ENG 452: 18th-Century Blockbuster Novelists--Richardson and Fielding
Fall 2003
Brian Connery
521 Wilson Hall, 248.370.2254
T/Th 8:30-9:30; W 1:00-2:00; Th 5:15-5:45; and by appointment.
‘Sir, (continued he,) there is all the difference in the world between characters of nature and characters of manners; and THERE is the difference between the characters of Fielding and those of Richardson. Characters of manners are very entertaining; but they are to be understood by a more superficial observer than characters of nature, where a man must dive into the recesses of the human heart. . . . [there is] as great a difference between [Richardson and Fielding] as between a man who knows how a watch is made, and a man who can tell the hour by looking on the dial-plate. . . . Sir, there is more knowledge of the heart in one letter of Richardson's, than in all Tom Jones.’
–Samuel Johnson, Life of Johnson
‘Why, sir, if you were to read Richardson for the story, your impatience would be so much fretted that you would hang yourself/ But youi must read him for the sentiment, and consider the story as only giving occasion to the sentiment.’
–Samuel Johnson, Life of Johnson
What a master of composition Fielding was! Upon my word, I think the Oedipus Tyrannus,The Alchemist, and Tom Jones, the three most perfect plots ever planned. And how charming, how wholesome, Fielding always is! To take him up after Richardson is like emerging from a sick-room heated by stoves into an open lawn on a breezy day in May.
--Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Course Description:The eighteenth century is generally acknowledged as the period of the emergence of the English novel as we know it. The works of Samuel Richardson and Henry Fielding dominated the literary landscape of the period and, in many ways, helped to determine the development and direction of the novel as a genre for the next hundred years. However, these two authors, at least initially, had diametrically opposed visions of what a novel should be and do. After a small bit of background material on the rise of the novel, we’ll begin by reading Richardson’s Pamela, and then move on to Fielding’s responses to Richardson in Shamela, Joseph Andrews (purportedly the story of Pamela’s brother), and his comic masterpiece, Tom Jones. We’ll close the semester by reading as much as we can of Richardson’s own masterpiece, Clarissa, which carefully attempts to avoid the shortcomings in Pamela. Heavy reading load. Class meetings will be primarily discussion; students will present in-class responses to the reading, write a critical research paper, and (probably) write two take-home examinations.
TEXTS: Richardson, Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded; Fielding, [The History of the Adventures of ] Joseph Andrews [and of his Friend Mr. Abraham Adams, Written in Imitation of the Manner of Cervantes, Author of Don Quixote], with Shamela and Related Writings; Fielding, [The History of] Tom Jones[a Foundling]; Richardson, Clarissa [or The History of a Young Lady, Comprehending the Most Important Concerns of Private Life].
Policies:
Major Assignments:
The following simple formula will determine your final grade for the course:
Links and resources of interest:
Schedule:
If class is canceled for any reason, please continue reading and writing. Unless we get very weary very fast, we will adhere to the following schedule:
September
4 Orientation: the rise of the novel, epistolary narration, the career of Samuel Richardson
11 Johnson, Rambler No. 4 (handout); Handout on Richardson’s Letters Written to and for Particular Friends . . .; Richardson, Pamela to about p. 208
18 Richardson, Pamela to about p. 400
25 Richardson, Pamela, finis; Fielding, Shamela (in Joseph Andrews, 272-306)
October
2 Fielding, Champions on Reputation and on Good Nature (in JA 309-312); Fielding, Joseph Andrews, Preface and Books 1 and 2 (3-144); Sacks, “Fielding’s Guidance of the Reader . . .” (JA 441-456)
9 Fielding, Joseph Andrews, Books 3 and 4 (145-269); McCrea, “Rewriting Pamela . . .” (JA 484-494);
16 Test #1 due; Fielding, Tom Jones, Dedication and Books 1-5 (1-175); Richardson, “A Very Bad Tendency” (TJ 657); Johnson, on Tom Jones, from Boswell’s Life, (TJ 666-67)
23 Fielding, Tom Jones, Books 6-9 (175-337)
30 Fielding, Tom Jones, Books 10-14 (314-507)
November
6 Fielding, Tom Jones, Books 15-18 (finis); Booth, “‘Fielding’ in Tom Jones” (731-733); Hilles, “Art and Artifice in Tom Jones” (786-800)
13* Term paper due; Richardson, Clarissa 1-375
20 Richardson, Clarissa 376-750
27 Turkey Day
December
4 Richardson, Clarissa 750-1499 (Not likely.)
11 Test #2 due, 7:00-9:30, 521 WH
12 and afterwards: Have happy, literate, virtuous lives.