Writers in the South West
What you will learn
Learners will understand the importance of places and landscapes in the South West to some major English poets and novelists and how those writers are remembered and valued today.
Why take this course?
This free online course offers learners the opportunity to
explore the work of four writers or groups of writers from the Romantic
& Victorian era with strong links to Bristol and the South West.
The course covers Bristol’s Romantic poets (Samuel Taylor
Coleridge, Robert Lovell, Robert Southey), Mary Shelley, Jane Austen,
and Thomas Hardy, and addresses the following two overarching questions:
- What has been the importance of place to writers in the South West?
- What is the importance of writers to places in the South West today?
The course invites learners to consider how the
featured writers were inspired by the landscapes and cityscapes
of Bristol, Bath, and the West of England and how they engaged in a local or
regional context with social and political issues of national
importance. Learners will also consider how these same writers are
remembered today and how they contribute to the cultural economy of the
region; here in particular there will be scope for learners to share
their own knowledge and experiences in an interactive learning
environment.