Introduction to Poetry – ENG 106
Fall 2011
Ms. Christine Tobin
cmtobin2@uncg.edu
Office: McIver 328; 256-8553
Mailbox: MHRA 3114
Office Hours: M/W 2:30-4:30
(Other hours by appointment)
Eng 106-10 (12:00-12:50) – Sullivan 349
Eng 106-07 (1:00-1:50) – Sullivan 203
Eng 106-09 (5:00-6:15) – MHRA 1215
I. Course
A. Description
Introduction to Poetry is a broad foundational course designed to introduce you
to the ways and means of conversing about poetry. My ultimate goal, however,
is that we come to understand the reasons why poetry is written and read, and
(hopefully) love poetry as an art and form of human expression. By the end of
the semester, you will be able to identify and understand characteristics of
poetry, analyze a literary text, and explicate poetry in written form.
B. Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) for the GLT marker:
1. Demonstrate the reading skill required for the student of literary texts. (LG3)
2. Identify and/or describe some of the varied characteristics of literary texts.
(LG3)
3. Demonstrate orally, in writing, or by some other means, a fundamental ability
to use some of the techniques and/or methods of literary analysis. (LG 1 and LG
3)
4. Identify and/or describe some of the various social, historical, cultural, and/or
theoretical contexts in which literary texts have been written and interpreted.
(LG3)
C. Required Materials
250 Poems: A Portable Anthology. 2nd ed. Ed. Peter Schakel and Jack Ridl.
Boston: Bedford/St. Martin, 2009. Print. (ISBN: 978-0-312-46616-9)
Essential Literary Terms. Ed. Sharon Hamilton. New York: W.W. Norton, 2007.
Print. (ISBN: 978-0-393-92837-2)
Readings on Blackboard, as assigned. [Print & bring to class]
D. Other Requirements
Access to Blackboard, UNCG email, Word compatible program and a printer.
Poems for class must be printed and brought to class. DO NOT EXPECT TO
READ MATERIALS OFF A LAPTOP.
Bluebooks (2).
II. Class Policies
A. Decorum
Be respectful of yourself, your peers, our learning environment, and me. This
means 1) active participation in class 2) arriving on time 3) having course
materials in hand and read/written and 4) not introducing distractions during
class time. Distractions include talking, disruptive behavior, texting, or any other
noise not contributing to class discussion.
B. Electronics
Only students having a special need for purposes of note-taking or other
classroom activities may use laptops in class. Students with such a need should
make specific arrangements with the instructor. No student may use a laptop in
class without a prior arrangement with the instructor.
Turn off all electronic devices and store them away during class; don’t just put
them on vibrate. Please, no texting or checking messages during class ever. If
you are using electronics rather than engaging in class, you will be marked
absent or asked to leave.
C. Attendance
M/W/F class: Students are allowed a maximum of four absences without a
grade penalty. For every absence beyond four, students will be penalized onehalf letter grade. Students who miss more than eight classes will fail the course. I
do not have an “excused” absence policy, other than days you are legally
obligated to miss class.
M/W class: Students are allowed a maximum of three absences without a grade
penalty. For every absence beyond three, students will be penalized one-half
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letter grade. Students who miss more than six classes will fail the course. I do not
have an “excused” absence policy, other than days you are legally obligated to
miss class.
You are, by state law, allowed two excused absences due to religious holidays,
which do not count toward your total. If you plan to miss class because of
religious holidays, you must notify me at least 48 hours in advance of your
absence.
If you are more than five minutes late to class or leave more than five minutes
early, you are considered tardy. Three tardies will count as an absence.
D. Email policy
An email is probably the most efficient way to get in touch with me; be aware,
however, that I do not check mail after 9:00 pm. (Also, I teach much of the day
Monday and Wednesday, so I cannot frequently return emails from 11:00 to
6:00.) I will return emails within 24 hours, except on weekends. If you do not
hear back from me, please resend the original email. Please sign emails with
your name and section number.
III. Assignments
A. Grading
1) Recitation of poem
2) Lead discussion
3) In-class writing
4) Essay
5) Exam 1
6) Exam 2
5%
20%
20%
15%
15%
25%
(SLO 1 & 3)
(SLO 1, 2 & 3)
(SLO 2, 3 & 4)
(SLO 2, 3 & 4)
(SLO 1 & 2)
(SLO 3 & 4)
1) Recitation of poems
Hearing poetry aloud is vital to our understanding because poetry has a strong
aural component to its composition. You will be responsible for reading a poem
aloud for the class on an assigned day. For your recitation, you do not have to
memorize the poem, but you should have practiced out loud prior to class and
thought about how the poem should be presented. You will have two weeks to
sign up on BB to read a poem; after those two weeks, I will randomly assign you
a poem.
