Close Reading of Selected American Poems

elective courses

Classroom

The course is devoted to close readings of elegies and love poems, from Walt Whitman to poets who started or continued to publish in the XXI-st century. We will discuss various approaches to writing elegies and love poems, as well as existing definitions of what these types of lyrics are supposed to be, with an aim to refine or expand such definitions.

The history of elegies and love poems is also the history of lyric poetry. For most of their history, elegiies and love poems followed conventions established in classical antquity or the Middle Ages. A paradigmatic change did not opccur until the Romantic period, and today it is not always clear whether a given poem is an elegy, an erotic poem, or something quite different. This course is devoted to close readings of elegies and love poems by American poets, from Walt Whitman to those who continiued or started to publish in the XXIst century.

We will discuss existing definitions of both types of poems and consider whether they answer to the poetic reality created by the poems under examination.

Selected poems by Walt Whitman, Mina Loy, Langston Hughes, W.H. Auden, Gwendolyn Brooks, Elizabeth Bishop, John Berryman, Robert Lowell, Allen Gunsberg, Robert Creeley, Frank O'Hara, Adrienne Rich, John Ashbery, Olga Broumas.

Learning outcomes pertaining to students enrolled before the academic year 2022/23

A student:

- knows how to one's knowledge in a logical and clar manner, both orally and in writing

- has the skills to analyze and define research and conduct one's own research; knows how to formulate the research problem and determine the method

- recognizes the nature of dilemmas, problems and conflicts; seeks the best solutions for them

- knowingly particpates in one's own national culture, respecting the cultural heritage of Europe, manifests understanding and curiosity about different cultures

- In class discussions, students acquire skills of expressing their thoughts in a clear, coherent, logical and precise manner, with the use of language which is correct grammatically, lexically and phonetically

Language acquisition at B2+ level minimum

Learning outcomes pertaining to students enrolled in 202/23

The graduate will be able to

K_W04 describe the relation between language, literature, and historical and cultural processes on an advanced level, as reflected in American elegies and elegiac poems and love poetry and erotic verse

K_W11 recall notions and principles pertaining to intellectual property and copyright law

The graduate is able to

K_U02 employ the methodology of literary studies, respecting the ethical norms and copyright law

K_U03 analyze literary phenomena and draw generalizations on their basis with respect to the social, historical and economic context pertinent to American elegies and elegiac poems as well as erotic verse and love poems

K_U04 implement knowledge to describe a problem and identify means to solve it, thereby completing a project in American elegies and elegiac poems as well as love poems and erotic verse

K_U07 employ modern technology for the sake of obtaining information and using various communication channels and techniques

The graduate is ready to

K_K02 undertake life-long learning and personal development, applying skills and competences to select subjects and projects optimally suiting one’s personal interests

K_K06 value cultural heritage and cultural diversity

Attendance and participation in class discussions. Maximum number of absences: 3. Final written exam (in-class instruction). Retake exam: written. The form and criteria of the final exam may change if the epidemiological situation so requires. Equivalent terms for determining final grades will then be established in accordance with University of Warsaw guidelines.