EN1PE-Poetry in English

Module Provider: English Literature
Number of credits: 20 [10 ECTS credits]
Level:4
Terms in which taught: Autumn / Spring term module
Pre-requisites:
Non-modular pre-requisites:
Co-requisites:
Modules excluded:
Current from: 2022/3

Module Convenor: Prof Steven Matthews
Email: s.matthews@reading.ac.uk

Type of module:

Summary module description:

This module provides students with training in skills of close reading that are foundational to the study of English Literature, as well as an overview of the history of poetry in English. Students will be introduced to major movements and ideas in key periods from the early Renaissance up to the present; and to a range of genres including love poetry, political poetry, pastoral, elegy, satire, the sonnet, the ode, and the dramatic monologue. Poems studied later in the course will be drawn from the wider English-speaking world, including Ireland, the Caribbean and North America, and will include a diversity of voices.

Aims:

This module aims to develop students’ abilities and confidence as attentive critical readers, by promoting an analytical awareness of the ways in which poems may be read closely to reveal wider issues relating to form and context. It aims to make students sensitive to form and voice, modes of address, types of language use, aesthetic and verbal effects, and any historical, political, social and intellectual issues that are at play in the work. It will invite reflection on the role played by criticism in the understanding and close reading of poetry.

Assessable learning outcomes:
By the end of the module students will be expected to:
£ exercise the critical skills of close textual analysis
£ identify and discriminate between a variety of different kinds of poetry
£ demonstrate an understanding of the ideas at play in individual poems
£ place poems within the literary tradition on the basis of form, ideas and language use
£ understand what is meant by rhythm, rhyme, meter, poetic form and linguistic syntax
£ show independence in critical thinking and judgement
£ articulate a coherent written argument, both in coursework essays and under timed
examination conditions

Additional outcomes:
Oral and written communication skills will be developed, together with critical, interpretative and analytical abilities. Students will also enhance their IT competence through the use of relevant web resources in a critically informed manner.

Outline content:

Poets studied may include Thomas Wyatt, Ben Jonson, Andrew Marvell, Anne Bradstreet, Aphra Behn, Jonathan Swift, Anne Finch, Alexander Pope, Samuel Johnson, Charlotte Smith, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, John Keats, Alfred Tennyson, Robert Browning, Emily Dickinson, Thomas Hardy, William Butler Yeats, W. H. Auden, Elizabeth Bishop, Philip Larkin, Derek Walcott, Paul Muldoon and Jorie Graham. Starting from close attention to the individual effects of a poems or small group of poems, lectures will open up the work of the author under consideration, and place the poem and author within the tradition more widely. Seminars will allow students to further develop both aspects: close reading and contextualization.

Brief description of teaching and learning methods:
Brief description of teaching and learning methods:
A combination of lectures and structured seminar discussion, for which students are required to do preparatory reading.

Contact hours:

	Autumn	Spring	Summer
Lectures	9	9	2
Seminars	9	9	2
Practicals classes and workshops	1		2
Guided independent study:	51	52	54
Total hours by term	70	70	60
Total hours for module	200

Summative Assessment Methods:

Method	Percentage
Written exam	50
Written assignment including essay	50

Summative assessment- Examinations:

One 2-hour examination

Summative assessment- Coursework and in-class tests:

One 1500-word essay                                                                                                            

Formative assessment methods:
Formative Assessment Methods - work which provides opportunities to improve performance (e.g. through feedback provided) but which does not necessarily always contribute towards the overall module mark: A short exercise in the Autumn term (1000 words) and an essay of up to 1500 words in the Spring term. Feedback may also be provided on the assessed coursework essay of 1500 words. Feedback on written exams will be available on request from the Director of Teaching and Learning.

Penalties for late submission:

The Support Centres will apply the following penalties for work submitted late:

• where the piece of work is submitted after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): 10% of the total marks available for that piece of work will be deducted from the mark for each working day (or part thereof) following the deadline up to a total of five working days;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than five working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): a mark of zero will be recorded.

The University policy statement on penalties for late submission can be found at: https://www.reading.ac.uk/cqsd/-/media/project/functions/cqsd/documents/cqsd-old-site-documents/penaltiesforlatesubmission.pdf
You are strongly advised to ensure that coursework is submitted by the relevant deadline. You should note that it is advisable to submit work in an unfinished state rather than to fail to submit any work.

Assessment requirements for a pass:
A mark of at least 40% overall.

Reassessment arrangements:

Re-examination in August. Coursework will be carried forward if it bears a confirmed mark of 40% or more. Otherwise it must be resubmitted in August.

Additional Costs (specified where applicable):

1) Required text books: 

2) Specialist equipment or materials: 

3) Specialist clothing, footwear or headgear: 

4) Printing and binding: 

5) Computers and devices with a particular specification: 

6) Travel, accommodation and subsistence: 

Last updated: 22 September 2022