Unit 1: Poetry

Great American poets Edgar Allan Poe, William Carlos Williams, Langston Hughes, Maya Angelou, and Billy Collins.

Week 1

Defining Literature
Literature, in its broadest sense, is any written work. More restrictively, it is writing that possesses literary merit. Literature can be classified according to whether it is fiction or non-fiction and whether it is poetry or prose. It can be further distinguished according to major forms such as the novel, short
story or drama, and works are often categorized according to historical periods or their adherence to certain aesthetic features or expectations (genre).
Literary Terms
To discuss and analyze literature it is important to know some of the basic terms and expressions used within the subject area. This glossary covers the most widely used terms.
The Rough Guide to Literary Style
This article presents some examples of
different literary styles throughout history, and briefly discuss their effect on the reader, both at the time they were written and today.

Introduction to Poetry (Poem by Billy Collins) - Kinetic Typography.
Watch an audio/visual poem written by two-term poet laureate Billy Collins.
"Poetry Lectures: Billy Collins" from the Poetry Foundation
Listen to a lecture by Billy Collins on his craft and how it relates to the reader.

Week 2

Langston Hughes, "Let America Be America Again"
Langston Hughes was one of the earliest innovators of the then-new literary art form called jazz poetry.
Emily Dickinson, “Wild nights – Wild nights!” 1861
Emily Dickinson was a prolific American poet.

Edgar Allan Poe, “The Raven,” 1845
Listen to "The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe.
Theodore Roethke, “My Papa’s Waltz,” 1961
Roethke’s work is characterized by its introspection, rhythm and natural imagery. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 1954 for The Waking, and he won the annual National Book Award for Poetry twice, in 1959 for Words for the Wind and posthumously in 1965 for The Far Field.

How to Analyze Poetry
Poetry is a form of expression. As with any type of literary analysis, you need a basic knowledge of the elements of poetry. This guide and questions will help you.

Poetry Literary Terms: A Guide
Learn about literary terms like metre, stanzas, rhyme, and more.

Week 3

Maya Angelou, “On the Pulse of Morning,” 1993
Read Maya Angelou's poem from the 1993 Presidential Inauguration.

Maya Angelou's Poem "On the Pulse of Morning"
This is video footage of Maya Angelou reciting her poem "On the Pulse of Morning" at the 1993 Presidential Inaugural. This footage is official public record produced by the White House Television (WHTV) crew, provided by the Clinton Presidential Library.

Christina Rossetti, "Goblin Market", 1862
Read "Goblin Market," and then listen to the recording below.

Christina Rossetti, “Goblin Market,” 1862
Listen to Christina Rossetti's poem performed by Jane Aker. Text provided by Project Gutenberg, Audio Engineer: Warren Smith, Production: LiteralSystems.

Percy Bysshe Shelley, “Ode to the West Wind,” 1891
Read "Ode the West Wind," and then listen to the recording below.

Percy Bysshe Shelley, “Ode to the West Wind,” 1891
Listen to Percy Bysshe Shelley's poem performed by Argos MacCallum. Text provided by Project Gutenberg, Audio Engineer: Warren Smith, Production: LiteralSystems.
Walt Whitman, “When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer,” 1865
Whitman is among the most influential poets in the American canon, often called the father of free verse. His work was very controversial in its time, particularly his poetry collection "Leaves of Grass."

William Carlos Williams, “The Red Wheelbarrow,” 1962
Read the full text of "The Red Wheelbarrow."
Free Verse
Free verse refers to poetry that does not follow standard or regularized meter (the organization of stressed and unstressed syllables) or rhyme scheme.

The Art of the Metaphor
How do metaphors help us better understand the world? And, what makes a good metaphor? In this video, explore these questions with writers like Langston Hughes and Carl Sandburg, who have mastered the art of bringing a scene or emotion to life.

Week 4

New Criticism
Read about New Criticism, a formalist movement in literary theory that dominated American literary criticism in the middle decades of the 20th century. It emphasized close reading, particularly of poetry, to discover how a work of literature functioned as a self-contained, self-referential aesthetic object.
Reading to Write Effectively
Given all of the reading and writing that you are expected to accomplish as college/university students, it’s important to be as efficient as possible when committing time to these responsibilities. Three of the most important suggestions for approaching reading and, therefore, writing, efficiently are described.

Week 5

Principles of Effective Theses
Professor Bury presents five principles of effective theses with examples.

How to Write a Strong Introduction for an Analytical Essay
This video explains the components of a strong introductory paragraph.

