Modern Poetry in English is for the most part poetry rooted in the British Romantic lyric of the late 18th/early19th century. Although we will not study that movement in any detail, we will explore its legacy in late 19th and early 20th century American poetry. Note the dates – “Modern” in this context does not mean “Contemporary” but actually refers to certain poetry from a hundred or more years ago. The class will focus more on close reading and rigorous analysis of specific poems than on the generalities of literary history, although that history will not be ignored.
By course’s end students will have acquired significant practice in reading and interpreting modern lyric poetry, employing an approach that links interpretation very closely to forms and patterns found in the text of the poem itself.
The Norton Anthology of Modern and Contemporary Poetry: Vol. 1—MODERN poetry. Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company; ISBN-10: 0393977919 ISBN-13: 978-0393977912
There will be two exams (200pts-out of 1000-each). These exams will be very much slanted towards identification of passages (so you will need to know all the poems well enough to recognize characteristic quotations) and short answers, but will require analytical thought/writing as well. The rest of your grade will be determined by four in-class panel discussions, each to be followed by individual write-ups of the session
The nature of this class requires that you attend it, so I will take attendance. You can miss three classes (but not an Exam or your presentation class) no questions asked. After that, a class missed without documentation of a medical problem (via Dean of Students Office) will take 20 points (2%) off your final grade.
Students are expected to maintain the highest standards of academic integrity. All work submitted must be original and properly cited. Plagiarism, cheating, or any form of academic dishonesty will result in immediate consequences as outlined in the university's academic integrity policy.
This is a Core IMPACTS course that is part of the Humanities area.
Core IMPACTS refers to the core curriculum, which provides students with essential knowledge in foundational academic areas. This course will help master course content, and support students’ broad academic and career goals.
This course should direct students toward a broad Orienting Question:
- How do I interpret the human experience through creative, linguistic and philosophical works?
Completion of this course should enable students to meet the following Learning Outcome:
- Students will effectively analyze and interpret the meaning, cultural significance and ethical implications of literary/philosophical texts in English or other languages, or of works in the visual/performing arts.
Course content, activities and exercises in this course should help students develop the following Career-Ready Competencies:
- Ethical Reasoning
- Information Literacy
- Intercultural Competence