Fall 2006
TTh 12:00–1:50
MH 104

Objectives

The idea behind this course is not to have you read the ten greatest books ever written, so that you can sound knowledgable at parties—although that can be a great dividend of a liberal arts education. It’s not to impart a rigid kind of natural history of literature. It’s not even to teach you to like reading—ideally, since you’re in college, you must already sometime, somewhere, have found pleasure in reading a book. Right?

Coming into this term, I’ve got three goals in mind. The first is to have you read a selection of poems, plays, and novels that I particularly like, and that—in some cases—you’re unlikely to have encountered before. I think there’s a good chance that you’ll enjoy them—but even if it turns out you hate one or two, you’ll have been exposed to something new, which is the great basis of all education.

The second goal is to help you realize that, quite apart from liking or disliking a book, you can get interesting ideas from it—and that those ideas are not necessarily just going to pop right out at you. Critical reading can be hard work. The tools of the trade—learning to recognize the formal elements of literary composition; to search for and analyze theme, structure, and image; to read texts at many different levels, and from many different perspectives—don’t just exist as a cute little academic exercise. Reading critically helps you understand more of what the author is trying to say—and, often, things s/he didn't even think of. Moreover, it’s a crucial life skill, one that you can use everywhere from reading for your other classes to watching TV.

Finally, because it’s seldom enough to understand something and just keep it to yourself, I plan to make you talk and write about your ideas—a lot. Talking your ideas over with other people helps both you and them to think. Writing things down forces you to think them through more clearly, and pushes you to develop your thoughts past that initial glimmer of an insight.

Plus, of course, our educational system requires that I have some basis on which to assign you a grade.

Tuesday:
Readings provided in class

Thursday:
Some Poems on Love (pp. 16–25 of the Norton): especially:
“[Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone]” (16)
“To My Dear and Loving Husband” (16)
“[Let me not to the marriage of true minds]” (17)
“[What my lips have kissed, and where, and why]” (18)
“A Last Confession” (22)

Thursday:
annotation due of a poem I’ve assigned

Tuesday:
Symbol—pp. 174–181 +
“Persimmons” (42)
“Death of a Young Son” (65)
“After a Death” (186)

Thursday:
“Lessons of the War” (79)
“Dulce et Decorum Est” (386)
“In Westminster Abbey” (114)
“The Fury of Aerial Bombardment” (387)
“Song: to Lucasta” (392)
“Disabled” (392)
“Channel Firing” (375)
“Woodchucks” (34)
“What's that Smell in the Kitchen?” (400)

Thursday:
prep paper and annotation due on a poem you find.

Tuesday:
Metaphor and Simile—pp. 159–73
(minus poems on p. 167, which are for Thursday)

Thursday:
“23rd Psalm” (167)
“Dover Beach” (96)
“The Lamb” (340) and “The Tyger” (472)
“Kubla Khan” (474)
“God's Grandeur” (500)
“When I Consider” (258)
“Batter My Heart” (167)
“Journey of the Magi” (484)
“Church Going” (228)
“Praying Drunk” (73)

Tuesday:
External form: the sonnet
pp.250–264
“[l(a)]” (271)
“Easter Wings” (274)

Thursday:
“A Far Cry from Africa” (367)
“Harlem (A Dream Deferred)” (383)
“Barbie Doll” (26)
“Welcome to Hiroshima” (381)
“Frederick Douglass” (383)
“Yet do I Marvel” (262)
“Theme for English B” (502)
“Paper Matches” (400)
“La Migra” (80)
“How I discovered Poetry” (98)

Tuesday:
prep paper and annotation due on a poem
I assigned

Poem recitations:
Tuesday:
T hursday:

Tuesday:
Goblin Market —(xeroxed handout)

Thursday:
Goblin Market

Tuesday:
prep paper due on Goblin Market

Poem recitations:
Tuesday: Sarah, Brandon
Thursday:Christie, Eric

Tuesday:
Sick day

Thursday:
The Big Sleep —pp.3–76 (chapters 1–13)

Due Friday by midnight.4 pp. paper

Poem recitations:
Tuesday: Brian, Jen C.(rescheduled to 12 Oct)
Thursday: Dan, Alex (resceheduled to 17 Oct)

Tuesday: No class—fall reading days

Thursday:
The Big Sleep—pp. 76–159 (chapters 14–24)

Tuesday 8–10 p.m. film screening in Library 306

Poem recitations:
Thursday: Ryan, Caitlin P.

Tuesday:
The Big Sleep—to end

Thursday:
The Dark is Rising—pp. 1–139 (parts 1 & 2)

Poem recitations:
Tuesday: Amy, Keba
Thursday: Jen R., Adrienne

Tuesday::
The Dark is Rising—pp. 140–216 (part 3)

Thursday:
Housekeeping —chapters 1–3

Poem recitations:
Tuesday: Bridgin, Shawn
Thursday: Kiely, Elena

Tuesday:
no class—Advising Day

Thursday:
Housekeeping—chapters 4–6

Poem recitations:
Thursday: Maggie, Sam

Tuesday 8–10 p.m. film screening in Library 321

Tuesday:
Housekeeping—chapters 7–11

Thursday:
A Midsummer Night's Dream—Act I

Poem recitations:
Tuesday: Ben, Josh
Thursday: Ian

Due Friday by 8 p.m: draft of 7 pp. paper—no late submissions accepted!

