Short Course Description
Though some poems are very long, a poem is typically a fairly short piece of text that manages to achieve a great deal in spite of its brevity. There is thus an interesting disparity between poetry's material minimalism and conceptual and perceptual magnitude. Why is it, or how is it, that a poem grabs us or asks for our attention in the ways that it does, if it does? This course will provide terminology and techniques for discussing, understanding and misunderstanding poetry's modes of operation. Through readings of poems from classical and contemporary English and American poetry, we will study such subjects as imagery, meter, figurative language, speaker, and poetic sound. We will also be reading theoretical texts on poetry and complete a series of listening exercises.
Readings: Texts will be provided on the course website. Students are expected to have the readings with them at all times in class.
Full syllabus will be available to registered students only
