ENGL 205-003 S17: Poetry | https://engl205poetry.wordpress.com/
Instructor: Sumita Chakraborty
Email: [email protected]
Office hours: WF 11:45-12:45
Location: Callaway N-116
Days/Times: MWF 1:00-1:50pm
Office hours location: Peet’s in Woodruff
“Ain’t no one can / chart me,” says ex-planet
Pluto in a 2015 poem by Fatimah
Asghar. The remark may well also double as
self-reflexive commentary about the work
that poetry does, which can often feel
limitless, tackling a range of subjects in many
styles, forms, voices, and figures. Although
the expansiveness of poetry may indeed make
it—like Pluto—difficult to categorize, it also
enables the genre’s ability to create varied
conceptions of knowledge and sensation.
This semester, we will explore a diverse range
of texts and writers working in the mode of
lyric poetry. In addition to conducting a
chronological overview of the mode, we’ll
also pair each canonical writer with a
contemporary writer who is in conversation
with her or him. To give us a sense of the
many forms and stages that the writing of
poetry takes, we will journey into both brickand-mortar and digital archives. Poets to be
studied include Sappho, William
Shakespeare, John Keats, Emily Dickinson,
Gerard Manley Hopkins, Jean Toomer, Robert Lowell, Sylvia Plath, Lucille Clifton, Tracy K.
Smith, and Alice Oswald. We will write analytically as well as creatively, and our course goal will be
an introduction to the pleasures and rigors of reading, discussing, and writing about a genre that
declares, like Asghar’s version of Pluto does, “I got my running shoes on and all this sky that’s all
mine.”
Image: Glenn Ligon’s “Prisoner of Love #1 (Second Version)” (1992); photo by Elisa Wouk Almino for Hyperallergic.
Learning Outcomes
•
•
To develop skills of close reading, as well as a vocabulary for discussing poetry specifically
and language more broadly
To be able to identify and analyze different prosodic and poetic forms and devices
1
•
•
•
•
To be able to tell a story of the history of lyric poetry
To recognize the capaciousness of the mode, and to have a sense of how its wide range of
practitioners—who hail from multiple periods in time, and are of every gender, sexual
orientation, race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic position—have reshaped that story
To gain further experience with reading and creating academic work in the humanities, as
well as creative work
To further develop one’s own writing; to further develop skills of communication,
discussion, and group work; to expand and enrich one’s own ideas of and facility with
intellectual conversation and inquiry
Course Texts
•
•
•
The Norton Anthology of Poetry, Shorter 5th Edition, eds. Margaret Ferguson, Mary Jo Salter,
and Jon Stallworthy (Norton, 2004)
Tracy K. Smith, Life on Mars (Graywolf, 2011)
Alice Oswald, Memorial (Norton, 2013)
New and used copies of all are available at the Emory bookstore as well as other retailers, and
copies will be held in Course Reserves in Woodruff. While I strongly urge acquiring the above
three texts (all of which are required texts), please speak with me if accessibility issues emerge.
Other texts will be made available on electronic Course Reserves
(http://reserves.library.emory.edu). Our course’s syllabus, assignments, and more are on our
course website, https://engl205poetry.wordpress.com.
Course content note. In addition to its powerful capacity for celebration and affirmation, lyric poetry
excels at confrontation, consideration, subversion, and much else besides. Such evocativeness is
one of poetry’s gifts. Accordingly, some of the subjects poets have tackled are disturbing ones, and
they sometimes do so vividly, or startlingly, or even frightfully. I will endeavor to make clear to you
the arc of the course and the subjects up for discussion; please feel welcome to speak with me in
advance about any concerns you may have.
Policies
My primary goal is ensuring a safe, equal, and intellectually stimulating environment for each of
my students. All of these policies and resources are geared toward that goal. If you have any
questions at any point—whether about the course as a whole or about a specific policy, resource,
assignment, issue, or concern—do not hesitate to contact me.
Academic honesty policy. You should familiarize yourself with Emory’s Honor Code:
http://catalog.college.emory.edu/academic/policy/honor_code.html. Any form of academic
dishonesty will result in a grade of “F” for the course and a report to the College Honor Council.
Attendance policy. This course requires each one of us to be present in the fullest sense of the word:
you are expected to attend, arrive on time, be prepared with your work and your reading, and
2
contribute to our discussions. You have a total of three absences: no questions asked. After that,
your final grade will decrease by one-third of a letter grade for each absence. Attendance also
implies having completed the reading and bringing the day’s materials with you to class; doing
otherwise counts as an absence.
