The Norton Anthology of Modern Poetry. Richard Ellman and Robert O'Clair, eds.
Poems for the Millennium. Jerome Rothenberg and Pierre Joris, eds. [on reserve]

Course Description:
EN 321 is a survey of modernist movements in poetry. We will focus on developments in American and English poetry during the first half of the twentieth century. We will also cover European poetry very briefly to examine the influence it had on poetry written in English. One goal of the course is to increase students' understanding and appreciation of the individual poems and poets read in the course. Consequently, we will spend a considerable amount of time on textual analysis of individual poems. Another goal of the course is to study Modern Poetry as a movement and to examine different, often competing currents within that movement. Therefore, we will also look at the poems in their historical context and examine the poetics of the writers we study.

Attendance:
Attendance is mandatory and will be recorded at the beginning of each class. If you arrive late, please inform me after class that you were present; otherwise you will be counted absent. If you absolutely must leave class early, please inform me before class so that I know why you are leaving, then sit near the door so that you can slip out quietly. I reserve the right to count you absent if you miss a significant amount of class due to late arrival or early departure. Students are required to attend a minimum of 75% of scheduled classes to receive a passing grade. Excessive absences (more than 5) will be considered due cause for lowering your final grade.

Assignments:
Presentation of a Poem:
Each student will be required to memorize one poem of her or his choice and present it to the class. This may be a single poem of 10 lines or more, a comparable section from a longer poem, or a group of related short poems totaling 10 lines or more. The poem should be presented on the day the poem is discussed, and the student will be expected to begin discussion of the poem by telling what led her or him to choose this poem to memorize or by commenting on its sound or structure.

Presentation of a Poet:
Each student will be required to research one decade in the career of one of the poets we read and present this information to the class on the day we discuss the poet. Students will sign up in advance to cover a particular poet. The presentation should last approximately 5 minutes and include a brief biography and some information on where the poet fits in the movements we are studying. Students will also post a brief summary of their presentation on the forum for this class. Option: Two students may collaborate on a poet and do their presentations together. In this case they should either choose an additional poet present together at a later date or discuss two decades of the poet's career (for 10 minutes). Scores on collaborative presentations will be averaged.

Response Papers:
Each student will write two short papers, 3-5 typed pages, which discuss a poem of your choice. For the second paper, choose a poem we read after the first deadline. The poem may be the one you present to the class, or you may choose to write on another poem. The main purpose of this paper is to present an interpretation of the poem, to read the images in it and/or to discuss its formal qualities. You may also choose to compare two short poems by the same poet or on similar themes or to discuss how the poem reflects the poet's poetics or one strand of modern poetry. You may also choose to write on a section of (or one theme in) a long poem. You may include some information about the poet if that aids your interpretation. You should consider writing your response papers on poems you might want to use in your term paper. You can earn extra credit toward these paper assignments by participating in the forum discussions for the class.

Term Paper:
Each student will also write a longer essay, 7-10 typed pages, on a group of poems: either several poems by the same poet (or one long poem with my permission) or a comparison of two or more poems by different poets. You should present a textual analysis of the poems, discuss the poetics of the poet, and place the poems in their historical context. You may write on the poems that you used in your response papers; however, you should present new work on this poem or poet, and you should discuss other poems as well. You should also refer to some criticism on the poems or the poet in your paper, which you can find by consulting the MLA Bibliography, Twentieth Century Literary Criticism, the periodicals indexes from Ebsco and InfoTrac, or sources reprinted on the internet. Be aware that you may to order some books or articles through interlibrary loan, which can take up to a month.

Midterm and Final Exams:
There will be one in-class midterm exam covering the poems and themes discussed in the first part of the course. There will also be a comprehensive final exam. Both exams will focus primarily on essay questions, though there may be some identification of passages from major works which have been discussed in class.

