English 205: Anglophone Poetry: Mechanics, Content and

Style
Caroline Schwenz
cschwen@emory.edu
Office Hours: Peats Coffee on Mondays @ 2-4pm
Class Time: MW 4:00-5:15 PM
Class Location: Callaway N109
Class Website: http://english205anglophonepoetry.weebly.com/
Course Description:
Through the lens of Anglophone poetry, this course will provide students with
the tools they need to engage with and interpret different modes of poetry.
The beginning of the course will focus on developing student knowledge of
poetic terms and forms. The second half of the course will apply that
knowledge to our consideration of various authors of the Anglophone world.
Students should expect a significant writing load. They will complete weekly
homework assignments (500 words), 4 quizzes, a memorization assignment
with 4 page analysis paper, a poetry reading with 4 page explanatory paper,
and a 10 page close reading final paper. Some poets we will read in the
course include Derek Walcott, Lorna Goodison, Seamus Heaney, Marlene
NourbeSe Philip and Agha Shahid Ali.
Course Outcomes:
By the end of this course students will:
1. Be able to articulate the relationship between form and content in
poetry.
2. Know and understand poetic terminology and mechanics including
meter and poetic structures.
3. Understand the historical and contemporary place of poetry as a form.
4. Compose in a variety of mediums that will allow them to engage with
poetry in a more expansive capacity.
Required Texts:

Stephen Frys The Ode Less Travelled: Unlocking the Poet Within.
o ISBN:978-1-592-40311-0
All other course texts will be made available online through Blackboard
and Course Reserves

Assignments:

Term, Terms, Terms Quiz and Homework

There will be 4 poetry key term quizzes administered every 2 weeks
that will ask students to recall the meaning of terms and to identify an
example where those terms occur in the poetry we read in the course.
The twist is that these quizzes will be compiled from weekly homework
assignments submitted by students. After completing their weekly
poetry reading assignments, students will have to identify one example
of a poetic key term and provide a definition of that term. Students will
post their homework to the class website for their peers to read and
study from.
Homework
You will complete a homework assignment each week. At the beginning
of the term your homework assignment will be largely about
identifying, defining and finding examples of poetic terms in the works
we read However after your 4 quizzes finish, homework assignments
will be a place for you to practice interpreting, analyzing and reading
poetry. Homework assignments should be 500 words in length.
Memorize, Perform and Interpret Poetry: Living the Poem
Because poetry was for a long time (and still is strongly related today)
to oral performance, students will be asked to memorize and perform a
short poem. A list of short poems will be provided well in advance to
the assignment deadline. I will consider other poems on an individual
basis. Your poem will be no longer than 2-3 stanzas. This is not an
assignment designed to intimidate but rather to help students
internalize the rhythms of a poem. After reciting the poem, you will
have a week to submit a short (4 page) interpretation of the poem that
influenced your performance of the poem. In this essay you will
articulate the performative choices you made and how they are
influenced and informed by your reading of the poem. This reading
should make use of the technical terminology we are practicing in the
course while also commenting on content.
Intermission: Form and Content in the Wings of Discussion
As the course shifts away from explicitly considering the mechanics of
poetry and more toward explicit discussions of content, I will ask small
groups of students to curate poems in order to host a poetry reading.
Each group will select a set of poems that adhere to some sort of
theme (poems about dragons, poems about nature, poems about love,
etc.). You will then have to decide how you are going to perform and

sequence the poems, how you will promote your poetry event, and
how you will manipulate the space that the poetry reading occupies. In
short, you will create a poetic experience. Alongside your poetry
reading, you will submit individually a short (3-4 page) paper
discussing the choices your group made regarding the poetry reading,
how that related to your set of poems, and how your reading
responded to the poems.
Patterns to Fashion a World: Glossing, Marking and Interpreting the
Repetitions of Poetry
In this final paper (10 pages) students will be asked to do 2 things: 1)
turn in a glossing of a poem of their choice. The marginalia of this
glossing should not exceed 2 pages of notes. From the glossing of the
poem students will construct an in-depth interpretation of no more
than 3 patterns they perceive in the work. These patterns might
include the use of an allusion to another work, the repetition of figure
or stylistic choice in the poem, tonal changes in the poem, rhyming
schemes or mechanical choices. The patterns students identify in their
works must then be considered in relation to each other. Why these
patterns? What do they tell us about the purpose or stakes of the
poem?
Assignment Weights:
Quizzes
Homework
Memorized Poem Assignment
Poetry Reading
Final Essay
Participation

15%
15%
10%
25%
25%
10%

Policies:
Electronics Policy: Each term I teach I struggle with the question of
electronics. As you all know electronics can be a great tool for learning but
they can also be a distraction that inhibits learning. This class will allow the
use of computers and tablets in the classroom with the caveat that if I notice
inappropriate uses (checking Facebook, chatting to friends, etc.) your
participation grade will suffer. Cell phones are not allowed. Be mindful that
participation is 10% of your grade so regular electronics violations will
prevent you from receiving an A in the course. Furthermore, generally
students who are distracted in class will see their grade suffer in other places
such as homework because they miss important information discussed.

