Introduction to Poetry ENG 200, section 001 Spring 2016 / TR 12:30-1:45 PM / Simpkins 14 Dr. Magdelyn Hammond Helwig 127 Simpkins Hall / 298-2136 MH-Helwig@wiu.edu Office Hours: M and W 1-3; Th 2-3; and by appointment “Poetry is language at its most distilled and most powerful.” –Rita Dove Ink runs from the corners of my mouth. There is no happiness like mine. I have been eating poetry. from “Eating Poetry” by Mark Strand In Introduction to Poetry, we shall not just read and listen to poetry...we shall eat it, devour it, with abandon. Our banquet table will be set with poetry from around the world and across time periods, and as we dig into each poem, we will consider both form and content. This class is designed to introduce you to the range of poetic forms in use today as well as provide a more in- depth look at specific poetic movements and individual poets. Catalog description: 200 Introduction to Poetry. (3) (General Education/ Humanities) Reading and discussion of poetry from around the world, introducing students to selected traditions, questions of social justice, and methods of interpretation. IAI: H3 903. Required Texts Meyer, Michael. Thinking and Writing About Poetry. New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2016. Plath, Sylvia. Ariel: The Restored Edition. New York: HarperCollins, 2004. Course Policies 1. Attendance/Class Participation: 1a. Although I will provide background and context for our reading at the start of each class period, the course will rely upon your active participation and your own exploration of our texts. Because we will be doing a good deal of writing in class and because our class discussions depend upon everyone's thoughtful contributions, it is essential that you maintain regular attendance and that you come prepared to discuss the reading material each day. You are permitted 5 (five) absences over the semester for this course: for each absence beyond 5, your 1 final grade will be lowered one full letter grade. I do not distinguish between excused and unexcused absences, so please plan accordingly. Students who have 9 (nine) or more total absences will receive an automatic F for the course. Tardiness (defined as arriving more than five minutes late to class) will negatively affect your class participation grade, so please arrive promptly to class. Four tardies will count as one absence. If you arrive more than fifteen minutes late to class, you will be counted absent. Leaving class early will also count as a tardy; leaving class more than fifteen minutes early will count as an absence. 1b. As per university policy, students missing class for observation of a religious holiday must notify me at least 5 calendar days prior to the absence so that I can arrange accommodations. Student athletes must meet with me at the beginning of the semester to review sports-related absences and develop an accommodation plan. Students with military obligations should contact me as soon as they know about those obligations so that we can develop an accommodation plan. 1c. Your class participation grade is worth 10% of your final grade. You are expected to be a willing and thoughtful contributor to class discussion. As you do your reading for class, you should prepare questions and comments about the reading. In class you should be prepared to answer questions, pose new questions, and solicit conversation from your peers. A healthy classroom environment is one in which each person feels comfortable expressing his or her opinion. I will not tolerate rude, disruptive, or inconsiderate behavior, which includes texting. Please put cell phones on vibrate and stash them away during class. Your class participation grade will be lowered if your participation is disruptive to the classroom climate as well as if you do not participate at all. When assessing your class participation during the semester, I will consider both the regularity and the quality of your participation. Please note that chronic tardiness, excessive absences, and/or disruptive classroom behavior of any kind will affect your class participation grade negatively. While class participation grades will reflect subtle gradations according to our +/- grading system at WIU, below are the general attributes of class participation for whole letter grades. A: Student contributes daily and significantly to class discussion by answering questions, posing questions, making analytical comments, and always actively focusing on class discussion. B: Student contributes regularly to class discussion by answering questions, posing questions, making analytical comments, and always actively focusing on class discussion. C: Student contributes sporadically to class discussion by answering questions, posing questions, making analytical comments, and/or always actively focusing on class discussion. D: Student contributes rarely and/or frequently does not stay actively focused on the discussion. F: Student does not contribute and does not stay actively focused on the discussion. 