Introduction to Poetry – 106-1
M/W/F 12:00 – 12:50; Bryan 112
Spring 2010
Ms. Christine Tobin
cmtobin2@uncg.edu or tobincm@gmail.com
Office: McIver 328; 256-8553
Mailbox: MHRA 3114
Office Hours M/W 3:00-4:30 or by appointment
I. Course
A. Learning Goals
At the completion of this course, the student will be able to
 Identify and understand varied characteristics of literature;
 Apply techniques of literary analysis to texts;
 Use literary study to develop skills in careful reading and clear writing;
 Demonstrate understanding of the diverse social and historical contexts in
which literary texts have been written and interpreted.
B. Description
Introduction to Poetry is a broad foundational course designed to instill a love
for poetry while introducing you to the ways and means of conversing about
poetry. By the end of the semester, you will be able to identify and understand
characteristics of poetry, analyze a literary text and explicate your analysis in
written form.
C. Materials
Meyer, Michael. Poetry: An Introduction. 6th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s,
2010. (ISBN 13: 978-0-312-53919-1)
Oliver, Mary. A Poetry Handbook. San Diego: Harcourt Brace, 1984.
(ISBN: 0-15-672400-6)
Readings on Blackboard, as assigned.
D. Other Requirements
Access to Blackboard, UNCG email, and a printer.
Bluebooks (2).
II. Class Policies
A. Decorum
Be respectful of yourself, your peers, me, and our learning environment. 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.
B. Electronics
Laptops may be used in class only by students having a special need for
purposes of note-taking or other classroom activities. 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.
C. Attendance
Students are allowed a maximum of four absences without a grade penalty. For
every absence beyond those allowed, students will be penalized one-half letter
grade. Students who miss eight classes will fail the course.
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. I will return emails within 24
hours, except on weekends. If you do not hear back from me, please resend the
original email. Also, please sign emails with your name and section number.
III. Assignments
A. Grading
1) Recitation of poems
2) Lead discussion
3) Daily sentences/participation
4) Exam 1
5) Essay 1
6) Essay 2
7) Group presentation
8) Exam 2
5%
10 %
20%
10 %
5%
20 %
15 %
15 %
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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 2-3
poems aloud for the class on assigned days. 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. We’ll have a signup sheet so
you can pick days and/or poems.
2) Lead discussion
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 or an annotated version of the poem at the end of class.
3) Daily sentences/participation
Twice a week you will write and turn in sentences about the poems assigned.
You may be asked to read or share these sentences during class. These will be
graded on a scale of 0 to 10. On a given day, there may be up to six poems
assigned to read and study. You will choose three poems and write one sentence
about each; this assignment should be typed. The sentence should demonstrate
your understanding of the poem, but should not simply be a summary of the
poem; you might choose to comment on what the poem is about, what the poem
does (its goals), what you like about it, how the poet is using language, or what
you notice about the way it’s written.
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) Papers
Two short essays (a one-page essay and 3-5 page paper) 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) Group presentation
Working in pairs or groups of three (depending on class size), you will give a
fifteen-minute presentation on an aspect of poetry. You will (briefly) discuss
relevant historical information, major contributions to genre, key characteristics
of the work, and a more in-depth look at two or three poems. Your group
should prepare a handout for the class that highlights your key talking points. A
more detailed outline of the assignment will be discussed closer to the due date.
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7) 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. Important things to
remember before turning in papers:
Stapled!
Titled
Double spaced
One inch ruled margins
Size 12 New Roman or similar font
Pages numbered
Your name, course #, assignment, and date in upper left hand corner of 1st page
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
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.
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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
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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Calendar is subject to change; changes will be listed on Blackboard.
Assignments are listed on the day they are due.
BB = Blackboard; 3S = Three sentences are due
PAI = Poetry: An Introduction by Meyer; APH = A Poetry Handbook by Oliver
Reading due
Assignment due
Introduction
Wed. 1/20
Fri. 1/22
What is
poetry?
