Undergraduate Course: The Subject of Poetry: Marvell to Coleridge (ENLI10189)
Course Outline
| School | School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This course is about the subject of poetry in two senses: firstly it offers a general survey of the themes of poetry in the eighteenth century, and secondly it explores changes in the 'I' of poetry. This includes such topics as the nature of interiority, the way the poetic voice speculates on the form and function of poetry, the visual scope of the poetic narrative. The poems chosen will raise questions about what readers in the period might assume about the role of literature and how these particular texts confirm or challenge such assumptions. By reading different verse forms and styles students will be made aware of the ways in which techniques such as rhyme, rhythm, metre and diction produce different modes of poetic voice. Class discussion will centre on close readings of the poems themselves. Autonomous Learning Groups will be used for the students to explore the historical and cultural 'background' of the periods through guided reading.
This course will take students through a range of different poetic forms: epistles, country House poems, landscape Poems, Elegy, 'Conversation' poems. It will allow students to trace, through the changing poetic voice, ideas about class, gender, property, religion, nationalism and the mind.
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| Course description |
This course will take students through a range of different poetic forms: epistles, country House poems, landscape Poems, Elegy, 'Conversation' poems. It will allow students to trace, through the changing poetic voice, ideas about class, gender, property, religion, nationalism and the mind.
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Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | A MINIMUM of 4 college/university level literature courses at grade B or above (should include no more than one introductory level literature course). Related courses such as civilisation or other interdisciplinary classes, Freshman Year Seminars or composition/creative writing classes/workshops are not considered for admission to this course. Applicants should also note that, as with other popular courses, meeting the minimum does NOT guarantee admission. In making admissions decisions preference will be given to students who achieve above the minimum requirement with the typical visiting student admitted to this course having 4 literature classes at grade A.
** as numbers are limited, visiting students should contact the Visiting Student Office directly for admission to this course ** |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- become familiar with the dominant themes of poetry in the eighteenth century, and explore changes in the 'I' of poetry including such topics as the nature of interiority, the way the poetic voice speculates on the form and function of poetry, the visual scope of the poetic narrative.
- become aware, by reading different verse forms and styles, of the ways in which techniques such as rhyme, rhythm, metre and diction produce different modes of poetic voice. Students will refine their skills in close reading of literary language and gain a broad sense of the historical development of poetry in the period.
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Reading List
1 Introductory class; some definitions and preparatory reading.
2 Andrew Marvell, ¿Appleton House¿ [in Norton Anthology] Alexander Pope, ¿Epistle to Burlington¿ *
3 Alexander Pope, ¿Windsor Forest¿* Mary Collier, ¿The Woman's Labour¿ *
4 James Thomson, ¿Spring¿ *
5 Thomas Gray ¿Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard¿ * and ¿The Bard¿ *, Macpherson ¿Fragments of Ancient Poetry¿ *
6 Robert Burns, ¿Verse Epistles¿
7 Class on printing and publication of the poems (class will be held in the University Library Special Collections if possible. If not we will have this class on line)
8 Anna Seward, ¿Colebrook Dale¿, Margaret Chalmers, ¿The Rose of the Rock¿
9 William Cowper, ¿The Castaway¿ *, Christopher Smart, ¿On a bed of Guernsey Lilies¿ *, Anna Seward, ¿To the Poppy¿, Matthew Prior, ¿On a Pretty Madwoman¿ *
10 Coleridge, ¿Frost at Midnight¿ [in Norton Anthology] Ambrose Phillips, ¿Winter Piece¿ *
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Additional Information
| Course URL |
https://www.ed.ac.uk/literatures-languages-cultures/english-literature/undergraduate/current/honours |
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Special Arrangements |
Numbers are limited, with priority given to students taking degrees involving English or Scottish Literature and Visiting Students placed by the Admissions Office. Students not in these categories need the written approval of the Head of English Literature before enrolling. In the case of excess applications places will be decided by ballot.
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| Additional Class Delivery Information |
one Seminar: 2 hours per week; plus attendance at Autonomous Learning Group for one hour each week - at time to be arranged. |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Prof Penny Fielding
Tel: (0131 6)50 3609
Email: |
Course secretary | Mr Michael Butler
Tel: (0131 6)51 1513
Email: |
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