Our teacher photocopied so much theory for us - I think we had info from over 10 books on the Romantic period and I've still got literally boxes full of journal articles about other aspects of Romanticism. Your teacher may well be as well resourced - but if she isn't, then definitely be proactive and check up Romanticism at university libraries (Fisher Library at USyd) or the State Library and photocopy guides for yourself. There are not many "guides" available, but many more specific resources which would be more relevant and less generalist.
What you want is various overviews of the Romantic movement. Its historical underpinnings and its context as a post-Enlightenment/neo-Classical movement. You then need to have info about the specific paradigms of Romanticism - Scientific (onset of the Industrial Revolution), Social (Rousseau, French Revolution, liberty), Philosophical (German Idealism), and particularly Literary (other writers at the time).
You may need to research those areas individually - very few guides will cover them all in enough detail.
You should probably also research particular thinkers and theorists - such as Mary Wollstonecraft (Vindication of the Rights of Woman), Thomas Paine (Right of Man), Edmund Burke (Reflections on the French Revolution), Rousseau (Emile - childhood), and many more.
DEFINITELY get to know the specific aspects of Romantic thinking - ie. their notion of the Sublime, of the Picturesque, of Fancy. And also be very well read on Coleridge's non-fiction work (ie. Biographia Literaria/ Statesman's Manual) or Wordsworth's (Collected Works, Preface) as they're pretty critical in estblishing many tenets of Romantic poetry.
One thing all the teachers also emphasised is you be aware that the movement was in many ways contradictory and fragmentary, so keep that in mind when looking at historical issues in the Romantic period such as the slave trade, french revolution, mechanisation, conservative backlash etc.
But that's only the beginning of it! EE1 requires a very extensive knowlege of context and paradigms so defiitely do as much research as possible.
(This is a reply to your PM as well - probably more specific as I now know your elective and can advise you accordingly!)
