As befits a course structured around your independent work, we will spent the last two weeks on a single text that we select together. I imagine that text will probably be a novel, but it doesn't have to be. It should be a text that will provide a useful counterpoint to your exploration of
Tristram Shandy and the poems in our anthology and it should pull together at least some of the themes that have been addressed in the group presentations. It needs to be a book that is in print and available in an expensive (<$20) authoritative modern edition (e.g., nothing published by Kessenger or Owl or some other fly-by-night internet imprint). Here are some of the possibilities (in no particular order), drawn from texts that have already been mentioned in class:
The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole
Boswell's London Journal, 1762 - 1763
Evelina, by Frances Burney
Rasselas, by Samuel Johnson
The Vicar of Wakefield, by Oliver Goldsmith
The School for Scandal, by Richard Sheridan
Pamela, by Samuel Richardson
This list is by no means exhaustive. Please respond to this post by suggesting other texts we might consider, or by suggesting some reasons pro or con for any of these books. I hope to have a shortlist that we can vote on compiled by the end of spring break--so please weigh in!
Deadline: open (posts before midnight on Saturday 3/12 count for Week 8; posts after midnight on Saturday count for Week 9.
Pamela, by Samuel Richardson 
18 comments:
From the current list, I would be interested in reading the Vicar of Wakefield. I read it once in another English class and it was an enjoyable read compared to some of the more arduous material assigned. Regardless of my previous knowledge on the novel, I feel it definitely fits within the parameters of our class discussions. It deals with class struggle, oppression, gender roles, and many other abstract ideas addressed in the course. Furthermore, as a fairly straightforward read I feel the novel will illicit more class discussion and less confusion (as seen in Tristram Shandy, sorry).
For suggestions, I'm curious as to whether we can consider other C18 drama. Plays like Venice Preserved by Thomas Otway, a satire, or "The Rover" by Aphra Behn, a social comedy, are complex and focus on many of our class discussion.
I am interested in reading the Castle of Otranto because I encountered it throughout my research of gothic drama and would like to read it. For the rest of the class it could be useful to track the gothic farther back than Frankenstein, which I feel is a little over-taught (has anyone else had to read it more than once at this university?).
I am going to stick to the list you have given us because I do not have much experience with 18th century novels or plays. With that being said, even though I like the humor in The School for Scandal, I would rather read The Castle of Otranto. On a personal level I think it will be an entertaining read. However, it also benefits our class. As a whole the class showed interest in gothic literature and it would be useful to explore more 18th century gothic. Gathering from the brief product information on Amazon, The Castle of Otranto does not share the same plot as the stories assigned for the group project. So even though we have looked into gothic, other aspects of gothic can still be studied.
I'm cool with castle of Otronto, and I like Vicar perhaps even more. I read some Goldsmith stuff when looking for a poem for Paper 1, and he seems pretty witty and funny, and not overly long-winded.
As of now, I have no suggestions. I admit I enjoyed learning about Gothic literature the most, so I would like Castle of Otronto. The short stories I read were more entertaining, not as mind boggling, but there was still room for analysis. I could follow along the plot. Also, the knights and red eyed ladies added a mystical touch!
Also, I did my second paper on part of "The School of Scandal" and I would enjoy the satire. We're all guilty of succumbing to gossip sometimes- Perez Hilton, talking about the Jersey Shore, magazines and word of mouth. We could relate to this play a little bit more. Plus, I think it'd be fun to watch scandals unfolding and listen to different opinions in the class about gossip itself. Who doesn't love scandals?
From the list you have provided, I would be really interested in reading the entirety of "School for Scandal." I used the excerpt from class for my second paper and I think it combines the topics we have discussed in class--theatrics, sentimentalism--really well. We can also explore the print culture behind that text--it's spread through society, the reactions to the text, etc. I also agree with 217 in that reading about the gossip and scandals would be quite entertaining.
I also think another interesting text to explore would be Northanger Abbey in its entirety. As a text that satirizes the Gothic, I think it presents a great example of how the gothic was treated. It also utilizes sentimentalism in the male characters, which is another interesting facet to explore.
I personally have never read "The School for Scandal" but many of my friends have had to read it in their classes and I've heard very interesting things. It seems like it would tie in well with other topics that we have discussed throughout the semester, and like 217 said: "We're all guilty of succumbing to gossip sometimes...We could relate to this play a little bit more...it'd be fun to watch scandals unfolding and listen to different opinions in the class about gossip itself. Who doesn't love scandals?" I think this is a great point! It seems like this play would be very enjoyable and entertaining to read. It would definitely be a different format than what we typically read in this class.
I'm not overly familiar with texts from the 18th century, so for my recommendations I'll just stick to what's on the list.
