Early Modern Poetry - Week 2 Notes

Class Logistics

  • The class will start at 8:30 AM instead of 8:15 AM due to traffic concerns, determined by a democratic decision.
  • The class must end by 10:00 AM, with an official end time of 9:56 AM to allow for room transitions.
  • Students needing to catch a train at 10 past the hour may leave 5-10 minutes early, ensuring they catch up on any missed content.

Course Expectations and Structure

  • The instructor aims to understand students' motivations for taking the class and their prior knowledge of early modern poetry.
  • The course will cover topics on the syllabus and assessment methods.
  • The class will begin to discuss poetry.

Initial Activity: Flinger

  • Students are asked to use Flinger to answer why they chose the class and what their expectations are.
  • Instructions on how to use Flinger are provided for those unfamiliar with the tool.

Discussion on Poetry and Drama

  • Some students see the course as a continuation of early modern drama, noting similarities in content but differences in style.
  • Poetry is not necessarily more difficult than drama; its difficulty is a common misconception.
  • The class will explore the varied and closely structured nature of early modern poetry, emphasizing the importance of form.
  • Similarities exist between early modern drama and poetry because much drama is written in verse.

Interest in Poetry

  • Students express interest in poetry for its artistic and musical qualities, as well as its entertainment value.
  • Deciphering the indirect nature of poetry is seen as a challenge and a source of entertainment.
  • Poetry is seen as a way to understand and express feelings.

Personal Experiences with Poetry

  • The instructor shares their past dislike for poetry and how they have come to appreciate it, suggesting hope for students who prefer fiction.
  • Poetry is viewed as an intellectual and aesthetic challenge.

Poetry and Emotion

  • The class will address whether poetry is always about emotions and why poetry is considered capable of expressing emotions.

Interest in the Class

  • Students find the course interesting because of the period it covers, a shifting point in European history.
  • Poetry is seen as encompassing the feelings, ethics, and values of the period, providing insight into the human experience of the time.

Foundational Periods of European Culture

  • The course will examine how poetry contributes to the cultural myth of the early modern age as a foundational period of European culture.

Prior Knowledge of Early Modern Poetry

  • Some students have read Shakespeare and Spenser in high school.
  • The class will cover Shakespeare, but also a variety of other poets to provide a glimpse into the rich variety of early modern poetry.

Sonnets

  • The class will read sonnets, which are short poems consisting of 14 lines.
  • Sonnets are a good introduction to early modern poetry because they are short and allow for linking content to form.
  • Sonnets are a formative genre of the early modern age.
  • Sonnets will be used as a window into the past, examining both the words themselves and their cultural and historical contexts.

Course Structure and Syllabus

  • Students should check the Moodle folders for the most up-to-date information on the syllabus and reading assignments.
  • The course will cover early English sonnets and their Italian origins.
  • The cultural phenomenon of the sonnet sequence will also be discussed.
  • There is no class on March 19th, but reading material will be assigned.
  • Shakespeare and Mary Roth will be covered in week six.
  • Two classes will be dedicated to writing literature reviews, with and without AI assistance.

AI in Academic Writing

  • The course will explore how to use AI properly within the context of academic conduct, focusing on how to use AI without cheating.
  • The ethical implications of using AI in research will be examined.

Epic Poetry

  • After week 10, the class will shift towards epic poetry, including excerpts from “The Faerie Queen” and “Paradise Lost.”
  • Epic poems are long narrative poems, sometimes running into thousands of verses.

Assessment

  • The assessment includes three written assignments and a final oral exam.
  • The written assignments consist of two literature reviews (one written without AI and one with AI) and a research proposal.
  • The literature reviews will be the same, allowing for comparison of the AI's impact.
  • The research proposal will include a literature review and a short discussion of a potential research topic.
  • The oral exam will focus on the research proposal and its topic.

Literature Reviews and AI

  • The goal is to understand what AI can do for research, where it falls short, and how to use it responsibly.
  • The focus is on the reflection of the process rather than the end result of the literature reviews.
  • The aim is to prepare students for writing BA theses and future research papers using AI effectively.

