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English Poetry COURSE GUIDE ENG372 ENGLISH POETRY Course Developer/Writer: Dr. Folasade Hunsu Department of English Obafemi Awolowo University [email protected] Course Editor: Professor A. E. Eruvbetine Department of English University of Lagos Akoka, Lagos. Course Coordinator: Dr. Felix Gbenoba Department of Languages Faculty of Arts National Open University of Nigeria Jabi, Abuja. 1 National Open University of Nigeria Headquarters Plot 91, Cadastral Zone, University Village, Nnamdi Azkiwe Expressway, Jabi, Abuja. Lagos Office 14/16, Ahmadu Bello Way, Victoria Island Lagos. E-mail: [email protected] URL: www.nou.edu.ng Published By: National Open University of Nigeria First Printed 2014 ISBN: All Rights Reserved 2 Printed By: 3 ENG372: ENGLISH POETRY INTRODUCTION The term “English poetry” is an ambiguous one. It can mean poetry written by the English people or poetry written in the English language. Nevertheless, this course is meant to acquaint you with poetry written by the English poets and others from Scotland, Wales, and Ireland from the earliest days of Anglo-Saxon to the modern period of English. The history of English poetry extends from the middle of the 7th century to the present day. Over this period, a lot of poems have been written in Western culture. By this, English language and its poetry have travelled all over the globe. The earliest surviving poetry was likely transmitted orally and then written down in versions that do not now survive; Caedman is believed to have written some religious verses.The earliest surviving poetry was written in Anglo-Saxon and may have been composed as early as the 7th century. This writing is generally accepted as the beginning of Anglo-Saxon poetry while Beowulf is one of the earliest surviving epic-poems. The earliest known English poem is a hymn on the creation. Course Aims The main aim of this course is to acquaint students with the background to the various traditions of English poetry embedded in this course, the different movements and their representative poets. Students will also be introduced to the 4 major themes and literary techniques of the selected poems. This may therefore be realized by: i. examining the earliest English poetry, ii. discussing the major works of the period and their representative poets, iii. providing information on the themes of selected poems, iv. explaining the nature of the Anglo-Norman period and the Later Middle Ages, v. explicating the Renaissance in England and its features, vi. discussing the Restoration and the 18th century movement and their representative poets, vii. highlighting the preoccupation of the Romantic Movement, viii. examining the Victorian poetry and its features, ix. discussing 20th century poetry and its characteristic features and x. elucidating the nature of new or contemporary English poetry. COURSE OBJECTIVES The overall objective of this course is to equip students with detailed information on the nature and advancement of English poetry from the earliest period of Anglo-Saxon to the present age of modern English. It is hoped therefore that at the end of the course, the students should be able to: (i) Discuss the concept of the earliest English poetry; 5 (ii) Explain the themes and features of Anglo-Norman and the Middle Age Poetry; (iii) Explain the term Renaissance and its major representative poets and the concept of their works; (iv) Highlight the concept of Romantic poetry; (v) Examine the influence of William Wordsworth on the English Romantic Poetry; (vi) Discuss the major achievements of the Victorian poets (vii) Discuss extensively the 20th century poetry, especially modernist poetry. Working through the Course Students are advised to commence the study by reading the course guide, which gives a quick overview of the course. The units must be read carefully starting from unit one. Always make sure that before a particular unit is read, its objectives have been understood as this will provide the overall picture of the unit. Try and read the recommended textbooks and other related materials in order to deepen your understanding of the course. Each unit has a self-assessment question, which you are expected to use in assessing your knowledge of the course. Note down the areas that seem unclear and need more clarification. Course Materials i. Course guide 6 ii. Study units iii. Textbooks iv. Assignment file v. Presentation schedule Study Units This course is a three credit unit course comprising five modules. Each module is made up of different study units depending on the contents and scope of the study. On the whole, the course has twenty study units of varying length. The modules and their units are as follows: Module 1 The Earliest English Poetry and the Anglo-Norman Period Unit 1 Background to the Earliest English Poetry Unit 2 Beowulf and the Earliest