Tuesday:
MND, Acts II–III

Thursday:
MND, Acts IV–V

Poem recitations:
Tuesday: Matt

On Saturday the 18th, the class is attending a performance of A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Folger Shakespeare Theatre in Washington DC.

For directions and information about the theatre, see here.

Tuesday:
MND, performance discussion

Thursday:
No class—Thanksgiving Break

Monday & Tuesday:
writing conferences

Tuesday:
MND, scene discussion in groups

Thursday:
MND, scene presentations

Due Tuesday in class: Performance crux writings

Poem recitations:
Thursday: Shinae

Tuesday:
M. Butterfly—Act I only

Thursday:
M. Butterfly—Acts II & III + Afterword

Due Friday by 8 p.m: revised 7 pp. paper. E-mail submissions only.

Poem recitations:
Tuesday: Cait E.

Monday: Final Exam 2:00–4:15

Attendance and participation

Most class sessions will be run as a seminars, and your contributions are vital to your learning. This means you have to show up, and that there’s no such thing as an “excused” absence: being in class isn’t simply a demonstration of good intentions, but rather an opportunity to learn; if you’re not there, you’ve missed something you can’t get back. More than just showing up, though, this also means you have to talk (and sometimes write). Don’t feel like you have to have something brilliant to say in order to speak up: class discussion isn't about having the “right” answers, but about investigating ideas as a group. Don’t be afraid to think out loud; I certainly do. Do be afraid to do nothing but sit and passively absorb your classmates’ contributions: your learning—and your grades—will suffer.

To prepare for class, don’t just do the reading, but think about it, so that you’ll have something to say (and this includes questions to ask). Mark your texts up as you read them, or take notes. Read every poem at least twice, and once out loud.

Poem performance

Each student should select a poem from the anthology to memorize and perform in class. Sign-up for dates will be near the beginning of the term.

In-class writings & perfomance crux paper

Periodically, you may be asked to write short essays in class, or to take unannounced quizzes on the reading. No make-ups will be permitted for any reason; I will, however, drop your lowest score in computing your final grade. You will also, in preparation for class discussion, write one short essay on performance choices in Pericles.

Prep papers and annotations

For our poetry unit, as well as reading the small selection of poems I assign for class, you should also be browsing though the anthology on your own. Look for poems that you love, that you hate, that you feel you have insights about, that you don’t understand. Each Friday, you’ll be turning in turning in written work—sometimes on poems that I assign, sometimes on poems you’ve found yourself. The “anything extra” column of the syllabus, above, specifies what kind of writing is due on each day, and on what kind of poem.

Prep papers should be 1–2 typed pages (approx. 300–600 words) on a single poem. You don’t need the formal precision of a full-length essay in these pages, but your thoughts should be reasonably coherent, and directly on the works you’ve read.

For annotations, photocopy the poem you’re working on, then mark it up, showing me anything intresting you notice about it. Indicate poetic devices such as alliteration, rhyme, meter shifts. Note extended metaphors, striking images—anything that indicates craft on the part of the poet. You can underline things, circle them, whaterver you like—just label your markings clearly enough that I’ll know what you mean.

You will end up turning in 4 pieces of work: 1 annotation, and 3 annotations + prep paper

Short formal essay—4 pages

In this essay, you’ll be expected to select a poem from the anthology, articulate a significant question arising from your reading, and explore that question in depth. This isn’t supposed to be a book review, a plot summary, or a purely emotional appreciation, but rather a carefully argued exposition that deals with themes, symbolism, or formal structural issues.

Further instructions on this assignment, and on paper-writing in general, are available via these links:
paper assignment
paper-writing instructions

Long essay—7 pages

Same concept as the short essay—except that this one has to be on a novel.

Rewriting and revision are incredibly important steps in writing—no one ever got it right the first time (or even the second, or third). I’m asking you to turn in an early draft of your final essay both so that you can benefit from my feedback on it (instead of just getting comments after it’s a done deal), and also so that you’ll have an enforced period of rest and reflection in the middle of writing it. I want you to take the first draft seriously, and not just shrug it off because you get to do it over. Therefore, although the final version’s worth a lot more, the first draft still gets graded.

paper assignment

Final exam

A combination of short answer and essay questions, covering material from the entire term.

grading policies

1) Attendance is required. You get three absences per term; after that, your karmic score (and your grade) begin to fall.

2) Prep papers and annotations are due at the beginning of class. Late work will not be accepted. Work will not be accepted from people who are late to class, or who are absent. The only exception to this is when I have papers due on a day class doesn’t meet; in that case, turning in the paper counts as attendance.

3) Your formal essays have specific times when they’re due. Late papers turned in by midnight the same day will be marked down 1/3 grade; after that, they will lose another 1/3 grade per calendar day.The draft for your long essay may not be turned in late.