2. Quizzes and Freewrites: In order to ensure that all assignments are read, I will begin most classes with quizzes or freewrites. Quizzes and freewrites are not designed to trick you—if you read and digest the assignment you will do fine. Quizzes and freewrites will be graded from 1-5, corresponding to F-A. Quizzes and freewrites are worth 10% of your final grade. If you are absent you may not make up a quiz or freewrite. 3. Reading Commentaries: Over the semester you will submit 4 one-page reading commentaries in response to specific prompts. These commentaries are meant to help you prepare for writing the two formal papers and will be submitted electronically on Western Online. 2 4. Papers: 4a. Over the course of the semester, you will write two papers in response to specific prompts. Paper 1, 3-4 pages, will be worth 15% of your final grade. Paper 2, 5-6 pages, will be worth 20% of your final grade. With each paper assignment, I will hand out a format sheet to follow, which will detail the guidelines for that particular paper. Deviation from the guidelines will cause your grade to be lowered. Unless you make arrangements with me at least forty-eight hours in advance, late papers will be marked down 1 letter grade for each day late; essays more than 7 days late will receive a “0.” I will not discuss paper grades over email. You must make an appointment with me to discuss a paper grade. 4b. Papers will be submitted electronically on Western Online. Each format sheet will review how to submit the paper. If you are unsure about how to submit your paper, please speak with me well before the due date. Because you will submit papers electronically, you should make sure to save your work in several formats (on a hard drive, on a flash drive, on the P drive, on Dropbox, etc.). Technology problems are not an excuse for submitting a paper late. You will submit your papers as Word files (.doc or .docx); papers submitted in any other file format or corrupted files will be returned to you and considered late until re-submitted as a Word file. 4c. You will have the opportunity to revise Paper 1. Only if you have significantly revised your paper (i.e. the thesis has been improved, examples and analysis have been improved and extended, paragraphs have been extended or reorganized, stylistic concerns have been addressed, etc.), keeping in mind my margin and end comments, can you expect to receive a higher grade on your paper. Revisions will also be accompanied by a paragraph explaining what revisions were made and why. If you were penalized for lateness on the original paper, that penalty will stand for the revised paper. The grade on your revised paper, whether it is higher or lower than the original, will replace the grade on the original paper. Under no circumstances will I accept a late revision. 4d. The paper assignments do not permit the use of external research because I am interested in your own ideas and interpretations of our texts using the critical methods we are learning in class. If you plan to consult any secondary sources, you must receive permission in advance of turning in your paper. Academic integrity is an important part of our community at WIU; therefore, acts of plagiarism and cheating will result in failure for the course and referral for academic discipline: http://www.wiu.edu/policies/acintegrity.php 4e. The University Writing Center (UWC) offers students at any academic level collaborative, one-on-one consultation on writing projects from any discipline at any point in the writing process. People often mistakenly think of writing centers as places for people in trouble—places where "experts" tell them everything that is wrong with their writing. That is not the case here. We believe that writing is a social act and that talk about writing is essential to revision, no matter the skill level of the writer. See the UWC website for more information on locations and appointments: http://www.wiu.edu/cas/english/university_writing_center/locations_hours_pages/locations_hour s_spring.php. Please note that a visit to the UWC should be a supplement—rather than a replacement—for talking about your paper with me. 3 5. Exams: There will be a midterm exam and a cumulative final exam for this course. Exam formats will be discussed prior to each exam. Needless to say, the best ways to ensure good performance on exams are to read and take notes during class. The midterm exam will be worth 15% of your final grade, and the final exam will be worth 20% of your final grade. 6. Office Hours: My regular office hours are listed above. At those times I will be in my office available to meet with you to discuss any aspect of the course. Please do not hesitate to drop by my office or to contact me to make an appointment to meet if you cannot meet during my regular office hours. 7. Conference: Before Paper 2 you will be required to attend a conference with me to discuss your paper. You will need to bring a complete, typed draft to the conference. Failure to attend this conference will be considered two absences. During the rest of the semester, you are welcome to drop by during my office hours or schedule a conference. 