Attendance and Participation: Because this class is a discussion-based class,

I do expect regular attendance. That said, we all have days when for one
reason or another we cannot make the time commitment to class. You will be
allowed to miss up to 3 classes this term without penalty. If you miss more
then 3 classes, I will start taking percentage points off your final grade. 1
percentage point will be taken for each additional missed class. This means if
you have a 94 in the class and miss 5 classes, your grade will slip down to a
92 giving you and A- instead of an A. If you have to miss class for sports,
campus events or because of a disability, you will not be subject to the same
attendance rules. Please discuss with me at the beginning of the term if you
know you will miss more than 3 classes. If something arises in the middle of
the term that is causing you to miss classes, please come to me so we can
work out a new policy for you.
Participation in this class is key to the courses success. Each of you have
something to contribute and I dont want miss the opportunity to hear what
you have to say. Participation is measured in many ways. I am looking for
students who speak in class discussion, who are attentive to what other
classmates are saying, and who are willing to interact and work with their
peers.
Late Work: In life we will always be subject to and oppressed by deadlines.
Developing time management skills is essential to your success in the
working world. For that reason all deadlines in this class will be enforced. You
cannot ask for an extension once a deadline has passed unless you have a
significant reason for needing oneYou find yourself in the hospital after
breaking an arm, a family member falls ill suddenly, your dorm catches fire
with your computer in it, etc. BUT, I will grant extensions to those who ask
for it 48 hours prior to the due date of an assignment and who provide me
with a new deadline. If you have enough forethought to know you wont
make a deadline, you can have your extension. If you procrastinated, then
things might not work out so well for you.
Accommodations and Resources:
Emory Writing Center: The Emory Writing Center offers 45-minute individual
conferences to Emory College and Laney Graduate School students. It is a
great place to bring any project-from traditional papers to websites-at any
stage in your composing process. Writing Center tutors take a discussionand workshop-based approach that enables writers of all levels to see their
writing with fresh eyes. Tutors can talk with you about your purpose,
organization, audience, design choices, or use of sources. They can also work
with you on sentence-level concerns (including grammar and word choice),
but they will not proofread for you. Instead, they will discuss strategies and
resources you can use to become a better editor of your own work. The

Writing Center is located in Callaway N-212. Visit writingcenter.emory.edu for

more information and to make appointments.
ESL Tutoring
If English is not your first language, you may benefit from working with
specially trained ESL Tutors. The tutors are undergraduates who will support
the development of your English language skills. Like Writing Center tutors,
ESL tutors will not proofread your work. Language is best learned through
interactive dialogue, so when you come to an ESL tutoring session, be ready
to collaborate! ESL tutors will meet with you in designated locations across
campus (visit the ASST program to view the list), and they will help you at
any stage of the process of developing your essay or presentation. You may
bring your work on a laptop or on paper. Each regular appointment lasts 5055 minutes. Please note that you may only schedule two ESL tutoring
appointments per week (Sunday-Saturday).
In Spring 2016, additional drop-in tutoring without appointment will be
offered on three Sundays at the end of the semester: on April 17 and 24 as
well as on May 1 from 4-6pm, near the circulation desk on the second floor of
Woodruff Library (by the EPASS sign). During drop-in hours, tutors will be
able to help you for a few minutes with your assignment.
For more information and to schedule a regular appointment via ASST,
please view our website:http://college.emory.edu/oue/student-support/eslprogram/esl-tutoring.html. Tutoring starts this semester on January 19.
Disability Accommodation: Emory University makes reasonable
accommodations for persons with disabilities. Students should provide
documentation to the Access, Disabilities Services and Resources Office in
110 Administration Building of their disability related needs. For guidelines
and information, please contact by email: adsrstudent@emory.edu. Any
student eligible for academic accommodations based on a disability should
bring the formal accommodation communication (letter or email) to the
attention of the instructor. Note that accommodations are NOT granted
retroactively. Please arrange a meeting with your instructor at the start of
the semester or as soon as the accommodation plan has been finalized.
Class Schedule:
January
Week 1:
1/13

LANGUAGE AND EXPRESSION

Class Policies, Why Study Poetry? Marlene NourbeSe Philip
Discourse on the Logic of Language in class reading

Reading

1/17
Week 2
1/18
1/20
Reading
1/24
Week 3
1/25
1/27
Reading

1/31

Fry Foreword (xiii-xxii), How to Read this Book (xxiiixxv), How We Speak. Meet Metre. The Great Iamb (120), Derek Walcott Tales of the Islands, Claude McKays
If We Must Die
Key term Homework Assignment 1 Due @midnight
IAMBIC PENTAMETERIs there another way?
MLK Day, NO CLASS
Meters of English, the poetry of a language
Fry End-stopping, Enjambment, and Caesura (21-32),
Ternary Feet: The Dactyl (77-86), Clarke Summary of
History of the Voice (1-3), Braithwaites Limbo
Key term Homework Assignment 2 Due @midnight
WHO HAS THE TIME FOR RHYME?
Nichols, HAND OUT MEMORIZATION ASSIGNMENT
Bennett, Rushdie, TERMS QUIZ 1
Read Fry Rhyme sections 1 &2 (section 3 optional),
Grace Nicholss The Fat Black Woman Goes Shopping
and Looking at Miss World, Rushdies Kardashian
limerick, Louise Bennetts Colonization in Reverse (read
and listen),
Key term Homework Assignment 3 Due @midnight