2) Lead discussion
3
Once during the semester, you will be responsible for leading the class
discussion on a particular poem. You must turn in a typed outline of your
comments and/or a heavily annotated version of the poem at the end of class.
You will have two weeks to sign up on BB for a poem; after that, I will randomly
assign you a poem. A guideline for the written portion will be posted to BB
under “Assignments.”
3) In-class writing assignments
In-class writing assignments may cover terms from Essential Literary Terms or the
assigned poems. These assignments may be individual or group assignments
determined to dig deeper into your understanding of the poem.
4) Exam 1
A short exam will be given during the first third of the semester. This exam,
consisting of identification and short answer, is designed to evaluate your
understanding of key concepts and terms.
5) Essay
A short essay will evaluate your ability to analyze a text and use written
language to both draw conclusions and make an argument. A more detailed
outline of the assignment will be available closer to the due date.
6) Exam 2
A final exam, in short answer and essay form, will evaluate the culmination of
your knowledge throughout the semester.
B. Guidelines
1) Late assignments will not be accepted. If you are absent on a due date, the
assignment still needs to be turned in. Please make arrangements with me
beforehand.
2) Papers should be formatted according to MLA guidelines. See links below for
MLA style guides.
C. Plagiarism
“Academic integrity is founded upon and encompasses the following five values:
honesty, trust, fairness, respect, and responsibility. Violations include, for
example, cheating, plagiarism, misuse of academic resources, falsification, and
facilitating academic dishonesty. If knowledge is to be gained and properly
evaluated, it must be pursued under conditions free from dishonesty. Deceit and
misrepresentations are incompatible with the fundamental activity of this
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academic institution and shall not be tolerated” (from UNCG’s Academic
Integrity Policy). To ensure that you understand the university’s policy on
academic integrity, review the guidelines and list of violations at
http://academicintegrity.uncg.edu. I expect you to abide by the Academic
Integrity Policy. Violations of academic integrity will be reported to university
officials and may result in consequences for the course ranging in severity from
re-doing an assignment to failing the course.
D. MLA Style
You are asked to follow the MLA format for style and citations. The Writing
Center and library have helpful links for information about MLA. The UNCG
datebook also has a brief overview of MLA style in the back as a quick reference.
http://www.uncg.edu/eng/writingcenter/citations.html
http://library.uncg.edu/depts/ref/qil/styles.asp
IV. Resources
A. Student Services
Students with documentation of special needs should arrange to see me about
accommodations as soon as possible. If you believe you could benefit from such
accommodations, you must first register with the Office of Disability Services on
campus before such accommodations can be made. The office is located on the
second floor of the Elliott University Center (EUC) in Suite 215, and the office is
open 8am to 5pm, Monday - Friday. Telephone: 334-5440; e-mail: ods@uncg.edu.
http://ods.dept.uncg.edu/.
B. The Writing Center
The Writing Center is located in 3211 of the MHRA building. They can help you
at any stage of the writing process, from prewriting to polishing. Please schedule
an appointment with them at any point during the semester if you need outside
help with your writing. For more information visit
www.uncg.edu/eng/writingcenter/.
Each visit to the Writing Center will be counted as an extra credit point added to
your final grade.
C. The Speaking Center
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The Speaking Center is located in 3211 of the MHRA building. They can help
you at any stage of an oral presentation, from preparation to delivery. For more
information visit http://speakingcenter.uncg.edu/.
Each visit to the Speaking Center will be counted as an extra credit point added
to your final grade.
D. The Learning Assistance Center
The Learning Assistance Center offers free services to the entire UNCG
undergraduate community and is located in McIver Hall, rooms 101-104, and
150. For help with study skills, contact Erin Farrior, Academic Skills specialist.
Telephone: 334-3878; e-mail: lac@uncg.edu
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Eng 106 - 07 & 10
Calendar is subject to change. Changes will be posted on Blackboard.
Readings and assignments are listed on the day they are due.
ANT = 250 Poems: A Portable Anthology – poems with page numbers are in this anthology.
ELT = Essential Literary Terms
BB = Blackboard – poems are on Blackboard under “Course Documents”
READING DUE
Why poetry?
