ENGL 222(S) Studies in the Lyric+
This discussion course is designed to introduce students considering the major to the study of lyric poetry by raising three fundamental questions: How does one read a lyric? How does one talk about a lyric? How does one write about a lyric? In the first half of the course, we will read groups of poems from a range of historical periods in order to examine the various elements that make a poem a poem (tone, image, rhetorical persuasion, lyric audience, versification, form). In the second half of the semester we will focus on three poets, a Renaissance poet (Donne), a Romantic poet (Keats), and a modern poet (Rich), to see how an individual poet uses and adapts lyric conventions to develop a distinctive style and vision. Students will also have an opportunity to analyze lyric criticism, and to put it to use in their final essay. Requirements: active classroom participation, frequent short writing assignments, and a final 6- to 8-page paper. Prerequisite: a 100-level English course, except 150 (formerly 103). Enrollment limited to 19. (Criticism)