Late work policy. All assignments are due by the time and date specified. No late work will be
accepted without advance arrangements via email, and extensions are not guaranteed. Late work
without advance arrangement will cause your grade for the assignment to decrease by one-third of
a letter grade for each day the assignment is late.
Revision policy. Any written assignments for which revision is permitted will have a revision
component built into the assignment itself. As such, assignments that do not already entail
revision may not be revised for a new grade.
Email and website policy. Students are required to check their university email account daily (at
least), as course updates will be delivered over email; you are responsible for up-to-date knowledge
regarding the course, which includes regularly viewing our website. All emails to me must be
written from your Emory email accounts using appropriate diction. I will respond to all emails
within 24 hours.
Technology policy. Laptops and tablets may be used in the classroom for reading electronic copies of
assigned texts, seeking information pertinent to our immediate class discussion topic, and taking
notes. Under no circumstances are mobile phones permitted; neither is any form of recording
device or application. If you are ever unsure about whether a particular device or usage is
permitted, you should ask me. Your use of technology must pertain to our course and may not be
personal. Some examples of unacceptable use include e-mail, Facebook, or other non-courserelated sites or applications. Any improper use of technology will severely impact your
participation grade, and I may alter this policy should it prove unproductive. Your use of
technology must not take you away from or disrupt the activity of your community of scholars; it
should augment rather than compromise your contribution and our work.
Resources
Office hours. You will find my office hours’ time, day, and location listed at the top of the syllabus.
You are encouraged to make use of them: do not hesitate to stop by. I am also available by
appointment.
Emory Writing Center. The Emory Writing Center staff includes talented and welcoming
undergraduate and graduate students from a range of disciplines. They are eager to work with all
writers at all stages of the composing process. To learn more, go to
http://writingcenter.emory.edu.
Resources for speakers of English as an additional language. Emory has a host of resources specifically for
students who speak English as an additional language. The Support Services for Undergraduates
3
include support for a variety of academic tasks. To learn more, go to
http://college.emory.edu/home/academic/learning/esl.
The Office of Disability Services. If you require instructional modifications due to a documented
disability, you should notify me as soon as possible. You must also register with the Office of
Disability Services. All information will be held in confidence. To learn more, go to
http://www.ods.emory.edu.
Academic Advising Office. For medical, personal, or other concerns that may affect your academic
life, the Academic Advising Office may be of use to you. The Academic Advising Office respects
your confidentiality. To learn more, go to
http://college.emory.edu/home/academic/advising/advising.html.
Emory Counseling Services. The Emory Student Counseling Center provides free and confidential
counseling for students. To learn more, call (404) 727-7450 or go to
http://studenthealth.emory.edu/cs.
Course Requirements
Assignments. In addition to reading, participation, and other responsibilities, you will lead a portion
of class discussion once, write three response papers, and participate in a collaborative creative
assignment:
•
Inquiries: careful critical inquiry involves asking careful, critical questions. During many of
our classes, we will begin by discussing one question that pertains to our reading for the
day. This discussion will last approximately 10-15 minutes. On one day, you will be
responsible for creating the question that guides our Inquiries, and you will lead the 10-15
minute discussion. Each student will lead Inquiries once. Guidelines regarding assessment
will be provided on a separate assignment sheet.
•
For your response papers, you will develop analytical, close-reading-driven arguments
about one of the texts we have read in the corresponding unit. Guidelines about
quotations, secondary sources, and so on will be provided on a separate assignment sheet.
The main priority of these assignments is to give you an opportunity to spend time in
depth with one text, so you will want to focus on paying deep attention to your chosen
text. There will be 3 total.
•
Lyric poetry is a living art form that is always in conversation with other discourses,
including other lyric poems. In our Erosions group project, we will join those
conversations. You will be creating erasure poems, the definition of which entails taking an
existing text and obscuring a number of the words in it in order to make your own poem;
we will read some together over the course of our semester, and other examples will be
available on our Erosions website. Recently published erasure poems have turned state
documents into love poetry, turned statements of public lenience toward sexual violence
4
into passionate and personal declarations of pain and anger, highlighted the absurdity of
political discourse, and much more. For Erosions, you will each create one erasure poem
with one of the poems we have read together. You will also write a reflection explicating
your piece. We will create a collaborative web gallery that will display all of our work, and
explore our project together on the last day of class; additional guidelines will follow.
Grade breakdown.
