ENH2650

Poetry: text and performance

(ART)

P Groves

6 points + 2 hours per week + First semester + Clayton + A first-year sequence in English or permission + Prohibition: ENH3650

Synopsis: The aim of the subject will be to demystify poetry and its workings for the students who take it, and in this way to increase their understanding and enjoyment of the medium. The subject will explore some of the traditional concepts and problems of poetics, specifically in the area of the functioning of poetic language and the relation between poetic text and performance. It will include study of the following areas of interest: stylistic analysis of poetry; sound-patterning and its affective and iconic potential; metre and other kinds of rhythmic form; poetic diction; the functioning of metaphor, metonymy and other forms of figurative language; the performance of poetry.

Assessment: Essay (3000 words): 55% + Class test (1000 words): 25% + Performance of poem: 10% + Seminar participation: 10%