Course description for 2020/21
Epic Poetry after 1900
ENG2004
Course description for 2020/21
Epic Poetry after 1900
ENG2004
This course uses the idea of the epic poem to explore both the various strategies poems use to make meaning and the social roles literature continues to play in our societies today.
The epic poem is a foundational genre that not only reflects, but also speaks for the cultures in which it was produced; Homer's Iliad and Odyssey have been both reference points for and challenges to later writers across genres. In the face of the wide-ranging societal changes that followed from various modernizing processes, twentieth-century poets sought to revisit and remake the form, and this course seeks to explore what modern writers were attracted to in these foundational texts and how ideas of gender, empire and nation shaped these re-writings. Focusing on three modern productions of epic proportions: T.S. Eliot's Four Quartets (1943), H.D.'s Helen in Egypt (1961) and Derek Walcott's Omeros (1990), this course asks students to explore the revival of oral traditions in recent poetry, the modern revisiting of the classical past, and the idea of the postcolonial epic. Students will have the opportunity to make wide-ranging comparisons between the texts discussed and to develop strategies for reading these open-ended, reflective works.
Higher Education Entrance Qualification, acceptance into the English for Bachelor of English or other bachelor programmes at Nord University, and/or international / exchange student status at Nord University.
KNOWLEDGE
Students that have participated fully in Epic Poetry After 1900 can:
- engage basic reference points for epic poetry and modern prosody;
- connect the epic tradition to modern prosody through their awareness of genre convention;
- consider the ideas that are important for understanding the relationship between classical and modern epic poetry;
- use the appropriate vocabulary and critical theories for analyzing the relationship between historical and modern epic poetry.
SKILLS
Students that have participated fully in Epic Poetry After 1900 will develop the following practical skills:
- ability to make both wide-ranging and precise comparisons between the course texts;
- ability to articulate and assess poetic ideas and concepts;
- ability to develop strategies for reading open-ended and reflective literary works.
GENERAL COMPETENCIES
The activities and instruction methods in the class Narrative and Ideas aim to develop the student¿s ability to:
- reflect upon their knowledge of classical and modern epic poetry and its relationship to English language literary history and contemporary trends;
- have an understanding of the historical, cultural, and post-colonial concerns of epic poetry;
- understand the relevance of the literary classical past to our own time and cultural and literary sensibilities.
No tuition fees. Costs for semester registration and course literature apply.
Elective.
Teaching will be in the form of lectures and discussions of primary literary texts and secondary critical theories. The course methodology will be clearly established in the first meeting. Recorded audio performance of the modern epics will be used to enhance the student's appreciation of the material.
Study programmes are evaluated annually and students participate in course evaluations (midterm and end-of-term). Evaluations occur as a part of the university's quality control system.
n/a
Students are evaluated in the following way:
- Take-home examination, 2 weeks, grading scale A-F, Best A - Failed F, 100/100 of the grade
- Assessment task (AK), comprises 0/100 of the grade, grading scale approved - not approved.
- Compulsory participation (minimum of 85%), comprises 0/100 of the grade, grading scale approved - not approved.
Compulsory participation and assessment tasks must be approved to receive the final grade.