Module ENGL40830: THE WRITING OF POETRY

Department: English Studies

ENGL40830: THE WRITING OF POETRY

Prerequisites

• Students must hold a good BA degree in English or a related subject to be eligible for entry onto the MA in English Literary Studies.

Corequisites

• None.

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None.

Aims

• To familiarize students with the formal, generic and technical conventions and properties of poetry, in their historical context.
• To enable students to relate these conventions and properties to issues of poetic composition, such as poetic 'voice', originality, imagination, and expressiveness.
• To enable students to enter into and understand the technical / formal choices made by poets as they write.

Content

• Seminars covering the forms, genres and conventions of poetry, in their historical context.
• Seminars covering the technical properties of poetry, such as imagery, rhythm, rhyme, diction, syntax; and related issues such as 'formal' versus 'free' verse, and poetic 'voice'.
• These seminars will be based on an anthology, such as The Making of a Poem: A Norton Anthology of Poetic Forms, eds. Mark Strand and Eavan Boland (New York: Norton, 2000

Learning Outcomes

• The student will be expected to demonstrate specialised and advanced knowledge of forms, techniques and methods involved in writing poetry.

• An advanced ability to analyse poetry critically.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• Seminars covering the formal, generic and technical conventions and properties of poetry will enable students to develop critical skills in the close reading and analysis of poetic texts in preparation for the production of their summative essays.
• Two 3,000 word summative essays will assess the students' ability to think critically about poetic texts, in relation to such matters as formal conventions and imaginative expressiveness, and entering into and understanding the technical / formal choices made by poets as they write.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University