February
Week 4
2/1
2/3
Reading
2/7
Week 5
2/8
2/10
Reading

I CANT STANZA HOW YOU ORAGNIZE A POEM

Form Time (The Stanza and Stanzaic Variations)
Heroic Verse
Frys The Stanza and Stanzaic Variations (171-185,
202-209), Yeatss Among School Children, Omeros (1-42)
Key term Homework Assignment 4 Due @midnight

2/14

SHORN OF FORM, ALL THERE IS IS DICTION

Exotic Forms
TERMS QUIZ 2 Shaped Verse
Frys Exotic Forms, Shaped Verse( 274-280, 93-300),
Agha Shahid Alis I Dream I am the Only Passenger on
Flight 423 to Srinagar, Ghazal 193 &225, Beyond
English, final section of Marlene NourbeSe Philips
Looking for Livingston: An Odyssey of Silence (end only),
Grace Nicholss Sugar Cane
Key term Homework Assignment 5 Due @midnight

Week 6

I MEMORIZE UNTIL MY EYES BLEED

2/15
2/17
2/21
Note:

Memorization Assignment Performance Day

Memorization Assignment Performance Day
MEMORIZATION ESSAY DUE @ MIDNIGHT
No homework this week

Week 7

CHOOSING THE RIGHT WORDSA LOOK AT POETRY

DRAFTS
Diction and Poetics (Section 1) MARBL day?
Diction and Poetics (section 2) MARBL day?
Frys The Whale (307-320) and Poetic Vices (320-329)
MARBL Homework Assignment 7 Due @midnightSEE REVISED
ASSIGNMENT SHEET

2/22
2/24
Reading
2/28
March
Week 8
2/29
3/2
Reading
3/6

POET OF THE NATION AND POET IN A FOREIGN LAND

TERMS QUIZ 3 -- Yeats
Sujata Bhatt
Yeatss Easter, 1916, To Ireland in the Coming Times,
The Host of the Air, Sujata Bhatts Truth is Mute, Old
Love Never Rusts, Crear,Poppies in Translation
Homework Assignment 8 Due @midnight

3/7 --SPRING BREAK

3/9SPRING BREAK
Week 9
3/14
3/16
Reading

3/20
Week
10
3/21
3/23
Reading
3/27

POETS OF PLACE
Heaney
TERMS QUIZ 4, Carson
Seamus Heaneys elegy for a Still-Born Child, The
Outlaw,Digging, Bog Queen,Ciaran Carsons
Queens Gambit, Gate, Last Orders, Hairline
Crack, Bloody Hand
Close Reading Homework Assignment 9 Due @midnight
POETRY READINGAN EXAMPLE
Caitrona OReilly
NO CLASSATTEND POETRY READING in the Rose Library a
@6:30 PM
OReillys Geis, Snow, Polar, The Gardener, The
Man with No Name at Vital Principle: A Ghazal
Close Reading Homework Assignment 10 Due @midnight, be sure
to incorporate thoughts on the reading

Week
11
3/28
3/30
4/3

POETRY READING GALORE!

POETRY READING, location TBD
POETRY READING
POETRY READING ESSAY DUE @MIDNIGHT

April
Week
12
4/4
4/6
Reading
4/10

PROSE POETRY

Week
13
4/11
4/13
Reading
4/17

POETS IN THE ANCIENT WORLD

Week
14
4/18
4/20

POETS OF TRAUMA

Reading
4/24
Week
15
4/25
4/27

Ama Ata Aidoo

Ama Ata Aidoo
Ama Ata Aidoos Our Sister Killjoy (1-82)
Close Reading Homework Assignment 12 Due @midnight

The Emperors Babe

The Emperors Babe
The Emperors Babe (sections 1 & 2)
Key Close Reading Homework Assignment 13 Due @midnight

Arasanayagam
Peer exercise gloss assignment, close reading final essay
workshop day
Jean Aranasayagams 1958..71..77..81..83,
Personae, Innocent VictimTrincomalee,The
Holocaust
GLOSS ASSIGNMENT DUE @ MIDNIGHT
POETRY TODAY? A CONVERSATION
LAST DAY OF CLASS
EXAM PERIOD BEGINS

FINAL DEADLINES
5/2-5/6
5/6
5/9

MAY
EXAM PERIOD
FINAL ESSAY DUE @MIDNIGHT
END OF TERM (will not accept work after this
day)