Grading:
Essay grades will be determined by how well the student discusses the themes and form of the poems addressed, and for the term paper by the quality of research. Grammar and style will also be taken into consideration. Assignments turned in late will be penalized (see due dates marked on the course schedule). In extreme circumstances, and only when a request has been made prior to the due date of the assignment, extensions may be granted at the discretion of the professor. Letter grades assigned to essays will have the following numeric values:

Final grades will be based on the same system and will be a composite of the following:

A final reminder: plagiarism will result in an F (0) on the assignment, and in severe cases is grounds for failure in the course. Plagiarism includes using paraphrased or quoted information from a source without proper documentation. Using quoted information without putting it in quotes (or indenting for long quotes) is also considered plagiarism, regardless of whether the source is cited. Cliffs Notes and other study aids must be treated as any other source; i.e. if you use them, you must cite them. If you are unsure whether you have used material and cited it appropriately, see me before the final draft of the assignment is due. Once you have turned in your assignment it is too late to plead ignorance. Please refer to the Student Guidebook for MUW's policies regarding plagiarism and academic honesty.

Students with disabilities: A reasonable attempt will be made to accommodate students with documented disabilities. Students must first obtain an accommodations plan through Academic Support Services and make a request for accommodations prior to the due date of the assignment. When a general accommodations plan is presented, it will be tailored to the demands of the World Literature Survey to create a plan that is fair to all students. All information regarding a student's disability will be kept confidential.

EN 321	Modern Poetry	Spring 2003
Week 1	January 8-10
Wed	Introduction
Fri	Edgar Lee Masters 204-210
	Carl Sandburg 268 273
Week 2	January 13-17
Mon	A. E. Houseman 121 133
Wed	Siegfried Sassoon 422-428
	Wilfred Owen 539 547
Fri	William Butler Yeats 133-144
Week 3	January 20-24
Mon	Martin Luther King Day ‹ no classes
Wed	William Butler Yeats 150-161
Fri	D. H. Lawrence 351 374
Week 4	January 27-31
Mon	Ezra Pound 374-381 and PM 527-528 & 734
Wed	T. S. Eliot 482-504
Fri	T. S. Eliot (continued)
Week 5	February 3-7
Mon	Ezra Pound 382-394
Wed	William Carlos Williams 312-321
Fri	H.D. 409-414
Week 6	February 10-14
Mon	Marianne Moore 454 467 and PM 378-379
Wed	Edith Sitwell 447-451 and PM 385-389
Fri	Mina Loy PM 136 140	Essay #1 Due
Week 7	February 17-21
Mon	Claude McKay 516 519
Wed	Jean Toomer 562-565
Fri	Countee Cullen 660 665
Week 8	February 24-28
Mon	Langston Hughes 645-652
Wed	Langston Hughes PM 651-655
Fri	Midterm Exam
Week 9	March 3-7
Mon	Guillaume Apollinaire PM 119-124 & 128 129
	Blaise Cendrars PM 162-171
Wed	Tristan Tzara and Hugo Ball PM 289 306
	Hans Arp PM 310 314
Fri	André Breton and Robert Desnos PM 468-476
	Robert Desnos and Tristan Tzara PM 492 499
Spring Break March 10-15
Week 10	March 17-21
Mon	Gertrude Stein 237 242 and PM 99-105, 346-351
Wed	e.e. cummings 547 553 and PM 432-434
Fri	e.e. cummings 553 562
Week 11	March 24-28
Mon	Robert Frost 242-251
Wed	Robert Frost 255-268
Fri	Wallace Stevens 279 291	Essay #2 Due
Week 12	March 31 - April 4
Mon	Wallace Stevens 291 303
Wed	Robinson Jeffers 428 438
Fri	Muriel Rukeyser 880 884 and PM 724-727
Week 13	April 7-11
Mon	Kenneth Rexroth 709 714 and PM 687-691
Wed	Ezra Pound 394-409
Fri	William Carlos Williams 322-350
Week 14	April 14-18
Mon	H. D. 415-422 and PM 375-376
	Edith Sitwell 452-454
Wed	William Butler Yeats 161-188
Fri	Easter Holiday
Week 15	April 22-25
Mon	Robert Graves 565 576
Wed	Louis MacNeice 764 776
Fri	W. H. Auden 732-743
Week 16	April 28-May 2
Mon	W. H. Auden 744-754	Term Paper Due
Wed	Dylan Thomas 917 927
Fri	Course Review
Final:	Monday, May 5, 12:00-3:00 p.m.

Important Dates:
Jan. 14	Last day to enter a class for credit and change from credit to pass-fail
Jan. 28	Last day to withdraw (without WP or WF) or change from credit to audit
Feb. 25	Last day to drop a course (and receive WP or WF designation)
April 15	Last day to withdraw from the university