8. Email: The best way to get in touch with me outside of class is by email. Over email you can make appointments to meet with me, and you can ask questions related to the assignments. Please bear in mind that I will need at least a day to reply to emails. You are also responsible for checking your WIU email and Western Online accounts on a regular basis, since they will be my primary methods of communication with you outside of class. 9. Disability Resource Center: In accordance with University policy and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), academic accommodations may be made for any student who notifies the instructor of the need for an accommodation. For the instructor to provide the proper accommodation(s) you must obtain documentation of the need for an accommodation through the Disability Resource Center and provide it to the instructor. It is imperative that you take the initiative to bring such needs to the instructor's attention, as he/she is not legally permitted to inquire about such particular needs of students. Students who may require special assistance in emergency evacuations (i.e. fire, tornado, etc.) should contact the instructor as to the most appropriate procedures to follow in such an emergency. Contact Disability Resource Center at 298-2512 for additional services or see the DRC website: http://www.wiu.edu/student_services/disability_resource_center/. Please review your “Student Rights and Responsibilities” at http://www.wiu.edu/provost/students and see me if you have any questions. 4 Grading Participation: 10% Quizzes and Freewrites: 10% Reading Commentaries: 10% Paper 1: 15% Paper 2: 20% Midterm: 15% Final: 20% Final Grade Breakdown 93-100=A; 90-92=A-; 88-89=B+; 83-87=B; 80-82=B-; 78-79=C+; 73-77=C; 70-72=C-; 68-69=D+; 63-67=D; 60-62=D-; <60=F This schedule is subject to change. You are responsible for any changes made in class, sent over email, or posted on Western Online (WO). Readings from Thinking and Writing About Poetry will be labeled Poetry; readings from Ariel: The Restored Edition will be labeled Ariel. Bring Poetry to all class meetings. Bring Ariel to the class meetings for which it is assigned. Course Schedule Date Tues., Jan. 19 Thurs., Jan. 21 (Mon, Jan. 25 is last day of open registration) Topic Introduction to Course Reading Poetry Tues., Jan. 26 Word Order, Diction, and Tone Thurs., Jan. 28 (Mon., Feb. 1 is last day of restricted reg. & drop w/t a “W”) Tues., Feb. 2 Images Thurs., Feb. 4 Figures of Speech: Similes and Metaphors Writing About Poetry 5 Read and Due Read: Poetry 1-6; 9-17; 26-28 (focus on “Those Winter Sundays”) Due: Student Survey (on WO by 11:59 pm) Read: Poetry 52-70; 77 (focus on “To His Coy Mistress,” “Marvell Noir,” and “We Real Cool”) Read: Poetry 82-100 (focus on “Dulce et Decorum Est”) Read: Poetry 44-51; Paper 1 Assignment Sheet (on WO) Due: Bring to class reading notes on “The Fish” (available on WO) Read: Poetry 101-106 Tues., Feb. 9 Figures of Speech: Metaphors Read: Poetry 304-307; Metaphor Module on WO Due: Reading Commentary 1 (on WO by 11:59 pm) Read: Poetry 106-119 Thurs., Feb. 11 Figures of Speech Tues., Feb. 16 Sounds Thurs., Feb. 18 Rhyme Tues., Feb. 23 Thinking About Poems Thurs., Feb. 25 Writing About Poems Tues., Mar. 1 Enjoying Poems Thurs., Mar. 3 Class Cancelled Tues., Mar. 8 Ekphrasis Thurs., Mar. 10 Midterm Exam Mar. 14-18 Tues., Mar. 22 No Class—Spring Break Rhythm Thurs., Mar. 24 Stanza Forms Read: Poetry 192-195; Stanza Module on WO Tues., Mar. 29 The Sonnet Read: Poetry 195-203 Thurs., Mar. 31 (Sun., Apr. 3 is last day to drop w/ a “W”) Tues., Apr. 5 Other Forms Open Form Read: Poetry 203-218 Due: Reading Commentary 3 (on WO by 11:59 pm) Read: Poetry 219-236 Thurs., Apr. 7 Symbol, Allegory, and Irony Read: Poetry 120-144 Tues., Apr. 12 Putting It All Together Read: Poetry 237-246 Read: Poetry 145-151; “Persimmons” (on WO) Due: Reading Commentary 2 (on WO by 11:59 pm) Read: Poetry 152-158; “This Be the Verse” and “A narrow fellow (1096)” (on WO) Read: Poetry 327-346 Read: Poetry 347-370 Due in Class: Draft of Paper 1 Read: TBA Work on revising draft for Paper 1; consider visiting the University Writing Center Read: Ekphrasis Module on WO Due: Paper 1 (on WO by 11:59 pm) 6 Read: Poetry 172-191 Thurs., Apr. 14 Comparing Poems Tues., Apr. 19 Ariel Thurs., Apr. 21 Ariel Tues., Apr. 26 Class Cancelled for Conferences Thurs., Apr. 28 Class Cancelled for Conferences Sun., May 1 Tues., May 3 Ariel and Poetry in Translation Thurs., May 5 Final Exam Review Tues., May 10, 1-3 PM Final Exam 7 Read: Poetry 371-377; Comparison Module on WO; Paper 2 Assignment Sheet Read: Ariel Foreword; 5-48 (and corresponding facsimiles) Due: Reading Commentary 4 (on WO by 11:59 pm) Read: Ariel 49-90 (and corresponding facsimiles) Due: Bring complete, printed draft of Paper 2 to conference Due: Bring complete, printed draft of Paper 2 to conference Due: Paper 2 (on WO by 11:59 pm) Read: Ariel 175-194; Poetry in Translation Module on WO Read: Poetry 314; 398-402 Review: Poetry 403-421