English Epic Unit 3 The Battle of Maldon Unit 4 Chaucer‟s Poetry Module 2 The Renaissance Poetry Unit 1 What is Renaissance? Unit 2 Elizabethan Poetry Unit 3 Shakespearean Sonnets Unit 4 Metaphysical Poetry Module 3 English Poetry in the Restoration and 18th Century Unit 1 Satire in the 18th Century 7 Unit 2 18th Century Classicism Unit 3 John Dryden‟s Poetry Unit 4 Alexander Pope‟s Poetry Module 4 English Poetry and the Romantic Movement Unit 1 Background to Romantic Movement Unit 2 William Wordsworth and the Romantic Movement Unit 3 John Keats‟ Poetry Unit 4 William Blake‟s Poetry Module 5: The Victorian Poetry and the 20th Century English Poetry Unit 1 Background to the Victorian Poetry Unit 2 Robert Browning and Mathew Arnold: The Examples of Victorian Poets Unit 3 20th Century English Poetry Unit 4 T.S. Eliot and W.B. Yeats: The Examples of 20th century Poets Each module is preceded by a miniature table of contents, including introduction, unit objective, the main content, Self-Assessment Exercise (SAE) as well as one Tutor-Marked Assignment (TMA) which you are required to answer and submit for grading. Textbooks for further Reading 8 At the end of every unit, you will find a list of books and other such materials that will enable you have a firm grasp of the course. The books are to aid your understanding of this course. You are, therefore, expected to consult as many materials as possible. This will enable you to grasp the course deeply. Presentation Schedule The presentation schedule gives you the important dates for the completion of your tutor-marked assignments and when you will attend tutorials. Remember that you are required to submit your assignments according to the schedule. Assignment File The file contains the details of all the assignments you must do and submit to your tutor for marking. The mark you obtain from these assignments will form part of the final mark you will obtain in this course. Assessment The course has two types of exercises or questions you are expected to tackle. The first is the Self-Assessment Exercises (SAEs) which you are expected to solve but not submit at the end of the study. The second is the Tutor-Marked Assignment (TMAs) which you must solve and submit in an assignment file in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the successful completion of the course. The TMA accounts for 30% of your total score for the course. 9 Every unit has a Tutor - Marked Assignment, which is a compulsory question that must be answered and submitted at the end of the course. You will minimize your chance of doing well in the course if you fail to submit answers to all the Tutor-Marked Assignments as required. Final Examination and Grading The final examination for this course has a duration of three hours. The examination itself will carry 70%. It will be made up of questions that reflect the self-testing exercises as well as the tutor-marked assignments. You are expected to spend quality time to read the contents of the units and all the SAEs and TMAs for the final examination. Course Marking Scheme The table below shows how actual course marking scheme is broken down. Assessments Marks Assignments of which the best Assignment 1-4 three marks of the four count as 30% of course mark. 70% of overall course mark Final examination 100% of course marks Total Table 1: Course Marking Scheme. 10 Course overview The table below brings together, the units, the number of weeks you should take to complete them and the assignments that follow them. Units Title of work Week’s Assessment(s) activity (End of Unit) Course Guide 1 Module 1 1 Background to the Earliest English Poetry 1 Assignment 1 2 Beowulf and the earliest English Epic. 2 Assignment 2 3 The Battle of Maldon 3 Assignment 3 4 Chaucer‟s Poetry 4 Assignment 4 Module 2 1 What is Renaissance? 5 Assignment 1 2 Elizabethan Poetry 6 Assignment 2 3 Shakespearean Sonnets 7 Assignment 3 4 The Metaphysical Poetry 8 Assignment 4 Module 3 1 Satire in the 18th Century 9 Assignment 1 2 18th Century Classicism 10 Assignment 2 11 3 John Dryden‟s Poetry 11 Assignment 3 4 Alexander Pope‟s Poetry 12 Assignment 4 Module 4 1 Background to the Romantic Movement 13 Assignment 1 2 William Wordsworth and the Romantic 14 Assignment 2 Movement 3 John Keats‟ Poetry 15 Assignment 3 4 William Blake‟s Poetry 16 Assignment 4 Module 5 1 Background to the Victorian Poetry 17 Assignment 1 2 Robert Browning and Matthew Arnold: The 18 Assignment 2 examples of Victorian Poetry 3 20th Century English Poetry 19 Assignment 3 4 T.S. Eliot and W.B. Yeats: The Examples of 20th 20 Assignment 4 Century English Poets Revision 21 Examination 22 Facilitators/Tutors and Tutorials 12 Fifteen tutorial hours are provided for in this course to enable the students and their tutors to meet and examine the contents of the course at intervals.
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