2008/09 Undergraduate Module Catalogue

ENGL3231 The Poetry of Wordsworth

20 creditsClass Size: 30

School of English

Module manager: Dr Ian Fairley
Email: i.a.fairley@leeds.ac.uk

Taught: Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) View Timetable

Year running 2008/09

Pre-requisite qualifications

Grade B at 'A' Level in English Language or Literature or equivalent or an achieved mark of 56 or above in a Level 1 module in English.

Please note: This module is restricted to Level 2 and 3 students.

This module is approved as an Elective

Module summary

This module will offer the opportunity to explore the imaginative power of Wordsworth's poetry in detail and in depth. Two works will be central to our studies: the Lyrical Ballads, first issued in 1798 and considered a catalyst in the `revolution' of Romantic poetry; and The Prelude, Wordsworth's autobiographical verse narrative of the 'growth of the poet's mind', completed in 1805 and published after his death as a form of poetic legacy and memorial. This writing will initiate thinking about the first-person and commemorative nature of many of Wordsworth's poems, and so will generate a wider inquiry into the interdependence of language, consciousness and experience in his verse. In attending to this philosophical aspect of Wordsworth's poetry, we shall seek to assess its place in the formation of a distinctively Romantic and modern aesthetic sensibility.

Objectives

This module will enable students to develop their appreciation of Wordsworth's poetry with special emphasis on work composed in the 1790s and in the following decade. Engagement with the poems will be informed by an awareness of the contexts of Wordsworth's verse, its generative concerns, and of recent critical discussion of his poetry. Students will be able to explore their understanding of Wordsworth's poetry in detail and in depth.

Learning outcomes
Students will have developed:
the ability to use written and oral communication effectively;
the capacity to analyse and critically examine diverse forms of discourse;
the ability to manage quantities of complex information in a structured and systematic way;
the capacity for independent thought and judgement;
critical reasoning;
research skills, including the retrieval of information, the organisation of material and the evaluation of its importance;
IT skills;
efficient time management and organisation skills;
the ability to learn independently.

Skills outcomes
Skills for effective communication, oral and written.
Capacity to analyse and critically examine diverse forms of discourse.
Ability to acquire quantities of complex information of diverse kinds in a structured and systematic way.
Capacity for independent thought and judgement.
Critical reasoning.
Research skills, including information retrieval skills, the organisation of material, and the evaluation of its importance.
IT skills.
Time management and organisational skills.
Independent learning.Skills for effective communication, oral and written.
Capacity to analyse and critically examine diverse forms of discourse.
Ability to acquire quantities of complex information of diverse kinds in a structured and systematic way.
Capacity for independent thought and judgement.
Critical reasoning.
Research skills, including information retrieval skills, the organisation of material, and the evaluation of its importance.
IT skills.
Time management and organisational skills.
Independent learning.

Syllabus

This module will make possible an intensive and extensive reading of the poetry of William Wordsworth (1770-1850) with special emphasis on poems composed in the 1790s and in the following decade, notably Lyrical Ballads and The Prelude. Seminars will explore this verse through close reading and reflection on the poetics formulated in a selection of Wordsworth's prose writings. We shall consider his work in certain of its social, political and philosophical contexts, taking account of Wordsworth as a poet of nation and region, and thinking about his part in the formation of Romantic and modern aesthetic sensibility. Our choice of texts will enable us to observe Wordsworth's continuous revision of his verse and to give textual revision its place within the visionary dimension of his poetry.

Teaching methods

Delivery type	Number	Length hours	Student hours
Meetings	5	1.00	5.00
Seminar	10	1.00	10.00
Private study hours			185.00
Total Contact hours			15.00
Total hours (100hr per 10 credits)			200.00

Private study

Teaching will be through weekly seminars (10 x 1 hour) plus up to 5 additional hours (content to be determined by the module tutor). The 5 additional hours may include lectures, plenary sessions, film showings, or the return of unassessed/assessed essays.

Private Study: Seminar preparation, reading, essay writing

Opportunities for Formative Feedback

Contribution to seminars.

1st assessed essay (week 7)

Methods of assessment

Coursework

Assessment type	Notes	% of formal assessment
Essay	1700 words	33.30
Essay	2750 words	66.70
Total percentage (Assessment Coursework)		100.00

Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated

Reading list

The reading list is available from the Library website

Last updated: 24/04/2008

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