Calendar description

An introduction to poetry through a close reading of texts, focusing on its traditional forms, themes, techniques, and uses of language; its historical and geographical range; and its twentieth-century diversity.

The poetry we'll be looking at is arranged in more or less chronological order, from Old English through the twenty-first century. They're also grouped in units, each unit focussing on a literary or poetic topic (e.g. vocabulary, figurative language, verse forms, rhythm, etc.). You're responsible for reading and thinking about everything on the syllabus, although we will discuss only one or two poems in depth. Occasionally during first term I’ll put a more recent poem on the list: enjoy.

By the end of the first term, we'll have looked at a sample of poems up to about 1800. In the second term we'll continue the chronological approach, while emphasizing modern diversity. You’ll also have a chance, in your group presentation, to consider the cultural function of poetry in Toronto by attending and analyzing an event.

The assignments are weighted rather heavily towards the second term. In first term, once enrolment has settled and I’ve sorted out the “bulletin board” software, I’ll be expecting you to submit several brief, inquisitive, rich directed responses to the week’s readings (best 2 = 5%), and to engage thoroughly in the course material and class discussion, exercising your interpreting skills and building your competence and confidence.

Best two 250-word directed responses to first term poems, handed in to Professor Percy by Tuesday 12 noon before Wednesday’s class – this will start after week 3 (5%), two short essays, one due on November 13th (12.5%), the other on January 22nd (10%); two short-answer tests, one a take-home due December 4th (10%), and one in class on March 5th (12.5%); one in-class essay on February 12th (10%), contribution to a group presentation during second term (10%), informed, intelligent, consistent participation in class and (when it's up) on the course bulletin board (5%), final examination on Wednesday 7 May, 2003, from 7-10 pm, in Varsity Arena South End (=VAS) (25%).

• to read a variety of short poems in English, from medieval to modern, from England, North America, and beyond
• to learn concepts and terms appropriate to the study of literature and of poetry
• to examine the interrelation of poetic techniques and poetic content
• appropriately to analyze the relationship between a text and its biographical and cultural contexts
• to study some forms & genres in depth
• to study some authors in some depth
• to become acquainted with and to use basic reference works
• to discuss and to write about poetry fully and articulately
• to expand your understanding and your love of poetry]
• to refine your academic writing skills generally. For some of you, this is a core course in your English degree; for others, it may be a breadth course, the only English course you may take at U of T. So, in each case, I feel that it's particularly appropriate for me to help you with your writing. I keep copies of my comments in order to chart your progress though the year

Poems will be taken from The Norton Anthology of Poetry, 4th edition, unabridged, ed. Margaret Ferguson, Mary Jo Salter, and Jon Stallworthy (New York and London: W.W. Norton and Company, 1996), and from the course home page, http://cpercy.artsci.utoronto.ca/courses/eng201-2002.htm

Required readings for each unit will be taken from Stephen Adams, Poetic Designs: an introduction to meters, verse forms, and figures of speech (Peterborough: Broadview Press, 1997), and from books on short-term reserve (Robarts Library, 3rd floor), particularly Paul Fussell's Poetic Meter & Poetic Form, revised edition (New York: Random House, 1979).

You must also have access to a handbook of literary terms (M.H Abrams, for instance), to a good desktop dictionary and to the Oxford English Dictionary: https://www-oed-com.myaccess.library.utoronto.ca/

For access to the OED, you may need a "proxy server account": see http://www.library.utoronto.ca/services/libraryusers/proxy.html

Representative poetry online: http://www.library.utoronto.ca/utel/rp/intro.html
Literature online: http://lion.chadwyck.com

Glossary of poetic terms: http://www.library.utoronto.ca/utel/rp/poetterm.html
Representative poetry's bibliography of print resources: http://www.library.utoronto.ca/utel/rp/bibliography_2001.html
Modern American poetry: http://www.english.uiuc..edu/maps/index.htm

There is online advice about writing essays as well as specialized kinds of documents like application letters.

Giving an oral presentation for the first time? Check out a guideline prepared by Counselling and Learning Skills, and some links for graduate students in English on giving oral presentations.

ENG201Y (L5101, Percy): Schedule: