British Literature II: Revolution, Reaction, Reform examines British literature from the late eighteenth century to the present, a period that witnessed the American and French Revolutions, slave revolts such as the Haitian Revolution, a “revolution in female manners,” the Industrial Revolution, the twentieth-century revolutionary wave in Europe, as well as World War I and World War II, and, of course, artistic revolutions. We will consider how the authors and literary works of this period might be reacting to change, advocating for reform, or participating in literary revolutions—whether revolution is understood in the sense of “revolving” or of “revolting,” going full circle to return to a previous (more perfect?) time or experiencing/effecting a great alteration or rupture.
Inside her brother’s London studio at 16 Cheyne Walk in Chelsea, London, Christina Rossetti witnessed the same face appear again and again, transformed into myth, beauty, muse. The space was filled with art, but also with absence: the women painted were seen but never heard. It was here, among the brushes and canvases, that Christina began to question the illusions being made. Mapping this studio marks not just a site of creation, but the quiet beginning of confrontation; a moment when poetry chose to speak where paint would not.
Photo: "Artist's Studio, Loubressac" by kiwizone is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.
![]("File:Detail showing No13 Hercules Buildings in Lambeth where William Blake lived and worked.jpg." Wikimedia Commons. 7 Mar 2025, 20:01 UTC. 6 May 2025, 05:27 <https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Detail_showing_No13_Hercules_Buildings_in_Lambeth_where_William_Blake_lived_and_worked.jpg&oldid=1006700347>. "No.13 Hercules, Lambeth")
