Victorian Poetry I

Course Code:

ELIT 411

Semester:

Fall

Course Type:

Core

P:

3

Lab:

0

Laboratuvar Saati:

0

Credits:

3

ECTS:

5

Course Language:

English

Course Objectives:

The course aims at an understanding of the development of literature in general and poetry in particular from the 1830s into the 1860s, as well as an understanding and appreciation of poetry: How to read poetry; How to analyse verse form; how poetic devices function and how to make sense of poetic license. The course also aims to examine a portion of the wide range of poetry written during this period. A significant part of each class will be spent analyzing individual poems, particularly shorter lyrics. By the end of this course, students should gain both an understanding of nineteenth-century verse forms and a facility in analyzing those forms.

Course Content:

In addition to theoretical knowledge offered as overview for both poetry in general and selections of the wide range of poetry written during the later half of the Victorian Age will be studied: poetry remarkable for its linguistic virtuosity; narrative complexity; social agenda; psychological intensity; unconventional eroticism; sensuous charm; medieval setting; chivalric longing; patriotic fervor; and intricate humor. The poetry studied will be of celebration, consolation, amusement, and reflection written during the high-Victorian period by men and by women, by members of several classes, and by defenders of different social and religious faiths. Issues of poetic language, rhetoric, and genre, and the social context and the audience of all these works will also be considered.

Course Methodology:

1: Lecture, 2: Question-Answer, 3: Discussion, 9: Simulation, 12: Case Study

Course Evaluation Methods:

A: Testing B: Presentation C: Homework

Vertical Tabs

Course Learning Outcomes

Learning Outcomes	Programme Learning Outcomes	Teaching Methods	Assessment Methods
1) To introduce period literature and highlight various defining features of poetry of the age.	1-2 5-10	1,2,3	A,C
2) To equip the students with the knowledge necessary to interpret and discuss poetry of the period in terms of trends and meaning.	1-2 5-10	1,2,3	A,C
3) To equip the students with the terminology necessary to analyse and discuss poetry.	1-2 5-10	1,2,3	A,C
4) To develop an understanding of how the many different elements of poetry function together to create the overall effect the poet was aiming for.	1-2 5-10	1,2,3	A,C
5) To equip the students with the necessary critical faculties, analytical approach, and analytical, interpretative and inference skills for a successful understanding of literature in general, poetry in particular.	1-2 5-10	1,2,3	A,C

Course Flow

Week	Topics	Study Materials
1	Introduction to the course, explanation of course objectives and materials, course requirements and assessment, pacing schedule and obtaining materials	Materials for the course provided by instructor
2	An overview of the Victorian Age, historical, social, and cultural highlights of the age, focusing on Victorian poetry and its defining features. Insight into appreciation of poetry A quick survey of Victorian poets of the early Victorian era and their works. Highlights of Victorian poetry: form, structure and theme; lyric poetry; narrative poetry; meter; the sonnet.
3	The Early Victorians Elizabeth Barrett Browning: Sonnet 43 & 14 from the Portuguese; Aurora Leigh; The Cry of the Children
4	Elizabeth Barrett Browning: Sonnet 21 from the Portuguese; The Runaway Slave at Pilgrim’s Point Edward Fitzgerald: The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam
5	Alfred, Lord Tennyson: The Kraken; In Memoriam: Ring Out Wild Bells; Flower in the Crannied Wall
6	Sound in Victorian Poetry; Western Wind The Withheld Image (Suggestive Restraint; Parataxis) Alfred, Lord Tennyson: Break, Break, Break; The Eagle;: Tears, Idle Tears (from The Princess)
7	Alfred, Lord Tennyson: The Charge of the Light Brigade; The Lady of Shalott; The Splendor Falls; Sweet and Low (supplement: The Lotos-Eaters)
8	MIDTERM EXAM (TENTATIVE) William Makepiece Thackeray: End of Play John Clare: Remember Dear Mary
9	The DRAMATIC MONOLOGUE Alfred, Lord Tennyson: Ulysses; Morte DArthur; The Kraken; Crossing the Bar
10	Robert Browning: Night and Morning; Home Thoughts from Abroad; Evelyn Hope
11	Robert Browning: Porphyria’s Lover; Marching Along; My Last Duchess
12	Robert Browning: Soliloquy of a Spanish Cloister; Prospice (supplement: The Bishop Orders His Tomb at St Praxed’s Church) Charles Dickens: The Ivy Green Emily Brönte: Remembrance
13	Arthur Hugh Clough: Say Not the Struggle Nought Availeth; The Latest Decalogue Charles Kingsley: The Sounds of Dee; Young and Old
14	Matthew Arnold: Dover Beach; Requiescat; Shakespeare; The Forsaken Merman;
15	Matthew Arnold: Isolation: To Marguerite; Self-Dependence

Recommended Sources

Textbook

Norton Anthology of English Literature

(All articles on the Victorian Age, Literature and poetry)

(All sections on poets active in the first half of the Victorian Age--1830s-1860s--and their poetry)

Additional Resources

John Stuart Mill: What is Poetry; The Norton Anthology of English Literature, 7th edition, vol.2, p.1139

John Ruskin: Of the Pathetic Fallacy; The Norton Anthology of English Literature, 7th edition, vol.2, p.1430

Matthew Arnold: Preface to Poems; The Norton Anthology of English Literature, 7th edition, vol.2, p.1505

M. Arnold: From The Study of Poetry; The Norton Anthology of English Literature, 7th edn., vol.2, p.1534

Material Sharing

Documents
Assignments
Exams

Assessment

IN-TERM STUDIES	NUMBER	PERCENTAGE
Mid-Term	1	35
Class Performance	1	30
Final Exam	1	35
Total		100
CONTRIBUTION OF FINAL EXAM TO OVERALL GRADE		35
CONTRIBUTION OF IN-TERM STUDIES TO OVERALL GRADE		65
Total		100

COURSE CATEGORY

Expertise/Field Courses

Course’s Contribution to Program

No	Programme Learning Outcomes	Contribution
No	Programme Learning Outcomes	1	2	3	4	5
1	The ability to apply knowledge of English and world literature and social sciences to topics including culture, society, ethics, politics etc.				X
2	The ability to review, analyse and apply the relevant literature				X
3	The ability to carry out interdisciplinary reading and analysis.		X
4	The ability to utilise the basic concepts and issues of literary theories in developing life strategies		X
5	Awareness of professional ethics and responsibility				X
6	Effective communication skills.				X
7	A sufficiently broad education to understand the global and social impact of literary movements.		X
8	An awareness of the importance of lifelong learning and the ability to put it into practice.			X
9	A knowledge of issues in contemporary literature and of the cultural issues of the period.				X
10	The ability to use sources and modern tools in order to carry out research in the areas of literature and aesthetics.			X

ECTS

Activities	Quantity	Duration (Hour)	Total Workload (Hour)
Course Duration (Including the exam week: 15x Total course hours/week)	15	3	45
Hours for off-the-classroom study (Pre-study, practice, review/week)	15	3	45
Homework	15	1.5	23
Total Work Load			113
Total Work Load / 25 (h)			4.52
ECTS Credit of the Course			5

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