Authorised by Academic Registrar, April 1996
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, in the light of recent developments in literary and linguistic theory, 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 and semiotic analyses 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; interpretive strategies; and the performance of poetry.
Assessment Tutorial paper (1000 words): 15% + Short essay (1500 words): 25% + Long essay (2500 words): 40% + Class test: 10% + Seminar participation: 10%