ENGL 265-01, "Make It New": Modern and Contemporary Poetry, Spring 2013

Abstract

In their quest to ―make it new,‖ modern and contemporary poets have evolved very different ideas about language, as well as competing views of the poet, the audience, and the poem. This course will trace the development of American poetry in the 20th and 21st centuries, beginning with modernist precursors Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson and ending with contemporary poets Rita Dove, Li-Young Lee, and Sherman Alexie. Our readings and discussions will address both the sound and the sense of poems. We will look closely at linguistic elements such as diction, syntax, and rhythm, considering the ways American poets have revived and reshaped poetic conventions. Additionally, we will consider issues of style and intent, examining some of the 20th century‘s key movements and schools, among them High Modernism, the New Criticism, the Confessional school, the Beats, the Black Arts movement, and Language poetry.