As an English major, I expect myself to know a great deal about the Victorian era. However, the reality is, I do not know anywhere near as much as I'd like to admit I do. Therefore, this course intrigues me as I know I will be working closely with both texts and visuals of the Victorian period during this semester. While looking over the syllabus, the two methods of interpretation, which include synchronic and diachronic analysis were not only new to me, but they also got me excited for a new method of interpretation that I expect will reveal a great deal of interesting correlation between both the cultural period of the Victorian era and the illustrations that came with them over the years. I am a bit nervous however when it comes to analysing illustrations and relating them to their original text as that is something I struggled with both in ENG810 and Romanticism. However, I hope by going into the course with an open mind I can both understand and come up with my own scholarly...

The Victorian era is typically viewed as staunch and stuffy by the general public, in an era where propriety and etiquette were of the highest importance. However, the Victorian era was also a time that spoke to intriguing cultural moments such as the ascension of the monarch, for which it is named, at the tender age of eighteen, after she had been sheltered for most of her life. The development and curation of literature in this period is equally interesting, and perhaps, much more relevant to our course. My favourite author is Charlotte Bronte, having fallen in love with Wuthering Heights in high school for her unique literary style that brought the Gothic to life. What I found most interesting from today's introduction was learning that Victorian illustrated books were geared towards adults rather than children, and furthermore, that while most illustrations were black and white, the few that were coloured, were created by hand. I think the dedication towards art and one...

Today, being reintroduced to Victorian literature in the form of Illustrated books was refreshing as an English major. I am looking forward to furthering my knowledge on literature during this particular time period, and especially to be joined once again with Lorraine Janzen for another semester. What particularly intrigued me about today's introduction is how we will be able to analyze numerous Victorian Illustrated texts through different lenses. This is an area of study that I had difficulty with fully grasping when taking ENG810 a couple years back, so I am hoping to grow more of an appreciation for this area of literature within this course. What engaged me was the way that we will be able to engage with one another; we will be able to learn and share our passions for our readings and take that into our own consideration when continuing along with ENG910. I have always been a student who requires a lot of reassurance when it comes to full understanding what we are learning,...

Firstly, I want to say that I am excited to begin the course and look forward to reading the course texts. I have been interested in art and literature for as long as I can recall. When I was five, my brother gave me an anthology of folk and fairy tales with a section of various illustrations and I credit this book with spurring my interest in literature.

I am looking forward to analyzing "Goblin Market" again as I haven't studied the text in years and when I did, we did not focus on illustrations. I am also intrigued by The Were-Wolf in how it may subvert traditional notions of the myth. Were-wolves are a popular legend in my region, reflecting our cultural identity. My family has roots in the French culture of River Canard and the legend of the loup-garou of Detroit has always been in the periphery. This past term, I studied Gothic literature and I anticipate some of those themes will cross over into the Housman text given the transgression...