Our primary purpose is to look at how a poem works – specifically, what the prosodic elements are that enable a poem to work. Vision is one thing, technique another, and all poets ultimately utilize technique at some level. Auden speaks of poetry as “a verbal contraption. How does it work?” That’s among the questions we’ll ask, in the course of the semester. But of course, poetry is much more than that – one of the things I’m interested in is how various sensibilities make use of the same prosodic tradition and yet manage to have a poem that is uniquely theirs.
At the same time, I’d like us to keep in mind where the prosodic tradition comes from, the possible limitations of that, the degree to which it does and/or doesn’t allow for other traditions – of various kinds – and the ways in which prosody has evolved to accommodate difference. With this in mind, we will look in particular at voices outside the white, largely male, English tradition.
At the same time, I’d like us to keep in mind where the prosodic tradition comes from, the possible limitations of that, the degree to which it does and/or doesn’t allow for other traditions – of various kinds – and the ways in which prosody has evolved to accommodate difference. With this in mind, we will look in particular at voices outside the white, largely male, English tradition.
- Instructor of record: Dee Matthews