ENGL 51A

Main Course

Poems and Poets

Description

Lecture, three hours; discussion, one hour. Offers sample of enormous body of poetry written in English since Middle Ages. Reading of series of celebrated poets and their poems as way of exploring what poetry is and what it is for. Specifically, how works of art respond to conditions of social life as well as intimate personal experience. Consideration of poetry's political power. In-depth discussion about gender, race, class, sexuality, colonial violence, and, broadly, relationship between art and justice. Students are familiarized with key poetic forms, conventions, and techniques; learn how to read poem critically; and get better at putting thoughts in writing. Letter grading.