ELIT 636 - Modern and
Contemporary Poetry
Course Information:
Course code:
LIT636 Title: Modern and
Contemporary Poetry Credit
Hrs: 3
Pre-requisites: Course
contact hours: 48
Instructor Information:
Name:
Shaheena Ayub Bhatti (PhD) Email:
shaheena59@gmail.com
Course Objectives: With a focus on twentieth and twenty first
century poetry, this course has been designed to introduce students to the key
movements of the twentieth century and their impact on the poetry being
produced in English on both sides of the Atlantic. Students at this stage are
expected to have a basic understanding and appreciation of poetry since it is
the objective of this module to introduce them to contemporary issues and their
representation in poetry. The emphasis will be on the critical issues raised by
poets and to generate discussion on the cultural, social, global, economic,
psychological and gender issues which affect humanity and help shape our world
view.
Learning Outcomes: On the completion of the course the students will be
able to understand cultural and political transitions and how they have
impacted British and American poets. The terms British and American are loosely
defined since nationality in the twentieth century is subject more to financial
and political positions than to geographical and biological boundaries.
Students are therefore expected to work across geographical boundaries and
develop critical insight to analyze the issues of identity, race, gender and
globalization, through the study of the polemic voices of feminism and
post-colonialism. This is a reading intensive module and the students
are expected to read more than is given in the handouts or reading lists. By the
conclusion of the semester, students are expected to be able to:
a)
Distinguish between the different
political and literary movements of the times and their impact on poetry
b)
Appreciate the different forms and
styles of modern and contemporary poetry
Reading list: Selected poems
of: A) British poets:
1) Rudyard
Kipling
2) Philip
Larkin
3) Ted
Hughes
B) American Poets:
4) Ezra Pound
5) E E Cummings 6) Adrienne Rich
7) Sylvia Plath
Weekly Schedule
Week 1: Introduction to the different movements and the impact of world
events.
Weeks 2 and 3: Rudyard Kipling – life and works, analysis of poems
in the backdrop of colonialism and postcolonialism
Weeks 4 and 5: Philip Larkin – life and works, analysis of poems
and the effects of postwar provincial England Weeks 6 and 7: Ted Hughes – life and works, analysis of poems,
Hughes’ relationship with Plath, the impact of the rural landscape of Yorkshire
and WWII on his poetry Week
8: Presentation on an aspect of British poetry – marks 10
Week 9: Mid-term exam
Weeks 10 and 11: Ezra Pound – life and works, analysis of poems in
the light of modernist movements, particularly Imagism, impact of WW I on his
personality, relationship with the government of Italy and public antiSemitism
Week 12 and 13: E. E. Cummings - life and works, analysis of poems
in the light of deviation from established norms, innovation and
experimentation in poetry including revamping grammatical and linguistic rules
Weeks 14 and 15: Adrienne Rich
- life and works, analysis of poems in the light of the impact of Yeats and
Auden on his poetry in addition to exploring issues of identity, sexuality and
politics and focus on social justice, the antiwar movement and radical feminism
Weeks 16 and 17: Sylvia Plath – life and works, analysis of poems
in the light of the intensely autobiographical exploration of her own mental
anguish and her troubled marriage and relationship with Ted Hughes Week
18: End Term examination and submission of written assignment on American
poetry
Assignment Fall 2016:
Discuss in detail the influence of
politics on American poetry of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.
Instructions for submission:
1) Total marks 20. Submission date: January 15th, 2017.
2) Please make an email id with your first name/given name.
Assignments that do not have the student’s name will not be graded.
3) The title page must carry the name of the student, subject and
semester. Sample provided.
4) Pages are to be numbered in Arabic numerals, with the title page
being numbered as 1.
5) All assignments must be typed and submitted in soft copy after
being converted to PDF.
6) Assignment title must be in font size 16.
7) Font: Times New Roman, size 14, single spaced. Marks will be
deducted for fancy fonts.
8) Word count: 5000 – 7000. Negative marking for assignments going
above or below the word count.
9) Works cited page/s must be as per MLA format.
10) No colors are to be used in the written assignment.
