General course information

Required Texts

• The course reader, available from Print Plus in September

Full reading list

• Ai. “False Witness.” 1999.
• ———. “Interview with a Policeman.” 1991.
• Arnold, Matthew. Dover Beach. 1867.
• Browning, Robert. “Andrea del Sarto.” 1855.
• ———. “The Bishop Orders His Tomb at Saint Praxed’s Church.” 1845.
• ———. “Caliban upon Setebos.” 1864.
• ———. “Confessions.” 1864.
• ———. “Fra Lippo Lippi.” 1855.
• ———. “The Laboratory.” 1844/1845.
• ———. “My Last Duchess.” 1842.
• ———. “Porphyria’s Lover.” 1836/1842.
• ———. “Soliloquy of the Spanish Cloister.” 1842.
• ———. “A Toccata of Galuppi’s.” 1855.
• Coleridge, Samuel Taylor. “Frost at Midnight.” 1798.
• Duffy, Carol Ann. “Circe.” 1999.
• ———. “Salome.” 1999.
• Eliot, T. S. “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.” 1917.
• Langbaum, Robert. “The Dramatic Monologue: Sympathy versus Judgment.” The Poetry of Experience: The Dramatic Monologue in Modern Literary Tradition. 1957. W. W. Norton, 1963, pp. 75-108.
• Levy, Amy. “A Minor Poet.” 1884.
• Mew, Charlotte. “Madeleine in Church.” 1916.
• Morris, William. “The Defence of Guenevere.” 1858.
• Petersen, Alice. “Salsa Madre.” 2008. (from All the Voices Cry. Biblioasis, 2012, pp. 25-32.)
• Rader, Ralph W. “The Dramatic Monologue and Related Lyric Forms.” Critical Inquiry, vol. 3, no. 1, Autumn 1976, pp. 131-51.
• Rossetti, Dante Gabriel. “Jenny.” 1870 (written c. 1848).
• Swinburne, Algernon. “The Garden of Proserpine.” 1866.
• Tennyson, Alfred. “Œnone.” 1832/1842.
• ———. “St Simeon Stylites.” 1842; written 1833.
• ———. “Tithonus.” 1860.
• ———. “Ulysses.” 1842; written 1833.
• Webster, Augusta. “A Castaway.” 1870.
• ———. “Circe.” 1870.
• ———. “The Happiest Girl in the World.” 1870.
• ———. “A Painter.” 1870.

Course Expectations or Outputs

By the end of the course, students will be able to:

1. identify and define the conventions that constitute a specific poetic genre.
2. apply theories of genre to the analysis of primary texts in both class discussion and written work.
3. demonstrate a detailed knowledge of the course topic through the analysis of primary texts in both class discussion and written work.
4. construct and sustain analytical arguments in clear, coherent prose and proper essay format.
5. enrich analytical arguments about primary texts through the judicious use of secondary sources.

Course Outcomes

Students who successfully complete this course will demonstrate:

1. a detailed knowledge of a focused topic in poetic genres.
2. an ability to offer theoretically and historically informed interpretation of texts.
3. an ability to compare the merits of different critical and theoretical approaches.
4. an ability to gather, review, and assess secondary sources appropriate to the topic.
5. an ability to communicate logical, analytical arguments in clear, correct, and persuasive prose.

Lectures and preparation

Note that the content of the lectures is meant to stimulate your own thinking: the lecturer’s thoughts about a work of literature do not represent the only way to think about that work. You should develop your own opinions and theories and learn how to express and defend them. You should prepare for the lectures by reading the assigned material (before the lecture), spending some time thinking about the material, and preparing insights and analyses that you would like to share during class time.

Participation

You are expected to participate in class in an informed manner. At the very least, you are expected to come to class regularly, having read all assigned reading. You are expected to participate in class discussions. Keep in mind that participating in class is usually a highly rewarding experience, greatly enhancing your ability to understand the course material and helping ensure your success in the course. Everyone is expected to be courteous and professional at all times in class.

Lateness

Assignments are due in class, on the date indicated by the assignment. A 2% penalty will be applied to the graded assignment for every day the assignment is late. This will include weekend days and public holidays. Extensions may be granted for exceptional circumstances, especially for serious medical reasons: in such cases, you should talk to the instructor as soon as possible and be prepared to submit medical documentation about the problem (that should include a statement about the beginning and duration of the issue). All students are welcome to a seven-day extension on the term essay. No assignment will be accepted after the start of the final exam.