What is poetry (in English) and what does it do?
Poetry refines techniques of address and description, punctuation and intimacy more than in any other field of writing. Each week we will focus on a different feature of poetry from a non-chronological selection of poetic works in English from the seventeenth century to the present-day. By focussing on the formal production of rhythm, voice, setting and audience, you will become even more finely attuned to the effects of language in your research writing.
English 616
All EUI members
6 weeks, 9 hours.
Time
The course starts on 11 April.
Sessions:
11, 16, 24 April
2, 9, 16 May
13:30-15:00
How these sessions are organized
A printed reader of works will be distributed in week 2 of the course, which forms the week-to-week syllabus. Our activity will be mostly close-reading of poetry, which will mean that we also consider questions of interpretation and reception. The one course assignment will be to write (and share) a close reading of a poem of your choice.
Outcomes
By the end of this course, you will have a technical understanding of some of the defining features and effects of poetry in English, with a view to being a more precise and persuasive writer in English.
Page last updated on 27 February 2025