Course description

Module 1: 3 credits.

The first module will take into consideration the antagonistic literary, intellectual and philosophical responses to the rational and empirical forces that dominated English society during the eighteenth and nineteenth century, with particular reference to the works of William Blake. It will also offer an analysis of the poetic representation of historical and existential crisis in twentieth century Europe. Whilst the works of Blake denounce the social dystopia brought about by exploitation and material greed, Eliot’s poem dramatizes the search for a lost unity as a result of social, cultural and spiritual fragmentation in the twentieth century Western world.
The second module will focus on the problem of social and cultural integration on the part of the foreigner or Other. In the works of Joseph Conrad and D.H. Lawrence desire for the Other arises through a process of self-negation in which the clash of opposites leads to tragic consequences. During the course a series of close readings will be presented in order to sensitise the students to the stylistic and rhetorical features of both authors and to highlight the importance language plays in their differing artistic visions.
The division of the course into two separate modules does not, of course, preclude the possibility of considering the intertextual connections of the works chosen. Therefore, students will be encouraged to reflect on the thematic convergences as well as the literary and ideological objectives behind their composition