Dr. Yoder
Spring 2008        English 4150/4250.01       Reading Poetry Seminar
Writing Assignments

I do not expect you to do any outside critical research for the following assignments (aside from looking up words or terminology). I do, however, expect to see evidence of thoughtful reading, and a certain level of discursive competence. That is, grammar counts.

All formal essays should be typed, double-spaced, with your name, course name and number, my name and the date on the first page. Number all pages after the first, preferably in the upper right hand corner. Please do not hesitate to call me or to make an appointment to discuss your papers with me. For suggestions on style, see Doc Yoder's Tips for Writers; for Guidelines for Quotations, look here. Now you have no excuses.

Journals: 250 words weekly       Due: Beginning of class on Mondays (preferably by 11am)       Grade Value: 20% Total

Weekly informal journals provide an opportunity for you to reflect on the class readings and discussions, respond to the readings and discussions, develop ideas for your papers, and continue our classroom conversations after class. The journals also allow me to get to know your writing so that I can provide better advice and feedback on your papers. Finally, your journals are part of the class assessment process, allowing me to assess how well you are learning what I think I am teaching. In some ways the weekly journals will be the most important of the writing assignments. The journals should be no less than a full typed page (roughly 250 words), and they should be about the class. Journals that stop only at "I like this; I do not like that" remarks will receive no credit. Instead you should use the journals to push your understanding of the dynamics of reading poetry. The best approach is to try to have fun thinking about poetry. Feel free to speculate, to venture, to invent, even to try out poetry of your own that applies the principles we are discussing in class. Since the individual entries are not graded, you have nothing to lose by taking chances. These journals should be posted to the course listserve and are due by 11am on Monday (before class); journals not received by the start of class on Monday will not be accepted. The individual journal entries will be ungraded, but you will receive a collective grade based on how many journals you actually submit. NO LATE JOURNALS WILL BE ACCEPTED.

Scavenger Hunt Portfolio:         Due: Monday, April 28        Grade Value: 10%

The list for the scavenger hunt is here. You should work on this assignment all semester. The assignment is described on the list of forms and figures for the hunt, but essentially your job is to find examples of as many of the poetic forms and figures on the list as you can, and keep a record of your findings, along with a brief description or discussion of how the form or figure works. You should be prepared to discuss your findings at random in class, so bring them with you to every session. I will collect the portfolios randomly during the semester, and then collect the full portfolio on April 28.

Paper 1: Paraphrase: 2-3pp.       Due: Friday, Feb. 15, noon       Grade Value: 10%

Choose a poem or passage of between 10 and 20 lines from a poem, and paraphrase it. You should account for every line, every image, and every comparison (that includes metaphors, similes, metonymies, synecdoches) in the passage. Your goal is to demonstrate that you understand what the sentences of the poem mean, that you understand the "sense" of what the poet is saying. Your discussion might also include any more-or-less obvious references to other writers or their work.

Paper 2: Structure Analysis: 2-3p.        Due: Wednesday, March 17        Grade Value: 10%

Choose a poem of less than 100 lines (a sonnet might be ideal here) and describe the parts of the poem. You should consider not only the form of the stanzas, but also the "movements," or how the thought of the poem develops. Be sure to note any images, key words or syntactical elements that indicate the changes in structure. Be as specific as you can in the space allotted for the assignment.

Paper 3: Sound Analysis: 2-3p.        Due: Wednesday, April 16        Grade Value: 10%

Choose a poem or passage of between 10 and 20 lines from a poem , and discuss the sound effects of the passage. You should describe the alliteration, assonance, consonance, rhyme (internal or end) and meter, and consider how these elements work together in the passage. You should also consider how these sound effects relate to the sense of the passage. Keep in mind Alexander Pope's assertion that "The sound must seem an echo of the sense" (An Essay on Criticism, 365).

Paper 4: A Reading: 4-6pp.       Due: Friday, May 9, by Noon       Grade Value: 20%

Now put it all together. Choose a poem or passage of less than 100 lines from a poem as the basis for your discussion. You should have a thesis that makes a point about the interaction of the various elements of the piece. Your discussion should demonstrate not only that you understand the sense of the piece, but also that you understand how the "poetic elements" contribute to the overall effect of it.

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