Department of English

Readings in British poetry from Dryden to W.H. Auden, this course will seek to trace the history of verse in Britain and to understand the changing nature of poetic expression and purpose over the centuries. Intense close readings of particular poems with attention paid to metre and poetic form as well as to theme will be our way of proceeding. Four short papers (3-5 pages) will be assigned in the course of the semester, along with a final take-home exam.