Week 6

The Nature of Analysis
Analysis is a way of understanding a subject by expressing an opinion (making assertions), supporting that opinion (including examples), justifying that opinion (explaining the examples), and showing why the opinion matters (extending the significance).
Modes of Exposition
In this section you will learn about exposition, narration, description, and argumentation.
How to Write With Style
Read Kurt Vonnegut's eight tips on how to write with style.

Week 7

Creating an Effective Style

Unit 1 Licenses and Attributions

Photos of Poets

"Edgar Allan Poe daguerreotype" by Unknown author (most likely George C. Gilchrest, Samuel P. Howes, James M. Pearson, or Andrew J. Simpson, all of Lowell, MA) is in the Public Domain, CC0.
"William Carlos Williams" by Unknown is in the Public Domain, CC0.
"Langston Hughes" by Jack Delano is in the Public Domain, CC0
"Angelou at Clinton inauguration" by Clinton Library is in the Public Domain, CC0.
"Billy Collins 2015" by Beowulf Sheehan, PEN American Center is in the Public Domain, CC0

Week 1

All Rights Reserved Content

Introduction to Poetry (Poem by Billy Collins) - Kinetic Typography. Authored by: eddysung1. Located at: https://youtu.be/TkREA94QYRk. License: All Rights Reserved. License Terms: Standard YouTube License.
Poetry Lectures: Billy Collins. Provided by: The Poetry Foundation. Located at https://www.poetryfoundation.org/podcasts/75825/billy-collins. License: All Rights Reserved.

Week 2

CC Licensed Content, Original

Poetry Lesson Presentation. Authored by: Tom Chester. Provided by: Ivy Tech Community College. Located at: https://youtu.be/JLKengChb-E License: CC BY: Attribution.

CC Licensed Content, Shared Previously

Poetry Lesson. Authored by: thisheather. Located at: https://youtu.be/JLKengChb-E. License: CC BY: Attribution.

Content in the Public Domain

The Raven. Authored by: Edgar Allan Poe. Text provided by: Project Gutenberg. Performed by: Chris Goringe. Produced by: Librivox. Located at: http://loudlit.org/mp3_downloads/raven-librivox-text.mp3. License: Public Domain, CC0.

"My Papa's Waltz" from Collected Poems of Theodore Roethke. Authored by: Theodore Roethke. Provided by: Heast Magazines, Inc. Located at: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43330/my-papas-waltz#poem. License: All Rights Reserved.

Week 3

CC Licensed Content, Shared Previously

Goblin Market. Authored by: Christina Rossetti, Performer: Jane Aker, Text: Project Gutenberg, Audio Engineer: Warren Smith, Production: LiteralSystems. Provided by: LoudLit.org. Located at: http://loudlit.org/works/goblin.htm. License: CC BY-NC-ND: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives
Ode to the West Wind. Authored by: Percy Bysshe Shelley, Performer: Argos MacCallum, Text: Project Gutenberg, Audio Engineer: Warren Smith, Production: LiteralSystems. Provided by: LoudLit.org. Located at: http://loudlit.org/works/westwind.htm. License: CC BY-NC-ND: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives

Content in the Public Domain

On the pulse of the morning. Authored and performed by: Maya Angelou. Provided by: William J. Clinton Presidential Library. Located at: https://youtu.be/59xGmHzxtZ4. License: Public Domain, CC0.

When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer. Authored by: Walt Whitman. Provided by: FCIT. Located at: http://etc.usf.edu/lit2go/109/selected-american-and-british-poems/5416/when-i-heard-the-learnd-astronomer/. Project: Lit2Go. License: All Rights Reserved. License Terms: A maximum of twenty-five (25) MP3 and/or text files may be used in any non-commercial, educational project (report, presentation, display, website, etc.) without special permission. The use of more than twenty-five MP3 and/or text files in a single project requires written permission from the Florida Center for Instructional Technology (FCIT) at USF.

Week 6

CC Licensed Content, Shared Previously

Structure in Literary Essays. Provided by: Extended Learning Institute of Northern Virginia Community College. Located at: http://www.slideshare.net/CandelaContent/eli-eng125-structure-in-literary-essays. License: CC BY: Attribution

ENG 111 - Literature and Composition - Textbook

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ENG 111 Literature and Composition

Introduction to Literature

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Unit 1: Poetry

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

Week 5

Week 6

Week 7

Unit 1 Licenses and Attributions

Photos of Poets

Week 1

All Rights Reserved Content

Week 2

CC Licensed Content, Original

All Rights Reserved Content

Week 3

CC Licensed Content, Shared Previously

All Rights Reserved Content

Week 6

CC Licensed Content, Shared Previously