Department of English

Beginning with the Restoration of Charles II and ending in the political turmoil of the 1930s, this course surveys a varied selection of British poets and poems. We'll look at the formal choices poets make (sonnet or ode? elegy or epic?) and the socio-historical forces affecting (and affected by) their decisions. In the classroom, our emphasis will be on close reading and active discussion. Writing assignments will include e-mail instigators and several short papers. There will also be a final exam. A sampling of the poets we'll cover: Alexander Pope, Anne Finch, William Wordsworth, Charlotte Smith, Robert Browning, Christina Rossetti, W. B. Yeats, and W. H. Auden.