Syllabus (
PDF)
Class Description
A chronological survey of lyric poetry in the English language by major writers, running from Beowulf to the end of the twentieth century. For instance: Shakespeare, Donne, Wroth, Herbert, Milton, Marvell, Pope, Wordsworth, Keats, Whitman, Dickinson, Yeats, Frost, Stevens, Eliot, Auden, others more recent. There will be some attention to longer poems but mostly we will be reading (and hearing) short works. The last two weeks of the semester will be devoted to works selected and presented by members of the class. Frequent reading aloud, two group presentations, four or five papers (two revised) totaling at least twenty pages of final draft.
Six essays are assigned on the syllabus; you must write five, including the first. Your essays should be 4-6 pages, and must amount to a total of at least twenty pages. Essay 1: you must presubmit a draft to the course tutor, meet with her, and revise the draft. Doing so is highly recommended in general, but mandatory for at least the first essay. Essay 2 or 3: you must revise and resubmit the essay after written feedback from the instructor. Depending on how the first two essays look, we may ask for one further revision.
Please keep all of your essays in a plain, dark folder with the most recent one on top, and your name only on the inside back cover of the folder; when you hand in an essay for grading, it should be in the folder accompanied by a draft and any previous written work.
While some find it helpful to look at criticism (if only to discover what they don't think about a poem), using secondary sources is not required or even necessarily recommended; if used, they must be acknowledged and properly cited. Plagiarism -- use of another's intellectual work without acknowledgement -- is a serious offense. It is the policy of the Literature Faculty that students who plagiarize will receive an F in the subject, and that the instructor will forward the case to the Committee on Discipline. Full acknowledgement for all information obtained from sources outside the classroom must be clearly stated in all written work submitted. All ideas, arguments, and direct phrasings taken from someone else's work must be identified and properly footnoted. Quotations from other sources must be clearly marked as distinct from the student's own work. MIT's academic honesty policy can be found at the following link: http://web.mit.edu/policies/10.0.html.
For further guidance on the proper forms of attribution consult the style guides available in the Writing and Communication Center, or on their web-page at http://web.mit.edu/writing/. (Of the citation formats, I prefer MLA Style). Essays must be submitted by 3 PM on the due date. Late work will receive a lower grade; however, you can revise any essay for regrading if it has been submitted on time.
We will divide the class into four or five small groups, depending on numbers. These groups will have two jobs: 1/ once or twice during the semester, to choose some part of the assigned reading (a poem or passage from a longer poem) to teach to the rest of the class; 2/ to pick some poems we haven't read as assignments for the "open" days on the syllabus, and teach them to the rest of the class. You may divide up the responsibilities in any equitable way you wish; however, everyone in the group should memorize the poem or part of a poem the group is presenting.
60% essays, 20% presentations, 20% participation (in class and on-line).
Note: when you revise an essay, the grade for this revision will replace the original grade. If a revision is required, you must do the revision in order to receive credit for the essay.
You are expected to attend all class meetings. I will also expect that when you come to class, you will have done the reading, thought about it, and have some things to say. As this is largely a discussion-based subject, and also focuses on a series of writers who reflect on each other's work, you do a disservice to your colleagues and your own understanding of the material by missing class; your grade will be lowered by repeated absences or lateness or lack of preparation. In addition to discussing the readings in class, I will also periodically ask you to post thoughts and questions on the Stellar class discussion site; these postings will count towards your overall participation in the class.