Major British Poetry 1660-Present
David Lawrence profile
TR 5:00-6:15
This course attempts a broad survey of English poetry written during
two centuries, usually conceptualized in terms of dramatic contrasts
between neoclassical and romantic verse: reason/imagination,
society/the individual, poetic craft/poetic inspiration. We will
interrogate the terms of these oppositions by focusing on
representations of gender, or, more dramatically, by focusing on the
"battle of the sexes." Attending to its cultural and historical
contexts, we will read poetry as a form of public discourse in which
tensions between men and women, and between ideas of the masculine and
the feminine are explored and exposed. Giving major figures like
Pope, Swift and Wordsworth their due, the course grants at least equal
time to less celebrated poets like Anne Finch, Anna Laetitia Barbauld
and Mary Robinson. Vigorous class discussion and frequent short
writing assignments (and one longer one) will provoke students to talk
about poetry with spirit and style.
updated 2006-03-27