8/22
8/24
8/31
“Poetry is Dead” &
letters to the
editors; “Reasons
for Poetry” (BB)
Ars Poetica:
“An Essay on Criticism” 26-28
“Poetry” 125-126
“Musee de Beaux Arts” 151-152
“Eating Poetry” 212
“Digging” 225
“Verbo” (BB)
“Unpacking a
poem” & example
(BB)
ELT: 226-230
9/2
Sounds
9/5
9/7
9/9
ASSIGNMENT
DUE
Syllabus & what is poetry
8/26
Speaker
8/29
POEMS DUE
“Teodoro Luna’s Two Kisses” (BB)
“Privilege of Being” (BB)
1st writing
assignment
due
“Hazel Tells Laverne” (BB)
“Dusting” (BB)
“Reservation Love Song” (BB)
“What It’s Like” (BB)
“Travelling Through” 161-162
“I Go Back to May 1937” 238-239
“Facing It” 252
“The Wild Iris” 241
“On Being Told I Don’t” 313-314
No class – Labor Day
ELT: 68-82, 217225;
Sample reading
responses (BB)
In-class
writing
assignment
“Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” 1297
133
9/12
“we real cool” 165
“Grandmother’s Song” 230
[I heard a fly buzz] 95
“The Lake Isle of Inisfree” 103-104
“Daddy” 205-207
“Poem for the Root Doctor” 243-244
“Root Cellar” (BB)
“Dulce et Decorum Est” (BB)
9/14
9/16
Metaphor
9/19
ELT: 32-43
“The Fish” 153-154
“Skunk Hour” 166-167
“The Armadillo” (BB)
9/21
In-class
writing
assignment
9/23
“Harlem” 144
“A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning” 910
“Leda and the Swan” 104
9/26
“Travelling Through” 161-162
“A Blessing” 188
“Lying in a Hammock” (BB)
“Live Jazz” (BB)
“Facing It” 252
“Diving Into the Wreck” 197-199
9/28
9/30
Image
10/3
10/5
10/7
10/10
10/12
10/14
Exam review
ELT: 13-16, 83111 & 210-216
“this is just to say” 123
“wheelbarrow” 122
“My Life by Water” 145
“This is a Photograph of Me” (BB)
No class
Exam 1
Assignment on
BB
No class – fall break
“The History of Red” 249-251
“Let Evening Come” 253
“Dooryard Flower” 239-240
“The Girl Who Loved the Sky” 280-281
“First Snow” 215-216
Theme
8
10/17
10/19
10/21
“A Reader’s
Response to ‘My
Papa’s Waltz’”
(BB)
10/24
10/28
Meter handout
(BB);
ELT: 198-209
11/2
11/9
11/11
In-class
assignment
“Tyger” 35-36
“Lamb” 34-35
“Stopping by Woods” 116
“Junk” (BB)
“Upon Julia’s Clothes” (BB)
11/4
Form
11/7
In-class
writing
assignment
Politics:
“Shirt” 231-232
“Postcards to Columbus” 310-311
“Parsley” (BB)
Allusion:
“Cinderella” 194-195
“Barbie Doll” 222
“Second Coming” 103-104
Love:
“Last Night” (BB)
“After Making Love” (BB)
10/26
Meter
10/31
Carpe diem:
“To His Coy Mistress” 23-24
“To the Virgins” 13
“The Passionate Shepherd” 6
Ekphrasis:
“Musee des Beaux Arts” 151-152
“The Fall of Icarus” (BB)
Edward Hopper poems (BB)
Fathers & Sons:
“My Papa’s Waltz” 152-153
“Those Sunday Mornings” 159-160
“Father and Son” 148-149
ELT: 226-241
Sonnet 18 p. 17
Sonnet 130 p. 8
[When I consider how] 15
[When I have fears] 55
[this is the garden] (BB)
Ballad:
“Ballad of Birmingham” 160
[Because I could not stop] 96
Shape:
“Easter Wings” 14
“She Had Some Horses” 265-267
In-class
writing
assignment
9
11/14
11/16
11/18
11/21
11/23
11/25
Experiments
11/28
11/30
“Sestina” (BB)
“All-American Sestina” (BB)
Villanelle:
“One Art” 158
“Do Not Go Gentle” 163-164
“Villanelle” 239
Open form:
“Song of Myself” 72-84 (sections 1, 2, 3,
6, 9, 10, 21, 24, 48, 52 only)
“A Noiseless Patient Spider” 92
Prose poems:
“The Colonel” 261
“A Story about the Body” (BB)
No class – Thanksgiving
No class – Thanksgiving
“Syntax” 298-299
“Questions My Son Asked” 221-222
“The Amputee’s Guide to Sex” (BB)
“r-p-o-p-h-e-s-s-a-g-r” (BB)
Spoken word:
“I Give You Back” (BB)
Poems TBA (BB)
12/2
12/5
12/6
Exams
Essay due
In-class
writing
assignment
Last day of class: review
Reading day
106-10 (12:00 class): Fri., 9 Dec @ noon
106-7 (1:00 class): Wed., 7 Dec @ 3:30
10
Eng 106-09
Calendar is subject to change. Changes will be posted on Blackboard.
Readings and assignments are listed on the day they are due.
ANT = 250 Poems: A Portable Anthology – poems with page numbers are in this anthology.
ELT = Essential Literary Terms
BB = Blackboard – poems are on Blackboard under “Course Documents”
READING DUE
Why poetry?