• 20% Attendance and participation
• 10% Informal writing, including in-class writing
• 10% Inquiries
• 40% 3 Response Papers
• 20% Erosions
Grading rubric. While more individual criteria will accompany every assignment, please also see
these broad definitions of grades.
•
A: The A paper uses syntax and organization that engages the reader and maintains pace
and interest through all stages of the paper. It displays a sophisticated style, a strong writing
voice, and a clear sense of audience. The writer analyzes cogent and ample evidence
throughout. Transitions are used to mark turns in the argument, sentences have varied
lengths and structures, and individual sentences are concise. The A paper contains virtually
no errors in grammar or mechanics.
•
B: The B paper differs from the A paper in degree of sophistication. The B paper is far
more than adequate. It has a clear thesis, an organizing principle, and ample evidence
presented effectively; the writing is clear and coherent. The paper contains very few errors
in grammar and mechanics.
•
C: The C paper demonstrates competency with the fundamental writing requirements of
the course. It has a basic thesis that develops throughout the paper, although the evidence
and analysis will be weaker than in the B paper. There may be some minor errors in
grammar and mechanics.
•
D: The D paper meets the minimum requirements of the assignment but has major flaws
in organization, argument, awareness of audience, and grammar and mechanics.
•
F: The F paper fails to meet the minimum requirements. It may have serious flaws that
render it incomprehensible. Alternately, it may be late, unfinished, or plagiarized.
Schedule
With the exception of page numbers for Life on Mars and Memorial, all page numbers refer to the
Norton Anthology of Poetry, Shorter 5th Edition. For texts labeled as available on Course Reserves, go
to http://reserves.library.emory.edu. This schedule and readings are subject to change.
5
Wednesday 1.11.17
Introduction to course and syllabus
Friday 1.13.17
Caedmon’s Hymn (1); Selections from Sappho’s fragments, trans.
Anne Carson (Course Reserves); Gerald Graff, “‘I Take Your Point’:
Entering Class Discussions” (Course Reserves)
Syllabus Response Deadline (5:00p.m.)
Monday 1.16.17
No class (Martin Luther King, Jr. Day)
Wednesday 1.18.17
William Shakespeare, Sonnet 12 (170), Sonnet 15 (170), Sonnet 55
(172), Sonnet 65 (173), Sonnet 71 (173)
Friday 1.20.17
William Shakespeare, Sonnet 94 (174), Sonnet 106 (175), Sonnet
107 (175); Eduardo C. Corral, “Border Triptych” (Course Reserves)
Monday 1.23.17
John Donne, “The Flea” (202), “A Valediction Forbidding
Mourning” (198); Shara Lessley, “Tips for Poets Inspired By
Another Dead White Male” (Course Reserves)
Wednesday 1.25.17
John Donne, Holy Sonnet 14 (208); Meg Day, “Batter My Heart,
Transgender’d God” (Course Reserves)
Friday 1.27.17
John Milton, “How Soon Hath Time” (268), “When I Consider
How My Light Is Spent” (274); Ronald Johnson, from Radi Os
(Course Reserves)
Monday 1.30.17
John Milton, “Lycidas” (269)
Wednesday 2.1.17
William Wordsworth, “She Dwelt among the Untrodden Ways”
(471), “A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal” (472), “The World Is Too
Much With Us” (484); Hayan Charara, “Animals” (Course
Reserves)
Friday 2.3.17
John Keats, “On First Looking into Chapman’s Homer” (567),
“Ode to a Nightingale” (582), “Ode on a Grecian Urn” (585)
Monday 2.6.17
John Keats, “To Autumn” (587); “This Living Hand” (588); Phillip
Levine, “Keats in California” (Course Reserves)
Wednesday 2.8.17
Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Sonnets from the Portuguese 1 (593), 43
(594); Christian Hawkey and Uljana Wolf, from Sonne from Ort
(Course Reserves)
6
Friday 2.10.17
No class (instructor at a conference)
Response Paper 1 Deadline (5:00p.m.)
Monday 2.13.17
Robert Browning, “Porphyria’s Lover” (642), “My Last Duchess”
(643); Ai, “Salomé” (Course Reserves)
Wednesday 2.15.17
Walt Whitman, “When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer” (689), “A
Noiseless Patient Spider” (702)
Friday 2.17.17
Walt Whitman, Song of Myself 1 (679), 5 (679), 6 (680), 24 (682); C.