Mon. 1/25
Wed. 1/27
Fri. 1/29
How to read
a poem
Mon. 2/1
Wed. 2/3
Fri. 2/5
Introduction & syllabus
“Poetry is Dead,”& “Poetry is Alive &
Well” (BB); “Lying in a Hammock”
Poetry in modern life: PAI: 1-16; APH:
1-12 & 14-18 (poetry past & present
sections); video clips (Andrea Gibson,
Lemon, Ancient Mariner, Strange
Fruit on BB)
PAI: 19-32: “Those Winter Sundays”
& “The Fish”
PAI: 33-47: “l(a”; “Love Poem” &
“Devils & Dust”
Paragraph: poetry
everywhere (p. 16: #1
collage or #3
favoritepoemproject.org)
Reading response
PAI: 217-225: “My Heart Leaps Up”;
Assignment on BB
“Waiting for the Storm”; “That the
Night Come”
Unpacking a poem (BB); “Teodoro
Luna’s Two Kisses”; “Daddy” &
“Privilege of Being” (BB)
PAI: 298-308; Developing a thesis (BB) In-class writing; 3S due
“Death Be Not Proud”
for 2/8 poems
Word choices
Mon. 2/8
Wed. 2/10
Fri. 2/12
PAI: 67-84; APH: 76-91: “Hazel Tells
LaVerne”, “To the Virgins” & “To His
Coy Mistress”
“Last Night” (PAI 84); “Reservation
Love Song” & “One Art” (BB)
PAI: “The Youngest Daughter” 92-3,
“We Real Cool” 96, “Verbo” 103-105
3S due for 2/10 poems;
thesis due
3S due for 2/12 poems
Imagery
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Mon. 2/15
Wed. 2/17
Fri. 2/19
Figurative
language
Mon. 2/22
Wed. 2/24
Fri. 2/26
Beyond
literal
meanings
Mon. 3/1
Wed. 3/3
Fri. 3/5
PAI: 106-114; APH: 92-108: “Poem”,
“Root Cellar”, “Green Chile”
PAI: “What It’s Like to Be a Black
Girl” 123-124 & “The Blue Bowl” 125;
“I Give You Back” (BB)
PAI: “Dusting” 477-478 & “The Love
Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” 494-509;
“Let Evening Come” (BB)
3S due for 2/17 poems
PAI: 133-144 (metaphor & simile
exercise in class)
PAI: “A Noiseless Patient Spider”&
“A Valediction: Forbidding
Mourning” 150-152
“this is the garden”, Sonnet 130 &
“Holy Sonnet 14” (BB)
3S due for 2/24 poems
PAI: 157-167 (mid-page): “Richard
Cory” & “next to of course god
america i”
PAI: “Snow Egret” 178-8; “Facing It”,
“Live Jazz, Franklin Park Zoo” (BB)
PAI: “All That Time” & “Traveling
Through the Dark” 171-173; from
“Song of Myself” 182-3
3S due for 3/3 poems
PAI: 186-200 (mid-page); APH: 19-34
“Scarborough Fair”, “A Bird came
down the Walk—“ & from “The
Cataract of Lodore”
PAI: “Onomatopoeia” 200-1, “The B
Network 207-8; “Junk” (BB)
3S due for 3/17 poems
3S due for 2/19 poems;
essay 1 due
3S due for 2/26 poems
3S due for 3/5 poems
Sound
Mon. 3/15
Wed. 3/17
Fri. 3/19
Rhythm
Mon. 3/22
Exam 1
APH: 35-57: “Stopping by the Woods
on a Snowy Evening”; “To a
3S due for 3/24 poems
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Wed. 3/24
Fri. 3/26
Nightingale” & “The Tyger” (BB)
PAI: “When I was one-and-twenty” &
”Fox Trot Fridays” 227-8; “Summer
Words of a Sistuh Addict” 231
PAI: “Chicago” 233-4 “Tunnel Music”
234-5 & “My Papa’s Waltz” 238-9
3S due for 3/26 poems
Forms
Mon. 3/29
Wed. 3/31
PAI: 242-257; APH: 58-66: “I will put
Chaos into fourteen lines”; “Do Not
Go Gentle into That Good Night” &
“All-American Sestina”
PAI: 258-271: “Under cherry trees”;
“After Basho”; “c’mon man”; “Elegy
for My Father, Who Is Not Dead”;
“Labor”
Essay2 due by 5:00 pm
Friday 4/2
Open forms
Mon. 4/5
Wed. 4/7
Fri. 4/9
Speaker &
persona
Mon. 4/12
Wed. 4/14
Fri. 4/16
Mon. 4/19
Wed. 4/21
Fri. 4/23
PAI: 272-278 (mid-page); APH 67-75:
from “I Sing the Body Electric” & “A
Story about the Body”
PAI: “After Making Love We Hear
Footsteps” 279-280, “The Red
Wheelbarrow” 281, “The ABC of
Aerobics” 295, “Order in the Streets”
297
“r-p-o-p-h-e-s-s-a-g-r”& “The
Amputee’s Guide to Sex” (BB)
3S due for 4/7 poems
“Mid-term Break”, “I’m Nobody!
Who are You?” & “I Go Back to May
1937” (BB)
“Africa Says” & “America” (BB)
“Parsley” (BB); PAI: “The Passionate
Shepherd to His Love” 511 & “The
Nymph’s Reply to the Shepherd” 639
3S due for 4/14 poems
Group presentations
Group presentations
Group presentations
3S due for 4/9 poems
3S due for 4/12 poems
3S due for 4/16 poems
Take-home quiz due
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Mon. 4/26
Wed. 4/28
Fri. 4/30
Group presentations
Group presentations
Exam Review
Mon. 5/3
Wed. 5/5
Fri. 5/7
Exam Review
Reading Day
Exam: Noon-3pm
“How To Eat a Poem” by Eve Merriam
Don't be polite.
Bite in.
Pick it up with your fingers and lick the juice that
may run down your chin.
It is ready and ripe now, whenever you are.
You do not need a knife or fork or spoon
or plate or napkin or tablecloth.
For there is no core
or stem
or rind
or pit
or seed
or skin
to throw away.
“Poetry as Insurgent Art” [I am signaling you through the flames] by Lawrence
Ferlinghetti
I am signaling you through the flames.
The North Pole is not where it used to be.
Manifest Destiny is no longer manifest.
Civilization self-destructs.
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Nemesis is knocking at the door.
What are poets for, in such an age?
What is the use of poetry?
The state of the world calls out for poetry to save it.
If you would be a poet, create works capable of answering the challenge of apocalyptic
times, even if this meaning sounds apocalyptic.
You are Whitman, you are Poe, you are Mark Twain, you are Emily Dickinson and
Edna St. Vincent Millay, you are Neruda and Mayakovsky and Pasolini, you are an
American or a non-American, you can conquer the conquerors with words....
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