8/22
8/24
“Poetry is Dead” &
letters to the
editors; “Reasons
for Poetry” (BB)
Speaker
8/29
8/31
Sounds
9/5
9/7
9/12
9/14
“Unpacking a
poem” & example
(BB)
ELT: 226-230
ELT: 68-82, 217225;
Sample reading
responses (BB)
POEMS DUE
ASSIGNMENT
DUE
Syllabus & what is poetry
Ars Poetica:
“An Essay on Criticism” 26-28
“Poetry” 125-126
“Eating Poetry” 212
“Digging” 225
“Verbo” (BB)
“Teodoro Luna’s Two Kisses” (BB)
“Privilege of Being” (BB)
“Hazel Tells Laverne” (BB)
“Dusting” (BB)
“Reservation Love Song” (BB)
“What It’s Like” (BB)
“Travelling Through” 161-162
“I Go Back to May 1937” 238-239
“Facing It” 252
“The Wild Iris” 241
“On Being Told I Don’t” 313-314
No class – Labor Day
“Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” 129-133
“Poem for the Root Doctor” 243-244
“Root Cellar” (BB)
1st writing
assignment due
In-class writing
assignment
“we real cool” 165
“Grandmother’s Song” 230
[I heard a fly buzz] 95
“The Lake Isle of Inisfree” 103-104
“Daddy” 205-207
“Dulce et Decorum Est” (BB)
11
Metaphor
9/19
ELT: 32-43
9/21
9/26
Exam 1
ELT: 13-16, 83111 & 210-216
10/10
10/12
10/24
“this is just to say” 123
“wheelbarrow” 122
“My Life by Water” 145
“This is a Photograph of Me” (BB)
No class – fall break
“The History of Red” 249-251
“Let Evening Come” 253
“Dooryard Flower” 239-240
“The Girl Who Loved the Sky” 280-281
“First Snow” 215-216
Theme
10/17
10/19
In-class writing
assignment
“Travelling Through the Dark” 161-162
“A Blessing” 188
“Lying in a Hammock” (BB)
“Live Jazz” (BB)
“Facing It” 252
“Diving Into the Wreck” 197-199
9/28
Image
10/3
10/5
“The Fish” 153-154
“Skunk Hour” 166-167
“The Armadillo” (BB)
“Harlem” 144
“A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning” 9-10
“Leda and the Swan” 104
“A Reader’s
Response to ‘My
Papa’s Waltz’”
(BB)
Carpe diem:
“To His Coy Mistress” 23-24
“To the Virgins” 13
“The Passionate Shepherd” 6
Ekphrasis:
“Musee des Beaux Arts” 151-152
“The Fall of Icarus” (BB)
Edward Hopper poems (BB)
Fathers & Sons:
“My Papa’s Waltz” 152-153
“Those Sunday Mornings” 159-160
“Father and Son” 148-149
In-class writing
assignment
Politics:
“Shirt” 231-232
“Postcards to Columbus” 310-311
“Parsley” (BB)
12
10/26
Meter
10/31
Allusion:
“Cinderella” 194-195
“Barbie Doll” 222
“Second Coming” 103-104
Love:
“Last Night” (BB)
“After Making Love” (BB)
Meter handout
(BB);
ELT: 198-209
11/2
Form
11/7
11/9
11/14
11/16
11/21
11/23
Experiments
In-class
assignment
“Tyger” 35-36
“Lamb” 34-35
“Stopping by Woods” 116
“Junk” (BB)
“Upon Julia’s Clothes” (BB)
ELT: 226-241
Sonnet 18 p. 17
Sonnet 130 p. 8
[When I consider how] 15
[When I have fears] 55
[this is the garden] (BB)
Ballad:
“Ballad of Birmingham” 160
[Because I could not stop] 96
Shape:
“Easter Wings” 14
“She Had Some Horses” 265-267
In-class writing
assignment
“Sestina” (BB)
“All-American Sestina” (BB)
Villanelle:
“One Art” 158
“Do Not Go Gentle” 163-164
“Villanelle” 239
Open form:
“Song of Myself” 72-84 (sections 1, 2, 3, 6,
9, 10, 21, 24, 48, 52 only)
“A Noiseless Patient Spider” 92
Essay due
Prose poems:
“The Colonel” 261
“A Story about the Body” (BB)
No class – Thanksgiving
13
11/28
11/30
12/5
12/6
12/9
“Syntax” 298-299
“Questions My Son Asked” 221-222
“The Amputee’s Guide to Sex” (BB)
“r-p-o-p-h-e-s-s-a-g-r” (BB)
Spoken word:
“I Give You Back” (BB)
Poems TBA (BB)
In-class writing
assignment
Last day of class: review
Reading day
Exam @ 7:00 pm Fri. [106-9 5:00 class]
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