K. Williams, “Tar” (Course Reserves)
Monday 2.20.17
Emily Dickinson, “After great pain, a formal feeling comes” (725),
“Much Madness is divinest Sense” (728), “Tell all the Truth but tell
it slant” (731), “Split the Lark – and you’ll find the Music” (730)
Wednesday 2.22.17
Emily Dickinson, “I dwell in Possibility –” (Course Reserves),“The
Brain – is wider than the Sky” (Course Reserves); Transcription
Exercise (in class)
Friday 2.24.17
Gerard Manley Hopkins, “Carrion Comfort” (758), “No Worst,
There Is None” (758), “Pied Beauty” (759); Jenny Johnson,
“Dappled Things” (Course Reserves)
Monday 2.27.17
H.D., “Helen” (851), “Sea Iris” (Course Reserves), from The Walls
Do Not Fall (851); Joy Harjo, “This Morning I Pray for My Enemies”
(Course Reserves)
Wednesday 3.1.17
William Carlos Williams, “The Red Wheelbarrow” (829), from
Asphodel, That Greeny Flower (831), “Landscape with the Fall of
Icarus” (838); David Moolten, “Chagall’s Fall of Icarus” (Course
Reserves)
Friday 3.3.17
T. S. Eliot, “The Love-Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” (862)
Response Paper 2 Deadline (5:00p.m.)
Monday 3.6.17
No class (Spring Break)
Wednesday 3.8.17
No class (Spring Break)
Friday 3.10.17
No class (Spring Break)
Monday 3.13.17
T. S. Eliot, The Waste Land (866); Kamau Brathwaite, “I Was WashWay in Blood” (Course Reserves)
7
Wednesday 3.15.17
Jean Toomer, from Cane (898); Jill McDonough, “Reaper” (Course
Reserves)
Friday 3.17.17
Langston Hughes, “The Weary Blues” (912), “The Negro Speaks of
Rivers” (913); Kevin Young, “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart”
(Course Reserves)
Monday 3.20.17
W. H. Auden, “Lullaby” (936), “In Memory of W. B. Yeats” (939),
“September 1, 1939” (941); Ginna Luck, “In the Hour of My Own
Undoing” (Course Reserves)
Wednesday 3.22.17
Richard Wright, Haiku 21 (958), 31 (958), 210 (958), 490 (958),
762 (958), 783 (958); Marilyn Chin, “Twenty-Five Haiku” (Course
Reserves)
Friday 3.24.17
Visit to Rose Library (instructor at a conference; visit will be led
by Rose Library instructional staff)
Monday 3.27.17
Elizabeth Bishop, “Sestina” (963), “In the Waiting Room” (964),
“One Art” (966); Evie Shockley, “clare’s song” (Course Reserves)
Erosions Text Selection Deadline (in class)
Wednesday 3.29.17
Robert Lowell, “Water” (1006), “Epilogue” (1009), “Skunk Hour”
(Course Reserves); Maggie Smith, “Good Bones” (Course Reserves)
Friday 3.31.17
Sylvia Plath, “Daddy” (1145), “Ariel” (1147), “Lady Lazarus” (1148);
April Bernard, “Bloody Mary” (Course Reserves)
Monday 4.3.17
Gwendolyn Brooks, “my dreams, my works, must wait till after hell”
(Course Reserves), “kitchenette building” (998), “the rites for
Cousin Vit” (999); Aracelis Girmay, “Elegy” (Course Reserves)
Wednesday 4.5.17
James Merrill, “The Broken Home” (1068), “The Victor Dog”
(1071), from “The Book of Ephraim” (1072); Carl Phillips, “As
from a Quiver of Arrows” (Course Reserves)
Friday 4.7.17
Lucille Clifton, “the garden of delight” (Course Reserves), “my
dream about time” (Course Reserves), “won’t you celebrate with
me” (Course Reserves); Ada Limón, “How to Triumph Like a Girl”
(Course Reserves)
Response Paper 3 Deadline (5:00p.m.)
Monday 4.10.17
Tracy K. Smith, Life on Mars (1-34)
8
Wednesday 4.12.17
Tracy K. Smith, Life on Mars (35-53)
Friday 4.14.17
Tracy K. Smith, Life on Mars (54-70)
Erosions Check-In (in class)
Monday 4.17.17
Alice Oswald, Memorial (1-36)
Wednesday 4.19.17
Alice Oswald, Memorial (36-52)
Friday 4.21.17
Alice Oswald, Memorial (52-81)
Erosions Deadline (5:00p.m.)
Monday 4.24.17
Our Erosions; wrap-up discussion
9