I read Vicar of Wakefield my freshman year for another class, and while I don't remember exact plot points, I remember really enjoying it. It was a fairly accessible text and easy to understand, which I think would make it a good choice for class, because then people may feel more comfortable during discussion (as someone mentioned above, Tristram can be kind of confusing...).
I also really enjoyed the excerpt we read from The School for Scandal; I've never read it before in its entirety and really enjoyed the ironic humor we encountered in class. I think that drama can be a nice break from the prose and poetry pieces that we typically read as well.
I really do not have an idea about what I would like to read based on the list because I have not read any of those before or know what they are about. Though I would like to read something that is funny or either Gothic. I know that those two are both opposites of one another; but I liked the discussions and reading we had about Gothic literature. As far as funny goes. I don't think anyone can turn down something that has a comical twist on it.
I would like to read School for Scandal because we have not read a play for this class so far. I have not read any of the texts suggested or have any other texts I can think of as other options. But, School for Scandal (from what I've read on Wikipedia) encompasses a lot of themes discussed in this class. It might be nice to have several themes come together in one text.
In my opinion, I think the two novels I would most prefer are The School for Scandal and The Castle of Otranto. I like the idea of a comical story as in Scandal and I think it would be interesting to read and hopefully keep our interests. On the flip side, I also like reading gothic novels and I think Otranto would work well with what we have seen so far in our class. I feel that we had a presentation on gothic writing and we read some short stories but reading a novel is different, thus giving us another view of the gothic style of writing of the time.
After looking through the list you presented, I liked School for Scandal for the most. We haven't read a play yet in class, which would be a nice change of pace. Also, I tried to find other texts that could be worth considering, and the one that interested me the most was "Pamela: Or Virtue Rewarded" by Samuel Richardson. The book is described in the same terms that Tristram Shandy is. The story focuses on the life of a young servant's attempts to resist seduction by her master. Some of the content seems crude and even described as "pornography in disguise," but to what extent this is I am not sure. Another thing to consider is the length of book, which is 592 page. I'm sure we could take a similar approach to Shandy by focusing on certain passages and moments in the text.
The book can also be purchased for cheap.
Some great suggestions and observations here. So far the popular choices seem to be The Castle of Otranto and Sheridan's School for Scandal. Since I was suggested, I added links for Pamela to the original post--it would have the advantage of being a text from early in our period (in fact, many critics regard it as the dividing line between the "earlier" and "later" C18. I did NOT add links for plays by Thomas Otway and Aphra Behn, though they would be a lot of fun to read and would (like School for Scandal) balance out the poetry and prose narrative that has dominated the course readings. Unfortunately, though, both Otway and Behn wrote well before our starting point of 1740.
But keep the suggestions, thoughts, reflections, coming! And maybe we can put it to a vote next week.
I read most of Castle of Otranto during my research on Gothic literature and although I think it is quite enjoyable, I feel like I'd prefer something a little more dense to discuss in class. Perhaps we could read his play the Mysterious Mother as a good link between theater and the Gothic in 18th century literature.
I also think Ann Radcliffe's work provides a deeper meaning than just the face value of typical Gothic literature because she discusses gender issues. I'm not the biggest fan of feminism because I feel like it can easily be overemphasized but it does make for easy points on analysis and discussion. Plus I found that Radcliffe writes quite beautifully.
As far as the other suggestions go, I'd love to read the entirety of the School for Scandal. Satire is appealing to the masses.
Also, I've really enjoyed Laurence Sterne so I wouldn't mind taking a look at his a Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy. Or some of of Tobias Smollett's work since it influenced Sterne. (I think his work also influenced Dickens?)
I would have to vote for School for Scandal as well. I think it woudl be a great balance for our class. Since we have done a novel and poetry, a play would even it out. Not only that, but the material seemed something, as a class, we were better able to relate to. Sometimes Tristram Shandy can go over our heads here and there, as well as some of the poetry (not that it's not interesting, just complicated). I'd have to agree then that doing School for Scandal might lead us to better in-class discussions.
My vote is for School for Scandal. I found it to be one of the most enjoyable and accessible texts that we have read so far and I am interested in finishing it and pulling out some other themes that it encompasses. I read the Wikipedia page for School for Scandal and the Castle of Otranto, and while they both sound very interesting, I have to side with School for Scandal. I like the way it throws itself in the face of its 18th century gossipping audience. Maybe we can all learn from it and we can begin to curtail the amount of Charlie Sheen references I hear on any given day.
I think the list of texts provided here does well to represent some of our interests for the final period this semester. I might have an interest (as with the rest of class) to explore more of the text relating to the School for Scandal. I can say that I, for one, did enjoy the excerpt we did read in class, and it appears the rest of the group has similar thoughts as well. The text (from what we read) is fun, engaging, and is able to entertain the reader without the text becoming too complicated. Besides, a review of this text does give us the opportunity to act out many more scenes should we have the time. Just a thought.
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