"Beauty is truth, truth beauty -- that is all
Lit 142 -- Introduction to
Poetry
MW, 5:50-7:05
Dr. Virginia
Crank
CL-I G34
Spring 1999
Office: CL-I 154 Office Phone: 654-4395 Messages:
654-4388
E-Mail: VirginiaC@ednet.rvc.cc.il.us or dengin3@tds.net
Office Hours: MWF 1:00-1:50 or by appointment.
Literature 142, Introduction to Poetry, serves as an introduction to the elements
of poetry. Works of both British and American poets from a range of historical
periods will be studied.
Course Objectives:
1. OBJECTIVE: To recognize poetic forms.
ASSESSMENT: Students will identify and compare forms in written and oral
work.
2. OBJECTIVE: To recognize principal elements of poetry.
ASSESSMENT: Students will identify and analyze the principal elements in
written or oral work.
3. OBJECTIVE: To recognize the theme and cultural context of poems.
ASSESSMENT: Students will analyze poems for theme and cultural context in
written or oral work.
4. OBJECTIVE: To apply textual evidence in forming critical analyses of poems.
ASSESSMENT: Students will explicate selected poems.
Required Text and Materials:
--Hunter, J. Paul. The Norton Introduction to Poetry, 7th edition. New York:
Norton, 1999.
--Manila folder for submitting papers.
--Pronged and pocketed paper folder with loose-leaf paper for journals.
--Blue or black ink pen.
Required Work:
--Reading and response journal: You will write daily (each time we meet) entries
in your reading response journal in order to record your reactions, questions,
and revelations about the poetry we will be reading. This daily writing will
be used to promote class discussion, and you must be willing to share the ideas
you've written about with the entire class. This journal will not be evaluated
for grammatical or stylistic correctness; I will be looking for the depth of
your thought about the works we've been reading. Choose 2 or 3 of each day's
assigned poems to focus on in your entry rather than glossing over all of them.
Each entry should be at least 200 words long. Entries which mostly express your
inability to "get" something are unacceptable; use your journal writing to try
to figure things out, to take some intellectual chances. Also included in this
reading response journal will be your notes toward the ongoing class project,
"Defining Poetry," and other in-class and out-of-class writings. I will collect
these journals periodically.
--Five short papers: You will write five 2-3 pp. analytical essays in which you
will examine closely one element of a poem. The elements have been assigned
specific due dates, noted on your course schedule. Each essay should be typed,
double-spaced, in MLA format. We will discuss these assignments in greater detail
on Jan. 27.
--Two exams: For a general assessment of how you are absorbing themes and elements
of the readings, you will be given a mid-term exam on March 3 and a final exam on
May 10. These exams will offer you a series of essay questions asking you to
examine certain aspects of the poems we've read. You will be allowed to choose
from the available questions, and then you must compose a concise but well-thought
essay to answer the question.
Your grade in this course will be determined according to the following percentages:
Reading
Journal
30
Analytical
Essays 50
Mid-term
Exam
10
Final
Exam
10
100
Other Policies:
--Late Work: I do not accept late work unless prior arrangements have been made.
If you need an extension on a due date, please arrange with me personally for
a new due date. No tests can be made up; you must be in class, on time. Again,
if you have some extenuating circumstances, you must make prior arrangements
with me, in person.
--Contacting Me: You have on this syllabus three options for contacting me: my
office phone number, the phone number of the Communications Division office,
where there will always be either a secretary or an answering machine to
receive your messages, and my e-mail address, which is a very reliable way of
contacting me.