Poetry?

(Image Source: Alvarado Public Library)

Below is the definition for "poetry" that you came up with in class.

Poetry is a form of literature. A poem is a relatively short aesthetic text that is usually rich in meaning, ideas, images, and emotions. Poetry uses different poetic devices such as metaphor and rhyme. It is often meant to be read vocally, because it includes words chosen for their sound quality.
Use this definition as your base and elaborate it to make your own definition of “poetry”. You can expect a question like the following in a future test or exam, counting anything from 5 to 10 points:

  • Define “poetry”.
  • What is a poem?
...ooOoo...

Make sure that you can answer the following questions from the "Reviewing Chapter One"-section in Sound & Sense, p. 10:

1. Differentiate between ordinary language and poetic language.
4. Explain the distinction between poetry and other imaginative literature.
5. Review the four dimensions of experience that poetry involves.

Introduction

On this blog I will list some (not all) notes for our class about 19th and 20th century American poetry. You will also find links to many of the poems we discuss in class, as well as links to other relevant and/or interesting sites. Make sure that you visit this site on a weekly basis. If you have questions, be sure to email me. My email is provided on your lecture plan.

In this class we will basically enjoy a cursory overview of modern American poetry, starting with the Romantics and working our up through the 20th century. We will touch on fifteen of America’s great poets and look at some of the great themes of the previous two centuries, like Romanticism, Imagism, Modernism, and Race and Gender Issues.

This class will also review the poetic devices and facilitate you to discuss and respond in academic writing to poems and literary topics.

I hope you enjoy this journey with me through some of the greatest modern English poetry.