Studies in Poetry (311-0-20)
Topic
The Logic of Poetry
Instructors
Susannah Gottlieb
847/491-3091
University Hall 321
Meeting Info
Harris Hall L28: Mon, Wed 2:00PM - 3:20PM
Overview of class
The experience of poetry can be understood in it at least two radically different ways: as a raw encounter with something unfamiliar or as a methodically constructed mode of access to the unknown. Theories of poetry from antiquity to the present day have grappled with these two dimensions of the poetic experience. In order to understand a poem, a reader must, in some sense, enter into its unique and complex logic, while nevertheless remaining open to the sometimes unsettling ways it can surprise us. In this class, we will read some of the greatest lyric poems written in English, as we systematically develop an understanding of the formal techniques of poetic composition, including diction, syntax, image, trope, and rhythm. Students should come prepared to encounter poems as new and unfamiliar terrain (even if you've read a particular poem before), as we methodically work through the formal elements of the poetic process.
Teaching Method
Brief lectures, discussions, and co-labs.
Evaluation Method
Weekly (w)reading exercises; mid-term paper; final paper.
Class Materials (Required)
All texts available on Canvas and by request at Quartet Copies.
Class Notes
This class may not be taken by students who have previously enrolled in ENGLISH 211/COMP_LIT 211.
Class Attributes
Advanced Expression
Literature and Arts Foundational Discipline
Literature & Fine Arts Distro Area