Brief description
This module takes as its general theme the symbiosis of literature and radical culture in the age of the French Revolution. Specifically, it seeks to locate the major literary figures of the 1790s firmly in the social, intellectual and political context of the age. It will also examine the political discourse of the 1790s, reveal the interface between literature and politics in the work of such major figures as Blake, Wordsworth, Coleridge and Southey, and highlight the experience and achievement of such important political figures of the 1790s as William Godwin, George Dyer, Thomas Holcroft, and John Thelwall. An important emphasis will be the formative personal, as well as intellectual and ideological, links between the 1790s creative artists and its radical thinkers.

Module objectives / Learning outcomes
This module aims to:
introduce students to the major literary figures of the 1790s and to locate these figures in their social, intellectual and political contexts;
familiarise students with the political discourse of the 1790s;
encourage students to explore the interface between literature and politics in the writings of major literary figures of the 1790s;
acquaint students with the personal as well as intellectual and ideological links between the writers of the 1790s

On completion of the module students should be able to:
demonstrate that they have acquired a knowledge and understanding of the primary texts on the module and a critical awareness of the braoder issues raised by the module;
discuss the texts and their various contexts coherently;
write about them in a well-structured and well-argued way.