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SoSe 18: Why Poetry matters: An introduction to poetry and poetics

Thomas Rommel

Hinweise für Studierende

http://www.jfki.fu-berlin.de/faculty/history/persons/Lehrende/Rommel/index.html

Kommentar

“And trace it in this poem every line...” writes Lord Byron in his epic poem “Don Juan”, and our close reading of a broad spectrum of different poems will form the core of this course. Each session will provide an in-depth analysis of a variety of different poetic forms, from the sonnet to vers libre, and we will be covering a range of themes that include carpe diem, love, death, religion, the experience of war, the disintegration of the self, and colonial discourse. The analysis of technical features such as sound and sense, rhythm and meter, figurative language and point-of-view amongst others will provide points of departure for an introduction to the analysis of poetry – and an understanding of why poetry matters. Concepts of thematic and structural differences and parallels between poetic texts provide the analytical tools and theories necessary to come to terms with various manifestations of this literary form, from highly structured epic poetry to postmodern collage. In addition, the discussion of problems of translation will highlight the subtleties of poetic expression. Our discussion in class will be dedicated to a different topic, poet, poem, or group of poems every week. Guiding questions centre on areas of theory and analysis of poetry that will be dealt with in each session on the basis of the texts and a bibliography of useful secondary sources provided at the beginning of this course. Schließen

Literaturhinweise

Primary text: The Norton Anthology of Poetry