The Monthly Poet

Content of Course

The Monthly Read offers a gentle introduction to the life and works of some great poets. Each session will explore in depth an individual poet, introducing recognised literary terminology to evaluate key thematic and technical aspects of their verse. The poems will be taken from The Zoo of the New where possible, or be made available through our VLE in advance of each class. Where available, recordings of the poets will be played, as will documentary footage. Students will be encouraged to consider the poetic elements of the poems such as form, rhythm, rhyme, imagery and metre, and students will compare and contrast the poets studied over the three sessions, discussing the contribution each poet has made to the development of the poetic form. Wherever possible, the poems selected for study will be taken from The Zoo of the New.

Term 1 will study:

• Thomas Hardy
• WH Auden
• Anne Carson

Term 2 will study:

• Christina Rossetti
• T.S. Eliot
• Wendell Berry

Term 3 will study:

• Rumi
• Rainer Maria Rilke
• Rupi Kaur

Teaching method(s)

Students will be encouraged to engage in group discussion and will gain confidence in reading poetry aloud. Sessions will include an introductory presentation, followed by close reading of poems.

Learning outcomes

On completion of this course, students will be able to:

• Communicate ideas and arguments about a poem using recognised literary terminology;

• Consider and identify the tools and techniques (such as form, meter, rhyme, imagery) used by poets;

• Compare and contrast the works of a diverse range of poets, identifying any common themes;

• Place the poems within their historical, political and social contexts.

Sources

Core Readings

Students are advised to wait until the course has been confirmed to run before purchasing any of the suggested books.

Essential:

• Paterson, D. and Laird, N., 2016. The Zoo of the New. London: Penguin

Recommended:

• Carper, T. and Attridge, D., 2003. Meter and Meaning: An Introduction to Rhythm in Poetry. London: Routledge.

• Fenton, James, 2003. An Introduction to English Poetry. Harmondsworth: Penguin.

• Fry, Stephen, 2007. The Ode Less Travelled. London: Arrow.

• Eagleton, T., 2006. How to Read a Poem. Cambridge: Wiley-Blackwell.

Queries

If you have questions regarding the course or enrolment, please contact COL Reception at Paterson's Land by email COL@ed.ac.uk or by phone 0131 650 4400.

Student support

If you have a disability, learning difficulty or health condition which may affect your studies, please let us know by ticking the 'specific support needs' box on your course application form. This will allow us to make appropriate adjustments in advance and in accordance with your rights under the Equality Act 2010. For more information please visit the Student Support section of our website.