2023/24 Undergraduate Module Catalogue

ENGL1261 Poetry: Reading and Interpretation

20 creditsClass Size: 120

School of English

Module manager: Professor John Whale
Email: j.c.whale@leeds.ac.uk

Taught: Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) View Timetable

Year running 2023/24

This module is mutually exclusive with

ENGL1260

Poetry: Reading & Interpretat

Module replaces

ENGL1130ENGL1260

This module is approved as a discovery module

Module summary

To read poetry is to go back to what's elemental in literature - that is, both to the earliest form of literature, and to what is fundamental and distinct about literature as a medium. This module aims to immerse you in, and enchant you with, the multiple elements of poetry. Working to define essential aspects of poetic form such as rhythm, rhyme, metre, language, sound, and poetic figures, we will help to sharpen your interpretative techniques in order to understand the complex and fascinating relation between form and content in poetry. Through a range of poetic voices and periods in poetry in English (also including American poetry, dialect poetry, medieval poetry), you will cover distinct poetic traditions, such as the ballad, the lyric, and the sonnet, and will consider the affiliation between poetry and song, poetry and speech, and poetry and performance. You will be introduced to poetry in archives and will have a chance to look at original poems by well-known poets in draft versions. Critical and theoretical debates about the nature and function of poetry will be explored, as we think about why poetry matters and how it matters; and why it should continue to be read in our prose-heavy world of today.

Objectives

On completion of this module, students should be able to read poetic texts with an awareness of historical context; they will possess the fundamental critical skills and terminologies required to produce close textual readings of poetry and be familiar with range of critical/theoretical approaches to poetry and to literature and culture across history more generally.

Learning outcomes
In terms of Academic Excellence this module develops critical thinking, flexibility of thought and analytical skills. It supports and develops autonomy, initiative, planning and organisational skills. Students will learn to analyse information, synthesise views and make connections; students will be critically aware of, and be informed by, current knowledge; and will develop research skills. In short:

- 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 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.

Syllabus

To read poetry is to go back to what's elemental in literature - that is, both to the earliest form of literature, and to what is fundamental and distinct about literature as a medium. This module aims to immerse you in, and enchant you with, the multiple elements of poetry. Working to define essential aspects of poetic form such as rhythm, rhyme, metre, language, sound, and poetic figures, we will help to sharpen your interpretative techniques in order to understand the complex and fascinating relation between form and content in poetry.

Teaching methods

Delivery type	Number	Length hours	Student hours
Workshop	5	1.00	5.00
Lecture	15	1.00	15.00
Seminar	10	1.00	10.00
Private study hours			170.00
Total Contact hours			30.00
Total hours (100hr per 10 credits)			200.00

Private study

To include preparation and reading for each weekly seminar; additional reading from the indicative reading list; preparation of any unassessed tasks as required, preparation of assessed work.

Opportunities for Formative Feedback

- Seminar contribution.
- Feedback on close-reading exercise.
- Feedback on essay.

Methods of assessment

Coursework

Assessment type	Notes	% of formal assessment
Written Work	750 word close reading exercise	33.00
Essay	1,750 word essay	67.00
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: 19/10/2023

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