part II. For the second take home reports, answer two of the following questions in 4 or more pages. Due 3/30
1. What are Cozens objectives in the New Method and why does he consider them important? Are they realized in practice? If so, how; if not, why not?
2. Compare and contrast the drawing instructions and practices of Cozens (or Gilpin) and Blake (or Craig), using examples from their work and/or writings (or works executed in their styles) to support your findings.
3. How do you think Burke, Reynolds, Blake, and Cozens would respond to the watercolors of Turner reproduced in Butlin? Explain their responses by citing their writings or painting styles.
4. Define the Picturesque traveler and argue the case for or against him, using the writings and works of the critics and painters to support your claims.
5. In what ways does Gilpin see himself as extending the aesthetic theories of Burke and/or Reynolds?
6. Discuss the painting styles of Towne, J. R. Cozens, and Girtin in relation to one another, to the topographical ideal, and to the late watercolor paintings of Turner.
7. Discuss a few watercolor drawings or paintings that express Burkean ideas of the sublime and beautiful.
Part III. Study questions and potential topics for final papers
1. Discuss the ways in which Burke's idea of the sublime or Gilpin's idea of the picturesque figure into the poetry of Wordsworth or Coleridge. Focus on passages from the Prelude or one or two other poems.
2. Discuss the ways in which Burke's idea of the sublime or Gilpin's idea of the picturesque figure into the prose of Wordsworth or Coleridge. Focus on passages from the Preface, essay on Wordsworth’s "The Sublime and the Beautiful," or Coleridge’s "On the Principles of Genial Criticism."
3. Examine the themes of mediation and/or natural vs arbitrary sign-systems, as expressed in the writings or creative works (paintings, drawings, prints, or poems) of two or more poets and artists.
4. Discuss the use of painting as a metaphor or analogy in the poetry and/or prose of Wordsworth and Coleridge.
5. Discuss the ways in Wordsworth and/or Coleridge “picture” nature, i.e., how they verbally describe pictures and the picturesque.
6. Examine Hazlitt’s views on originality and imitation or on depicting nature in art and compare them with Wordsworth’s, Coleridge’s, or Blake’s.
ART RESERVE BOOK LIST
| ND1140.B36. 1986 | Barrell, J | Political Theory of Painting from Reynolds to Hazlitt |
| *ND1354.4.B47.1 | Bermingham, A. | Landscape
and Ideology |
| *N6766.B52. 1981 | Bicknell, P. | Beauty, Horror and Immensity |
| *ND2240.B535. 1987 | Bicknell, P. | Gipin to Ruskin |
| DA 670. L1 W67. 1984 | Bicknell, P. | Wordsworth's Guide to the Lakes |
| *PR 4142. E285. 1998 | Blake, W. | The Early Illuminated Books |
| *PR 4144.U7. 1995 | Blake, W. | The Urizen Books |
| *N6797.B57.B87 | Butlin, M. | Complete Paintings & Drawings of William Blake |
| Folio ND 1942 T8. B8 1965 | Butlin, M. | Turner's Watercolors |
| *N6766.C8 | Cummings, F. | Romantic Art in Britain |
| *PE 25 A5 HEFT 71 | Draper, J. | Bibliography on18th Century Aesthetics [Davis] |
| NE628.P756. 1985 | Fitzwilliam | The Print in England |
| ND 1942 C66 F55 | Fleming-Williams | Constable's Landscape Drawings |
| NC 242 C5 G33 | Gadney, R. | Constable's Oil Sketches |
| NE 850 G37 1986 | Gasgoinge, B. | How to Recognize Prints [reference section] |
| Folio ND497 C7. H5 1985 | Hill, D. | Constable's English Landscape Scenery |
| BH221.G72.H5 | Hipple, W. J. | The Beautiful, The Sublime, The Picturesque |
| BH301.L3 H8 | Hussey, C. | The Picturesque |
| *ND 1354.4 P37.1973 | Parris | Landscape in Britain |
| N6797 C67 A4.1982 | Rajnai, M. | John Sell Cotman |
| N6766.C8 | Rosenblum | Romantic Art in Britain |
| Folio ND 1942 T8. A4 | Shanes, E. | Turner's Picturesque Views in England and Wales |
| *NE 642.B5.V57.1993 | Viscomi, J. | Blake and the Idea of the Book |
| ND 1928 W533. 1985 | Wilcox | British Watercolors |
| *ND 1928 W55. 1977 | Wilton | British Watercolor 1750-1850 |
| *N6797.T88 A4. 1980 | Wilton | Turner and The Sublime |
| Folio NC 242 P33. W5 | Wilton | William Pars Journey Through the Alps |
| ND 1942 T8. W55 1982 B | Wilton | Turner Abroad |
| PR5885.W67.1987 | Wordsworth | Wordsworth & the Age of English Romanticism |