ENG 106Z Introduction to Poetry

Lecture Hours: 4
Credits: 4

The study of poetry invites us to delve into the biggest questions about life and culture alongside the seemingly smallest issues of words and sounds. English 106Z provides opportunities for the appreciation of poetry, including deeper awareness of craft and insight into how reading poetry can lead to self-enrichment. Students read a variety of types of poetry and poetic forms, from diverse perspectives and eras, and develop their skills in discussion, literary analysis, and critical thinking.

Prerequisite: Placement into WR 115 (or higher), or completion of WR 090 or WR 115 (or higher); or consent of instructor. (All prerequisite courses must be completed with a grade of C or better.)
Student Learning Outcomes:
Common Course Number Outcomes:

Articulate how culture and context shape literary texts of poetry and how literature contributes to understandings of ourselves and the world.
Identify how literary devices and various formal elements contribute meaning to a text.
Build interpretations based on relevant evidence.

Statewide General Education Outcomes:

Interpret and engage in the Arts and Letters, making use of the creative process to enrich the quality of life.
Critically analyze values and ethics within a range of human experience and expression to engage more fully in local and global issues.

Content Outline

Elements of Poetry
- Genre
  - Lyric
  - Dramatic
  - Narrative
  - Other genres
- Situation
  - Setting
  - Speaker and point of view
  - Action
- Tone
- Irony
- Diction
- Syntax
- Imagery
- Figurative language
  - Metaphor
  - Simile
  - Other figures of speech
- Devices of sound
  - Rhyme
  - Alliteration
  - Assonance
  - Other devices of sound
- Rhythm
- Form
  - Closed and fixed forms
    - Patterns
      - Stanzas
      - Lines
    - Traditional forms
      - Sonnets
      - Haiku
      - Other traditional forms
  - Open form and free verse
  - General
    - Prose Poetry
    - Concrete/visual poetry
- Symbol
- Performance
  - Hearing (be part of an audience for performed poetry)
  - Recitation (perform poetry for an audience)
Literary and Social Context
- Periods
- Styles
  - Movements and Schools
  - Regional and Traditional
- Translation
- Popular forms (song lyrics, rap, spoken word, advertising, etc.)
- Definition, dispute: what is a poem?
Criticism
- Understanding and discussing
  - Paraphrasing
  - Summarizing
  - Explicating
  - Analyzing
  - Comparing poems
- Interpreting
  - Defining and understanding interpretation
  - Recognizing and articulating themes
    - Differentiating theme and subject
  - Defending interpretations
- Judging quality
- Critical approached literature
  - Definition of canon and challenges to it
  - At least three major critical approaches, such as: formalist, biographical, historical, psychological, gender and cultural, or reader-response.
- Writing literary analysis
  - Conventions of the literary essay
    - MLA format and style
  - Using sources and conducting research
  - Special concerns in writing about poetry