What is Romanticism? When and where does it begin? Is it all dreamy or all rebellious? What works and artists can be considered romantic? The course examines definitive works from key romantic traditions by key romantic writers focusing on British, German, French and Russian authors, with shorter selections from other traditions (e.g., Italian). Readings survey signature genres invented or reinvented during the glory days of Romanticism, such as the literary fairy tale, the narrative poem, the travelogue, the historical novel, the novella, the autobiographical novel, the heroic drama, the lyric, and the ballad. Close analysis of texts will prepare and complement our analytical focus on romantic ideology and poetics; and on criticism written by and about the more famous romantics. This course fulfills the Literature elective requirement in Literary Studies. This course counts towards the Poetry requirement in the Literature concentration. After the first week of the semester, permission of the instructor will be required in order to register for this course.