[Prof. Jerry Weng] This course offers an introduction to the British Romantic period with a focus on lyric poetry and close reading. Major poets to be studied include Blake, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Byron, Shelley, Keats; works in prose will cover topics ranging from feminism and democracy to slavery and orientalism. Emphasis will be placed on the complex literary and philosophical questions raised by Romantic writers and the influence of post-Enlightenment thought on modernity. Students considering this course should be prepared for a certain degree of abstract thinking and interpretive difficulty. Class is conducted entirely in English.