A comparative study of one of the most imaginative and successful Victorian novelists and the greatest of all silent-film comedians. We’ll examine the closely parallel life stories of Dickens and Chaplin (impoverished upbringing in London, energetic attempts to escape to a larger world, enormous early fame); the origins of their art in the popular entertainments of their day; their growing ambition and inventiveness; the assured mastery of their mature works; their unique ability to combine humor and pathos; their fascination with the life of big cities; their political sentiments; their appeal to mass audiences and continuing interest today.

In the first two-thirds or three-quarters of this seminar we’ll alternate study and discussion of Dickens’ fiction and of Chaplin’s films. We’ll begin, possibly, with some of Dickens’ short comic writings (from Sketches by Boz or The Uncommercial Traveler) and a selection of Chaplin’s two-reelers (e.g., The Pawn Shop, Easy Street, The Immigrant). From there, we’ll move to Oliver Twist and The Kid, to Bleak House and City Lights, and to Hard Times and Modern Times. We’ll finish with A Christmas Caroland The Gold Rush. In addition to the topics mentioned above, I’ll be interested in investigating the imaginative power of both artists-what does the novelist’s bravura figurative language (flakes of soot “as big as full-grown snowflakes-gone into mourning, one might imagine, for the death of the sun”) have in common with the filmmaker’s visual metaphors (a telephone becoming a stethoscope, bread rolls becoming dancing feet)? I’ll also want to examine their unmatched ability to manipulate the distance between characters and audience. “Long shots for comedy, close-ups for tragedy,” Chaplin said: we’ll see how that rule works for fiction as it does for film. In general, Dickens and Chaplin seem to me astonishingly similar creative artists, and we’ll devote much class time to the similarities, but I want also to accommodate discussion of their personal differences-and of the generic differences between writing and filming, and of the different situations of creative work in nineteenth-century England and early twentieth-century America. Accompanying the texts and films there will be regular readings in biography and criticism (and a viewing of Kevin Brownlow’s documentary The Unknown Chaplin); students will write weekly short response papers, to be read by everyone in advance of class.

The last third (or so) of the semester will be devoted to students’ individual research projects: twenty-minute oral presentations followed by critiques and discussion. These presentations will be the basis for a substantial (15-20 pages) research paper, the main written assignment of the seminar, which will be produced in drafts and due at the end of the semester. For these papers, I will be open to any reasonable topic on Dickens or Chaplin or, preferably, both. No final exam; keeping up with the reading and viewing and participation in class discussion will be very important. The prerequisite is permission of the instructor; I’ll be looking for students with some previous course work in fiction or film. Give me a call at ext 3330.