Catalog Description

Prerequisite: Eligibility for ENGL 1A
Hours: 54 lecture
Description: Writing poetry, with reading assignments of literary models in classical, modern, and contemporary poetry. Includes analysis of the models as well as discussion and criticism, in a workshop mode, of original student poems. (CSU, UC)

Course Student Learning Outcomes

  • CSLO #1: Identify, interpret, and analyze the fundamentals of poetry, through a variety of forms, styles, and historical periods.
  • CSLO #2: Analyze literary elements, devices, and forms of poetry to create college-level works of original poetry.
  • CSLO #3: Describe, critique, edit, and revise original poetry through peer review workshops.

Effective Term

Fall 2017

Course Type

Credit - Degree-applicable

Contact Hours

54

Outside of Class Hours

108

Total Student Learning Hours

162

Course Objectives

Upon successfully completing English 20, students will be able to:
1) Identify, interpret, and analyze the fundamental elements of poetry;
2) Analyze selected works of poetry from a variety of genres, forms, and historical periods;
3) Apply analysis of literary elements, devices, and forms of poetry to the creation of college level works of original poetry in a variety of forms and styles;
4) Apply knowledge of genres and sub-genres to creation of imaginative works of poetry;
5) Identify and apply common practices of editing and peer review in the creative writing process;
6) Interpret, analyze, and evaluate published poetry in English and in translation;
7) Assimilate literary concepts and critical standards into the interpretation, analysis, and evaluation of classmates' and students' own work through peer review workshops and readings;
8) Identify and apply the editorial process to select, revise and assess published and original works of poetry.

General Education Information

  • Approved College Associate Degree GE Applicability
    • AA/AS - Fine Arts
  • CSU GE Applicability (Recommended-requires CSU approval)
    • CSUGE - C2 Humanities
  • Cal-GETC Applicability (Recommended - Requires External Approval)
    • IGETC Applicability (Recommended-requires CSU/UC approval)

      Articulation Information

      • CSU Transferable
      • UC Transferable

      Methods of Evaluation

      • Classroom Discussions
        • Example: During a class workshop, students use a "whip" discussion to take turns sharing a "plus," a "minus," and an "interesting" after reading and annotating a student poem.
      • Essay Examinations
        • Example: Student will be asked to provide a three paragraph evaluation of the use of rhyme, rhythm, and alliteration in John Donne's "The Flea."
      • Objective Examinations
        • Example: Through an objective or short-answer test, students will identify and define literary terms and concepts and apply literary terms and concepts to brief interpretations and analyses of individual poems and the works of individual poets.
      • Projects
        • Example: Student will submit all drafts of original poems (15 - 20 pages), and final drafts (6 - 12 pages) of original poems revised through workshops and consultation with instructor. Poems will be presented in a portfolio suitable for submission to a college-level journal or magazine.
      • Reports
        • Example: Student collects information on a contemporary poet for a class "author wall" bulletin board.
      • Skill Demonstrations
        • Example: Student will write an over-20-line non-rhyming poem about a body of water that demonstrates use of figurative language and imagery.

      Repeatable

      No

      Methods of Instruction

      • Lecture/Discussion
      • Distance Learning

      Lecture:

      1. Instructor uses a Prezi presentation to highlight elements of imagery for students, ending with a poem from the anthology that features extensive sensory imagery. Students select a sensory image from the poem and discuss its use or effect.
      2. Instructor presents elements of Brian Wilkie and Kevin Prufer’s essays on sentimentality. Students discuss definitions of and attitudes towards sentimentality in poetry. Two poems, “Dog’s Death” by John Updike and “The Pardon” by Richard Wilbur serve as evaluative models for a continued discussion on avoiding sentimentality.

      Distance Learning

      1. Students view videos of Shane Coyczan’s “Beethoven” and Mark Doty’s “The House of Beauty.” Afterward, students discuss different approaches to public performances of poetry in these two clips in a discussion board.

      Typical Out of Class Assignments

      Reading Assignments

      1. Read Moore's "Poetry" and Strand's "Eating Poetry." Compare and contrast the speaker in each poem. Be ready to discuss the ideas in class. 2. Read Pound's "Station of the Metro," H.D.'s "Heat," and Williams' "This Is Just To Say." Analyze each as an example of Imagist poetry, and be ready to discuss specific lines that place each poem within the Imagist poetic ideal. 2a. Read all of the poems in Chapter One. Select five which best demonstrate Frost's notion that writing free verse is like "playing tennis with the net down."

      Writing, Problem Solving or Performance

      1. Write a 2-page narrative draft based on an event or adventure a grandparent or mature friend experienced. Using a traditional ballad form such as xaxa and iambic trimeter, shape the narrative into a ballad of at least five quatrains. See Frost's "Stopping By Woods," Dickinson's "Because I could not stop for death" and Emile Verhaeren's "The Miller" for examples. 2. Write a free verse "letter poem" of at least 15 lines in the first person, directly addressing a second character. Use concrete detail, stanza breaks, and careful enjambment. See Pound's "River Merchant's Wife: A Letter," and Momaday's "Simile" for examples.

      Other (Term projects, research papers, portfolios, etc.)

      Complete a final portfolio of original poems that demonstrate a thorough knowledge of college-level poetry writing suitable for publication in a college journal or magazine.

      Required Materials

      • The Crafty Poet: A Portable Workshop
        • Author: Diane Lockward
        • Publisher: Terrapin Books
        • Publication Date: 2016
        • Text Edition:
        • Classic Textbook?:
        • OER Link:
        • OER:
      • The Art of the Poetic Line
        • Author: James Longenbach
        • Publisher: Graywolf Press
        • Publication Date: 2008
        • Text Edition:
        • Classic Textbook?:
        • OER Link:
        • OER:
      • The Poets Laureate Anthology
        • Author: Billy Collins
        • Publisher: U.S. Library of Congress
        • Publication Date: 2010
        • Text Edition:
        • Classic Textbook?:
        • OER Link:
        • OER:
      • Western Wind: An Introduction to Poetry
        • Author: John Frederick Nims and David Mason
        • Publisher: McGraw-Hill
        • Publication Date: 2005
        • Text Edition: 5th
        • Classic Textbook?:
        • OER Link:
        • OER:
      • The Best American Poetry 2016
        • Author: David Lehman
        • Publisher: Scribner Poetry
        • Publication Date: 2016
        • Text Edition:
        • Classic Textbook?:
        • OER Link:
        • OER:

      Other materials and-or supplies required of students that contribute to the cost of the course.