Course Overview

Poetry, the original literary genre, gets less attention these days while remaining vital to the work of literary expression and criticism. This course will examine a variety of poetic works by key 20th- and 21st-century United States poets.

English Major Student Learning Outcomes

1. Discuss works from major movements and/or periods in literary history.
   --This course will focus on modernism and postmodernism in the American poetic tradition.

2. Analyze the role of difference (which might include racial, ethnic, gender, sexual, religious, economic, and/or ideological differences) in producing, publishing and interpreting literature.
   --We will consider poets' ethnic and gender identities as factors in their poetic expression.

3. Identify major characteristics of the dominant literary genres (poetry, fiction, drama) and use those characteristics to analyze individual examples.
   --We will examine the characteristics of poetry as a genre of literary expression.

4. Interpret literary works with close attention to the nuances of language, content and form.
   --Both papers will require students to engage in close reading of poetry.

5. Apply concepts from literary theory and criticism in the analysis and interpretation of texts.
   --Classroom discussions of poetry will confront current critical questions, and students will apply these questions to papers and exams.

6. Describe the ways in which texts emerge from and respond to their historical and cultural contexts.
   --Classroom discussions of poems and subsequent written work will consistently anchor poetry to the historical and cultural origins of poets and to different contexts of the readers of poems in question.

7. Write focused, convincing analytical essays that incorporate relevant secondary sources.
   --The research paper will require students to refer to major critics of a chosen poet.

8. Collaborate in the discussion and interpretation of literature by listening to others' perspectives, asking productive questions, and articulating original ideas.
   --Classroom discussions and presentations will facilitate an active exchange of ideas about the assigned poems.

Objectives

Over the semester, I expect students to achieve the following goals:

• To read and understand poems from various United States cultural contexts.
• To discuss these poems in an analytical and engaging manner in class discussion.
• To write convincing arguments about literature.
• To recall key facts about the works in question.
• To produce papers analyzing poetry in a manner that is interesting, well organized and consistent with the standard conventions of analytical writing.
• To revise drafts of such papers before turning them in as finished products.
• To proofread papers effectively.
• To complete papers according to the MLA format and the conventions of college academic writing.
• To discuss strengths and weaknesses of classmates' drafts as a means of helping them produce better final papers.

To reach these goals, students will need to do the following:

• Write an analysis of a single poem from the syllabus. 3-5 typed pages. Due on Thursday, February 8th, 2018.

• Write a research paper interpreting multiple poems in accordance with a process involving a proposal, an annotated bibliography, and then a revised final draft. Due on Tuesday, April 17th, 2018.

• Complete a mid-term examination on Thursday, March 1st, 2018.

• Complete a final examination covering the material from the entire semester and including passage analysis and essay questions. For additional information about policies governing final exams, see "http://www.d.umn.edu/academic-affairs/academic-policies/examination-policies/final-examinations". The exam takes place on Thursday, May 3rd, 2018, from 10am to 11:50am.

• Bring a typed, completed draft to class on peer-editing days, and provide classmates with carefully considered comments on their own drafts on those days.

• Attend class regularly and contribute to class discussion and group activities.

Grade Breakdown:

NOTES ABOUT THE CLASS:

• Written Work. Your grade will depend primarily on your written work and the understanding of the material that you convey through that work. A command of standard written English and the ability to present an argument will also contribute to the determination of your grade.

  Writers' Workshop UMD offers free writing support from graduate student or faculty writing consultants to all members of the campus community at the Writers' Workshop. The consultants will work with you on any writing project at any stage in the writing process. To make an appointment, visit "http://www.d.umn.edu/writwork/" or stop by the Learning Commons on the second floor of the Kathryn A. Martin Library. Look for the Workshop's trademark wall mural covered with quotations about writing.

• Late Assignments will receive a deduction of 1/3 of a letter grade for each business day that they are late. Students who miss exams may not make them up without a valid excuse for the absence.

• Academic Dishonesty tarnishes the reputation of the University of Minnesota Duluth and discredits the accomplishments of its students. Because the university is committed to providing students every possible opportunity to grow in mind and spirit, it must insist on an environment of trust, honesty, and fairness. Consequently, all members of the academic community must regard any act of academic dishonesty as a serious offense. In keeping with this ideal, this course will adhere to UMD's Student Academic Integrity Policy, which is available online at "http://www.d.umn.edu/academic-affairs/academic-policies/classroom-policies/student-academic-integrity". This policy sanctions students engaging in academic dishonesty with penalties up to and including expulsion from the university for repeat offenders.

• Disability Accommodations. Individuals who have any disability, either permanent or temporary, which might influence their capacity to perform in this class, should inform me at the start of the semester. The Office of Disability Resources writes that "[i]t is the policy and practice of the University of Minnesota Duluth to create inclusive learning environments for all students, including students with disabilities.ÊIf there are aspects of this course that result in barriers to your inclusion or your ability to meet course requirementsÑsuch as time limited exams, inaccessible web content, or the use of non-captioned videosÑplease notify the instructor as soon as possible."ÊYou can contact the Office of Disability Resources to discuss and arrange reasonable accommodations by calling 218-726-6130 or by visiting the Disability Resources website at "http://www.d.umn.edu/access/".

• Notetaking. Remember that there are rules against disseminating these notes beyond the classroom community, which you can find at "http://www.d.umn.edu/academic-affairs/academic-policies/classroom-policies/course-notes-and-materials".

