Handbook

Subject Area: English

This course can also be studied in the following specialisations: Creative Writing

What is poetry? How do we know a poem when we see it, and why is poetry the most moving, the most challenging, and the most memorable of literary forms? In this course you will read a range of accomplished and influential poems in a variety of genres, from biting satires, through ravishing love poems, to recent experiments in digital poetry. You will learn to think about such poems in relation to their historical contexts, from political revolution to scientific developments. And you will discover new ways of thinking about poetry theoretically, from the meaning of specific techniques, such as rhyme or metre, to the conceptual differences between poetry and other ways of writing, such as history, philosophy, and journalism. The aim is to develop a thorough grounding in the development of poetry as a form, to hone your critical skills in analysing poetry, and to develop a sophisticated grasp of contemporary debates about the nature and significance of poetry.