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Banner image from Yale Center for British Art
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E106
| Clarissa & criticism || Winter 2014
Like other E106 courses, “Clarissa and Criticism” is a capstone course. Unlike most such courses, this one requires that you read only one literary work—although a long one. Clarissa, or the History of a Young Lady is written in letters, mostly between two young women friends and two young men friends. As you might imagine, there’s a question of seduction involved. And there are questions of parental authority, issues of self-definition and independence, problems about money, and a lot of tension about sex. It’s not an action novel (though it begins with a report about a duel), but it is a novel in which conflict lies just at the surface of every encounter, every sentence. Because the novel is a set of letters, there is no narrator to explain or interpret things; you are reading the letters of characters as they write under pressure. The author, Samuel Richardson, knew that he was writing a new kind of fiction, and he called his style “writing to the moment.”
There have been many critical debates about this novel, and we will enter them. The main assignment will be to write a long paper for the course. You will write smaller pieces that help you think about the novel and its criticism.
Please read pp. 33-84 before our first class meeting on January 6.
It’s very important to get the Broadway edition, ed. Toni Bowers and John Richetti. This is a carefully abridged edition ( about half the length of the novel).
**SPOILER ALERT**
Clarissa is not a plot-based novel,
but if you have never read it, don’t let anyone tell you what
happens. And don't read the editors' introduction, until we are well-advanced into the novel. Eighteenth-century readers heard rumors (and one wrote to Richardson begging him to change his mind about the plot), but all had to wait 6 months between each of the 3 parts to find out “what happened.”
Course
Information || Writing Page || Bibliography|| Mail Archive || Messageboard || Resources
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DATE
January-March 2014
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 This site is under construction.
In
class today
Material in this column applies to today's class session.
Please check the website regularly for updates.
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(OED)
Supporting
Materials
Many of the links in this column take you to licensed materials, which require you to use an on-campus computor or to use the VPN. |
Mon., Jan. 6
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**Introduction
to course
**Discussion of Clarissa, pp. 33-84.
**Thinking about epistolary fiction
**Thinking about obligation. What do you "owe" to parents, siblings, partner, children, classmates, your larger communities?
**Thinking about close analysis: What is it?
**Keeping a commonplace book
**Collection of the Moral and Instructive Sentiments, Maxims, Cautions, and Reflexions
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Some pages of sentiments extracted
Study Questions (SQ) #1
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feme sole (Britannica Online)
feme sole (OED)
epistolary (OED)
Commonplace books (Wikipedia)
Commonplace (OED)
Commonplace book (OED)
A Scriptorium of Commonplace Books
Images of commonplace books
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Wed., Jan. 8
End of Week #1
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Discussion of Clarissa, pp. 84-135 (end of vol. I).
If your last name begins with letters A-K, write an entry on the messageboard before class today on Clarissa (pp. 33-135). You may respond to one of the SQ or analyze a particular section closely.
Introduction to ECCO and getting used to early modern fonts
Modeling close analysis |
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Mon., Jan. 13
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Discussion of Clarissa, pp. 137-219.
If your last name begins with letters L-P, please write an entry on the message board (in response to the SQ or to particular sectons of the text).
NB: If your name begins with something else, you are most welcome to join the discussion.
Discussion of relative duties (AJVS)
Narrative styles: Fielding & Richardson
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On Elizabeth Carter, whose "Ode to Wisdom" Richardson used in Clarissa (231-234), without permission
SQ #2
Fleetwood, William. The relative duties of parents and children, husbands and wives, masters and servants, consider'd in sixteen sermons |
Wed., Jan. 15
 End of Week #2
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Discussion of Clarissa, pp. 219-271.
If your last name begins with R--Z, write an entry . . .
Advice. Richardson as advice giver (AJVS)
Richardson's Familiar Letters || Table of Contents || Letters that led to Richardson's first novel, Pamela
Presentation (in class) of close analyses for Short Paper #1
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Richardson, Samuel. Letters written to and for particular friends, on the most important occasions. Directing not only the requisite style and forms to be observed ... London, M.DCC.XLI. [1741]. 289 pp. |
| January 20, 2014 |
Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday |
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Wed., Jan. 22
End of Week #3
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Discussion of Clarissa, pp. 271-391.
Short paper #1 due (2-3 pages). Begin with close analysis of a particular section and expand. Underline your main point. |
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Mon., Jan. 27
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Discussion of Clarissa, pp. 391-484
Learning to analyze critical articles: "X argues that . . ."
**James Grantham Turner, "Lovelace and the Paradoxes of Libertinism"
**Margaret Anne Doody, "Tyrannic Love and Virgin Martyr" & "Clarissa and Earlier Novels of Love and Seduction"
See Writing page for notes on Doody's material.
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Wed., Jan. 29
End of Week #4
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484-534
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Mon., Feb. 3
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Learning to analyze critical articles: "X argues that"
**John Richetti, "Mrs. Haywood and the Novella:
The Erotic and the Pathetic" from Popular fiction before Richardson
Clarissa, 535-651
Presentation of "X argues that"--leading to Short Paper We will work on an "X argues that" presentation of Richetti. |
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Wed., Feb. 5
End of Week #5
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651-723
**Critical/historical reading: "The Reception of Clarissa" from Eaves & Kimpel, Samuel Richardson, A Biography.
Lady Bradshaigh reads Clarissa (See email.) See also link to ajvs notes.
Review of An Alternative Ending to Richardson's Clarissa. (JSTOR)
"A Lamentable Ballad of the Lady's Fall" [source] |
Lady Echlin re-writes Clarissa (See email for An Alternative Ending to Richardson's Clarissa, ed.DIMITER DAPHINOFF. ) |
Mon., Feb. 10
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Due: Short paper #2 (X argues that. . . )
Continuing discussion of previous critical/historial materials. |
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Wed., Feb. 12
End of Week #6 |
Discussion of your possible paper topics.
Examples of abstracts: Print out for class discussion
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| Monday, Feb. 17 |
Presidents' Day |
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Wed., Feb. 19
End of Week #7 |
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Mon., Feb. 24
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Further discussion of specific passages in Clarissa
Discussion of thoughts, issues, & questions raised in "Paper Thoughts" forums
Discussion of critical material
that you are using or thinking of using, that you have questions about |
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Wed., Feb. 26
End of Week #8 |
Discussion of material on Paper Thoughts forums.
Close reading of Clarissa sections
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Mon., Mar. 3 |
Drafts due (8 pages)
Bring 2 copies, one for peer reader, one for AJVS
See peer reading guidelines
Practice in writing abstracts |
Sme material 1
Some material 2 |
Wed., Mar. 5
End of Week #9 |
Peer conferences: No class session
Peer conference schedule will be all day except 9:30-11:00 |
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Mon., Mar. 10
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Presentation of theses and abstracts (100 words or less) in class |
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Wed., Mar. 12
End of Week # |
Continued Presentation of theses and abstracts (100 words or less) in class
Conclusions
Evaluations |
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Fri, Mar 21
1:30 - 3:30 p.m.
My offiice
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Due date for revised paper: Friday March 21, 1:30-3:30 p.m. |
NB: You may turn your paper in earlier if you would like.
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