Research Proposal

  • The research proposal serves as a step towards a larger paper, incorporating the literature reviews and a discussion of a potential research topic.

Oral Exam

  • The oral exam, lasting 15-20 minutes, will discuss the research proposal and its content.
  • All assignments and the oral exam originate from the material covered in the course, but additional bibliographical research is required.

Timing of Assessments

  • Detailed discussion and guidelines for the research proposal will be provided later in the course.
  • The oral exams are likely to be scheduled in June.
  • Rescheduling of oral exams for personal reasons is generally not possible, except in cases of emergencies or unforeseen circumstances.

What is Poetry?

  • The class will discuss the question, "What is poetry?"
  • Students are asked to use Mentimeter to add their thoughts and answers to this question.
  • Rhythm is identified as one of the most important elements of poetry.
  • The association between rhythm and poetry is linked to the oral tradition, where rhythm aids memorization.

Importance of Rhyme

  • Rhyme helps maintain rhythm and shape in poetry.
  • The connection between rhyme, rhythm, writing, and the material form of poetry is noted.

Emily Dickinson Example

  • Emily Dickinson's poem is mentioned as an example of poetry that may not rhyme or have a smooth rhythm.
  • The poem's structure in verses and use of technical devices and imagery are discussed.

Distinctions Between Genres

  • Prose can have poetic elements, just as epic poetry can have novel-like qualities.
  • There are clear limits between genres, with overlaps and distinctions between novels and poems.
  • Rhyming is more important in early modern poetry, a topic to be tackled later.

Poetry and Pretentiousness

  • The discussion addresses the idea that poetry can be perceived as pretentious.
  • The carefully crafted nature of poetry and the difficulty in understanding it may contribute to this perception.
  • Cultural and social elitism may also be associated with poetry, contrasting with its origins as a popular, shared form.

Interpretation of Poetry

  • The interpretative challenge of poetry, with multiple possible interpretations, may make it seem unattainable.
  • The expectation that poetry is about emotions is discussed, considering both the emotions of the author and the reader.
  • Personal experiences and beliefs influence the interpretation of poetry.

Personal vs. Academic Reading

  • Personal reading involves an individual's reaction to the words on the page, while academic reading requires knowledge of cultural and historical context.
  • Poems are not always about emotional reading, and cultural context is essential for understanding them.

Poetry and Emotion

  • The idea that poetry is about emotion originates in the late 18th century with the Romantics, such as Wordsworth.
  • However, this concept does not necessarily apply to early modern poetry, which is often carefully crafted.

Shakespeare's Sonnet 18

  • Shakespeare's Sonnet 18 ("Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?") is introduced and read aloud.
  • The rhymes and the structure of 14 lines are used as evidence that it's a poem.

Initial Impressions of the Poem

  • The speaker has a high regard for the person they address.
  • The use of “thee” suggests a close, informal relationship, akin to the relationship between the reader and God in the King James Bible.
  • The question in the first line implies that the speaker cares about the addressee’s opinion.

Speaker and Addressee

  • The speaker does not wait for an answer, indicating the sonnet is about the speaker themselves.
  • In early modern sonnets, the speaker is typically a man.

Summer's Day Association

  • A summer's day evokes fertility and life, with a happy disposition.
  • Context is important, depending on the climate, the summer season has very different connotations.

The Poem's Meaning

  • The poem is about the speaker’s attachment to the addressee, as well as beauty, death, and hope.
  • Eternal life is possible only in poetry, offering a sense of hope.

Analysing Sonnets

  • Subdivide a sonnet into different parts following the form and rhyming scheme.
  • Subdivision of this sonnet leads to three groups of four lines, and one group of two lines
  • The form of the sonnet tells you how to subdivide it into parts, and therefore the meaning of the poem.

Next Steps

  • The Italian origins of the English sonnet will be discussed next time.
  • Everyone should come prepared with some basic knowledge of the topic next time.