English 574T Syllabus

The Development of the Byronic Hero

Prof. Atara Stein                                                                                                            Spring 2005
Office: UH 437                                                                                                              Section 1
Phone: 278-3315                                                                                                           M 4-6:45 p.m.
E-mail: astein@fullerton.edu                                                                                         UH 317
Office hours: M, Tu 2-3:30 p.m.
     and by appt.

Course description: The purpose of this seminar is to examine the development of the Byronic Hero and to account for his tremendous impact, influence, and popularity both in 19th-century and contemporary culture. The course will begin by studying some of the antecedents to Byron's heroes: Milton's Satan and the villains of Gothic novels of the 1790's. The middle section of the course will consider the various permutations of the hero in Byron's own works. The last part of the course will examine Byron's influence on two 19th-century novels and on late-20th century popular culture. Byron created heroes who embody the ultimate in individualism, self-sufficiency, ambition, and aspiration, yet who are isolated, gloomy, unsatisfied, and dangerous to themselves and others. In their autonomy, their insistence on defining their own moral code, and their superhuman abilities, they provide a vicarious antidote to their readers' own sense of helplessness and powerlessness in the face of institutional oppression, yet Byron refuses to set his heroes up as role models, leaders, or guides, showing us the alienation and the perpetual inability to be satisfied that comes with "a fiery soul." Despite their bitter misanthropy and inability to form meaningful connections with others, Byron's outlaws are attractive in their staunch refusal to abide by society's codes and in their flamboyant self-realization. Both this figure and the public image of Byron himself fascinated 19th-century writers and continue to be embodied in contemporary popular texts. Class discussions will examine various critical approaches to the Byronic hero, consider the reasons for Byron and his heroes' continuing popularity and influence, and analyze the ways in which the Byronic hero is modified by his later creators in order to appeal to a target audience. The course, thus, will combine both traditional literary analysis and cultural studies, with the intention of furthering the students' own development of innovative approaches to literature and other cultural products.

Texts (available at Little Professor Book Center)
Brontë, Wuthering Heights
Byron, Cain (available at the Little Professor as a duplicated course packet)
Byron, Selected Poems
Gaiman, Sandman: Preludes and Nocturnes
Gaiman, Sandman: The Kindly Ones
Holland, Lord of the Dead
Lewis, The Monk
Maturin, Melmoth the Wanderer
Milton, Paradise Lost (not ordered; I'm assuming you have access to a copy of this)
Radcliffe, The Italian
Rice, The Vampire Lestat

Grading Policy
This course will employ the plus/minus grading system.

Course requirements:
Seminar paper and seminar report   70%
Oral report and short paper       15%
Class participation       15%
     (this includes class discussion, a short prospectus (2 pages) of your seminar paper, and
     a conference on your seminar paper)

Schedule

Week 1
1/31/05
Introduction

Week 2
2/7/05
Milton, Paradise Lost, Books 1, 2, 4, and 9.
Lewis, The Monk.

Week 3
2/14/05
Radcliffe, The Italian.

Week 4
2/21/05
Holiday

Week 5
2/28/05
Byron, "Prometheus," "Ode to Napoleon Bonaparte," Childe Harold, Cantos 3 and 4, The Corsair, Lara.
Signups for seminar paper reports.

Week 6
3/7/05
Byron, Manfred.

Week 7
3/14/05
View: Star Trek: The Next Generation, "Deja Q"; Angel, "In the Dark."

Week 8
3/21/05
Byron, Cain.

3/28-4/3/05
Spring recess

Week 9
4/4/05
Maturin, Melmoth the Wanderer.

Week 10
4/11/05
Emily Brontë, Wuthering Heights.

Week 11
4/18/05
Tom Holland, Lord of the Dead
Anne Rice, The Vampire Lestat

Week 12
4/25/05
Neil Gaiman, Sandman: Preludes and Nocturnes, The Kindly Ones.

Week 13
5/2/05
Discussion of films: High Plains Drifter, Blade Runner, The Terminator, Terminator 2, The Crow, Alien, Aliens, Alien³, Alien Resurrection, Kill Bill, Vol. 1, and Kill Bill, Vol. 2. I suggest you start viewing these right away and watch as many of them as you can by this date. Your first viewing priority should be The Crow.

Week 14
5/9/05
Seminar paper reports

Week 15
5/16/05
Seminar paper reports

Finals week
5/23/05
Seminar paper reports
Seminar paper due

Note: I hope you will avail yourselves of my office hours and my e-mail address. I am happy to discuss any matter related to the course (or to graduate study in general) with you, including your seminar paper at any stage of composition.
Note: If you do not already have an MLA Handbook, please acquire one. Plagiarism, of course, will have serious consequences. Please read the policy on Academic Dishonesty on p. 514 of the current CSUF Catalog or at http://www.fullerton.edu/catalog/university_regulations/gradingpol.asp.

Web site: http://hss.fullerton.edu/english/astein/index.htm