• Attendance. I expect students to show up on time and prepared to discuss the readings assigned for that day. Students have a responsibility to plan their schedules to avoid conflicts with course requirements. Excessive absences will have a negative impact on the grade that you receive in this course. Excusable absences include "subpoenas, jury duty, military duty, religious observances, illness, bereavement for immediate family and NCAA varsity college athletics." Please contact the instructor about anticipated absences in order to minimize their influence on your coursework. For more information on excused absences, see "http://www.d.umn.edu/academic-affairs/academic-policies/classroom-policies/excused-absences".

• Student Conduct. Respect fellow students and refrain from behavior that might impair their learning opportunities. Any behavior that substantially and repeatedly interrupts the instructor's ability to teach or the students' ability to learn will result in appropriate penalties. Disruptive behavior includes inappropriate use of communications technology in the classroom, such as ringing cell phones, text-messaging, watching videos, playing computer games, reading email, or browsing the Internet instead of note-taking or other instructor-sanctioned activities. For further clarification of UMD policies in this regard, consult the Board of Regents Policy at "https://regents.umn.edu/sites/regents.umn.edu/files/policies/Student_Conduct_Code.pdf".

• Civility. UMD instructors and students have a responsibility to maintain a learning environment that is, as stated in the Teaching and Learning Policy, "respectful of the rights and freedoms of all members, and promotes a civil and open exchange of ideas." The full policy is available at "http://www.d.umn.edu/academic-affairs/academic-policies/classroom-policies/instructor-and-student-responsibilities".

Required Texts

Assigned readings will come from the following books:

Bishop, Elizabeth. Geography III. Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2008.

Frost, Robert. A Boy's Will/North of Boston. Penguin, 2001.

Hughes, Langston. Selected Poems of Langston Hughes. Knopf-Doubleday, 1990.

Lowell, Robert. Life Studies and For the Union Dead. Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2007.

Muske-Dukes, Carol. Twin Cities. New York: Penguin, 2011.

Plath, Sylvia. Colossus and Other Poems. New York: Vintage, 1998.

Ryan, Kay. The Best of It. New York: Grove, 2011.

Stevens, Wallace. Selected Poems. Knopf-Doubleday, 2011.

Supplementary Texts

The following texts are not part of the required reading list, but they may provide workable starting points for research into a particular poet or topic this semester.

Anderson, Linda R. Elizabeth Bishop: Lines of Connection. Edinburgh UP, 2013.

Axelrod, Steven G. Robert Lowell: Life and Art. Princeton UP, 1978.

Borroff, Marie. Language and the Past: Verbal Artistry in Frost, Stevens, and Moore. U of Chicago P, 1979.

Broe, Mary Lynn. Protean Poetic: The Art of Sylvia Plath. U of Missouri P, 1980.

Chinitz, David. Which Sin to Bear?: Authenticity and Compromise in Langston Hughes. Oxford UP, 2013.

Clark, Heather. The Grief of Influence: Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes. Oxford UP, 2011.

Fortuny, Kim. Elizabeth Bishop: The Art of Travel. U of Colorado P, 2003.

Gioia, Dana. Disappearing Ink: Poetry at the End of Print Culture. Graywolf, 2004.

Hass, Robert. Going by Contraries: Robert Frost's Conflict with Science. UP of Virginia, 2002.

Henzy, Karl. "Langston Hughes's Poetry and the Metaphysics of Simplicity." Callaloo: A Journal of African Diaspora Arts and Letters, vol. 34, no. 3, Summer 2011, pp. 915-927.

Kemp, John C. Robert Frost and New England: The Poet as Regionalist. Princeton UP, 1979.

Kendall, Tim. The Art of Robert Frost. Yale UP, 2012.

Kermode, Frank. Wallace Stevens. Grove, 1961.

Lane, Gary. Sylvia Plath: New Views on the Poetry. Johns Hopkins UP, 1979.

Lecouras, Peter. "The Postmodern Turn in Lowell's Poetry." Studies in the Humanities, vol. 27, no. 2, December 2000, pp. 158-174.

Lentricchia, Frank. Modernist Quartet. Cambridge UP, 1994.

Lombardi, Marilyn M. The Body and the Song: Elizabeth Bishop's Poetics. Southern Illinois UP, 1995.

Longenbach, James. Wallace Stevens: The Plain Sense of Things. Oxford UP, 1991.

Millier, Brett C. Elizabeth Bishop: Life and the Memory of It. U of California P, 1993.

Morris, Adalaide K. Wallace Stevens: Imagination and Faith. Princeton UP, 1971.

Perloff, Marjorie. The Poetic Art of Robert Lowell. Cornell UP, 1973.

Pinsky, Robert. The Situation of Poetry. Princeton UP, 1976.

Rosenthal, M. L. The New Poets: American and British Poetry since World War II. Oxford UP, 1967.

Tidwell, Roger E. and Cheryl R. Ragar, eds. Montage of a Dream: The Art and Life of Langston Hughes. U of Missouri P, 2007.

Tillinghast, Richard. Robert Lowell's Life and Work: Damaged Grandeur. U of Michigan P, 1995.

Vendler, Helen. On Extended Wings: Wallace Stevens' Longer Poems. Harvard UP, 1969.

------. Part of Nature, Part of Us: Modern American Poets. Harvard UP, 1980.

Wagner-Martin, Linda. Sylvia Plath: The Critical Heritage. Routledge, 1988.