William Hogarth, Marriage A-la-Mode: 4, The Toilette (ca. 1743). Photo © The National Gallery, London. CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk
Writers of eighteenth-century English literature believed art should imitate nature. In practice, though, they followed ancient models and adapted or parodied works by contemporaries. This course considers such imitations, examining their relations to both sources and historical realities like the slave trade, subordination of women, and England's rise among European colonial powers. Test cases for Macherey's definition of literature as being characterized by this power of parody
(p. 68) include Behn's Oroonoko, Pope's Rape of the Lock, Swift's Gulliver's Travels, and Fielding's Shamela. The course ends with the English novel's attempt to create a more realistic imitation of everyday life. In addition to writing analytical essays, you will deepen your understanding of imitative literature by composing a creative piece mimicking another work.