Detailed Notes on Literature in English Studies in Poetry

Module Overview

  • Module: Bachelor of Education Programme (Primary and JHS) EBS149SW: Literature in English Studies in Poetry
  • Instructors: Dr. Samuel Kwesi Nkansah, Dr. Daniel Oppong-Adjei
  • Institution: Republic of Ghana, Institute of Education, UCC
  • Date: December, 2022

Unit 1: Introduction to Poetry

Session 1: Definition and Characteristics of Poetry

  • Definition of Poetry: A form of literature that expresses experiences or emotions in a structured artistic manner, often employing rhythm and meter.

    • Historical Perspective: Ancient Greeks believed poetry was inspired by the Muses; poets were viewed as spiritual figures.
    • Cultural Perspective: Varies widely; different societies portray unique views and approaches to poetry.

  • Theoretical Definitions:

    1. Wordsworth: "The spontaneous outflow of powerful feelings… emotion recollected in tranquility."
    2. T.S. Eliot: Contrasts Wordsworth, stating poetry is "not an escape from emotion" but a structure to express them.
    3. Percy Shelley: "Poetry turns all things to loveliness…"
    4. Watts-Dunton: "The artistic expression of the human mind."

  • Characteristics of Poetry:

    • Use of language that evokes imagery.
    • Artistry concerning words and their arrangement.
    • Imagination: Poets create meaning through images connected to emotions.
    • Economy of Words: Effective communication through concise language.
    • Figurative Language: Employs figures of speech (e.g., metaphor, simile) to deepen meaning.
Session 2: Types, Genres, and Functions of Poetry, and Imagery

  • Types of Poetry:

    • Narrative Poetry: Tells a story.
    • Lyric Poetry: Focuses on personal emotions or feelings.
    • Dramatic Poetry: Presents character interactions.

  • Genres of Poetry:

    • Oral Poetry: Passed down verbally; retains cultural significance.
    • Written Poetry: Documented and accessible over time.

  • Functions of Poetry:

    • To entertain, educate, or inform.
    • Provides emotional closure or societal commentary.

  • Imagery: Language that evokes sensory experiences to create vivid mind images. Types include:

    • Visual Imagery: Appeals to sight.
    • Auditory Imagery: Appeals to sound.
    • Olfactory Imagery: Appeals to smell.
    • Gustatory Imagery: Appeals to taste.
    • Tactile Imagery: Appeals to touch.
    • Organic Imagery: Pertains to internal sensations (e.g., feelings or emotions).

Unit 2: Narrative Poetry and Types

Session 1: Introduction to Narrative Poetry and Ballads

  • Characteristics of Narrative Poetry:

    • Unity and Coherence: Must present a story arc.
    • Elements of Story: Includes setting, characters, plot, dialogue.
    • Examples: The Iliad, The Odyssey, folk tales.

  • Ballads:

    • Traditionally anonymous songs telling stories (e.g., Sir Patrick Spens).
    • Features:
    • Simple language, repetition, impersonal voice.
    • Focuses on personal tragedies and communal experiences.
Session 2: Epic and Metrical Narrative Tales

  • Epic Poetry:

    • A lengthy narrative poem about heroic deeds (e.g., Beowulf, The Odyssey).
    • Features:
    • Elevated style, invocation of the Muse, extensive setting.
    • Celebrates national or heroic significance.

  • Metrical Tales:

    • Long narrative poems often treating fictional or storied events (e.g., The Canterbury Tales).

Unit 3: Lyrical Poetry

Session 1: Definition, Characteristics, and Types of Lyric Poetry
  • Definition of Lyric Poetry: A short poem expressing personal feelings and thoughts, often set to music.
    • Characteristics:
    • Emotional intensity, figurative language, and personal voice.
Session 2: English, Spenserian Sonnet and Other Forms
  • Sonnets: Fourteen-line poems typically in iambic pentameter.
    • Petrarchan Sonnet: Divided into octave and sestet.
    • Shakespearean Sonnet: Structure of three quatrains and a couplet (ABABCDCDEFEFGG).
    • Spenserian Sonnet: Links quatrains with couplets (ABABBCBCCDCDEE).

Unit 4: Other Lyrical Poetry

Session 1: Elegy, Ode and Confessional Poetry
  • Elegy: Reflect on death and loss (Example: Elegy Written in a Country Church Yard by Thomas Gray).
    • Features: Sad mood, personalization of grief.
  • Ode: Lyrical poem expressing praise (Example: Ode on a Grecian Urn by John Keats).
    • Characteristics: Elevated style, formal language.
  • Confessional Poetry: Intimate and autobiographical approach (Example: Sylvia Plath’s The Applicant).
Session 2: Descriptive, Reflective, and Pastoral Lyric Poetry
  • Descriptive Lyric Poetry: Present tense descriptions of objects/events.
    • Reflective Lyric Poetry: Past tense introspection focusing on personal experiences.
    • Pastoral Lyric Poetry: Focus on rural life and idealized experiences (e.g., Arcadia by Sidney).

Unit 5: Dramatic Poetry and Other Elements

Session 1: Dramatic Poetry
  • Definition: Poetry that mimics drama, focusing on character conflict.
    • Characteristics: Use of dialogue, profound emotional reflection, and story-telling methods, typically through monologue.
  • Types: Dramatic monologue, dialogue, soliloquy.
Session 2: Schemes, Rhymes, and Sounds
  • Rhymes: Sound patterns in poetry; include various types such as end rhyme, internal rhyme, perfect, and slant rhymes.
  • Sounds: Elements like alliteration, assonance, consonance that enhance poetic expression.

Unit 6: Modernist Poems

Session 1: Free Verse, Imagism
  • Free Verse: Poetry free of metrical constraints; emphasizes natural speech rhythms.
  • Imagism: Focus on clear, precise imagery and concise language.
Session 2: Haiku, Villanelle, and Sestina
  • Haiku: 17-syllable three-line poems focusing on nature.
  • Villanelle: 19-line poems with repeating cues and a specific rhyme scheme (ABA).
  • Sestina: 39-line poem with a complex pattern of word repetition.