English 3336 Restoration and Eighteenth Century Poetry and
Prose
Prompt # 43
30 January 2012
Focusing on Defoe
Considering the reports.
Unless there were reports posted somewhere other, or differently, than
the prompt asked, we have an overwhelming number of recommendations of
Samuel Johnson and Daniel Defoe, and not much on anybody else.
I'm disappointed that so few of the reports actually were divided into
the three sections I recommended, and that so few are very specific about
suggested readings, but we can work with what we have.
There are a number of less "major" writers that it seems to me we ought
to have a look at, but for the moment it seems to me there are some strong
arguments for continuing to focus on figures everyone agrees are dominant.
And, having made that decision, it's clear that the first one to look at
is Defoe, partly because he's earlier (roughly a contemporary of Swift),
and partly because it's clear that he was in many way a pioneer.
So here's a plan: we spent about four weeks on Swift, and I think both
of these writers deserve that kind of attention. So it's Defoe from now
till about February 22, with some catching up on minor figures and other
issues the week before spring break, and Johnson from the break till about
the end of March.
Today
You should have looked through the reports posted by noon, but my guess
is that no one will have had a chance to read them carefully. In
the four reports on Defoe, what I found mentioned were the following:
-
An Essay upon Projects, 1697
-
The Storm, 1704
-
Robinson Crusoe, 1719
-
Moll Flanders, 1722
-
A Journal of the Plague Year, 1722
-
A General History of the Pyrates, 1724
-
Everybody's Business Is Nobody's Business: Private abuses,
public grievances, by ‘By Andrew Moreton, Esq. Esq,’ 1725 (It’s a short
proposal.)
-
An Essay upon Literature, 1726
-
An Humble Proposal to the People of England, for the Increase
of their Trade, and Encouragement of Their Manufactures Whether the Present
Uncertainty of Affairs Issues in Peace or War, 1729 (Short Essay)
A couple that weren't mentioned, but I think should be considered:
-
The Shortest Way with the Dissenters, 1702
-
Essays from The Review, 1702-1714
We'll take some time today so that anyone who wants to speak in favor of
any of those can do so. As was the case last time, our work is mainly in
text form right now, so it makes sense to me to continue in that way. Here's
what you should do for Wednesday: spend an hour with any one or more of
the printed resources listed on the main course page (in this case, this
is restricted to scholarly sources -- literary histories and anthologies),
and report what they have to say about any one or more of those works.
Post your report in the Defoe forum, which is linked from the main course
page, indicating the works by Defoe that you're reporting on. If you find
a work mentioned that you think isn't here but should be, feel free to
report the arguments for it.
Do this by noon Wednesday; after noon Wednesday read all the reports,
or as many as you can. We'll discuss Defoe and decide on some readings
in class.
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