NOTE #1: We recommend that you follow the suggested due dates for the papers and other assignments. Because this is a self-paced course, there is, however, a "FINAL DUE DATE" for all assignments. Click the correct link to see the final due dates:
NOTE #2: Page numbers are from the 13th ed. of the text. If you have the 12th or 10th ed., contact Dr. Schmidt to get the “other” page numbers. If you have a newer edition, let Dr. Schmidt know and he will work it out. If you notice an errant page number, please check the Table of Contents and find the correct pages.
15-WEEK SCHEDULE
Week 1: Introduction
to the Course. What Is Poetry? Read “Preface”
(xxxi-xxxiv) and “Reading a Poem” (Chap.
1)
Participation Assignment:
Write a paragraph outlining your definition of “poetry.” Post on MyHeritage by the end of the day on the FOLLOWING Monday. To get started, read Other Students’ Definitions. After the definitions are posted, post a comment on another student’s definition by the end of the day on the FOLLOWING Friday.
Week 2: The Voice of a Poem. Read “Listening to a Voice” (Chap. 2).
Participation Assignment:
Find a poem from the text NOT in “Listening to a Voice” which you think has an unusual voice. In a few sentences, identify the poem and explain what you find unusual about it. Post on MyHeritage by the end of the day on Monday. To get started, read Other Students’ Selections. After the examples are posted, post a comment on another student’s selection by the end of the day on Friday.
Week 3: Read “Words” (Chap. 3).
Participation Assignment:
Find five (5) words from poems read thus far which you found unfamiliar. Look them up in the dictionary. In a few sentences, explain why the poet might have chosen this word (exact meaning, sound, rhythm, etc.). Post your words on MyHeritage by the end of the day on Monday. To get started, read Other Students’ Responses. After the examples are posted, add a comment on another student’s selection by the end of the day on Friday.
Week 4: The Voice of a Poem, continued. Read “Saying and Suggesting” (Chap. 4).
Participation Assignment:
Pick one poem on pp. 76-80. "Add a Thread” to claim it as your own (one poem per customer and vice-versa). Try to answer the questions in the text. Post your answers on MyHeritage by the end of the day on Monday. After the answers are posted, add a comment on another student’s selection by the end of the day on Friday.
Week 5: The Form of a Poem. Read “Sound” (Chap. 8).
Participation Assignments:
Write a line of poetry which repeats the same consonant sound several times (alliteration). Then write a line of poetry which repeats the same vowel sound several times (assonance). Post your lines on MyHeritage by 5:00 p.m. on Monday.
Write a couplet (two lines of poetry) with a "masculine" end rime. Then write a couplet (two lines of poetry) with a "feminine" end rime. Post your lines on MyHeritage by 5:00 p.m. on Monday.
Write a line or more of poetry employing INTERNAL rime rather than END rime. See modern rap for extensive use of internal rime! Post your lines on MyHeritage by 5:00 p.m. on Monday.
Write a couplet (two lines of poetry) ending in a slant rime (two words that "almost" rhyme with each other, such as "time" with "mine" or "foiled" with "filled"). Post your lines on MyHeritage by 5:00 p.m. on Monday.
Week 6: The Form of a Poem, continued. Read “Rhythm” (Chap. 9).
Participation Assignment:
Write a line of poetry in each of the following meters:
Iambic (Unstressed-Stressed; Unstressed-Stressed; etc.)
Trochaic (Stressed-Unstressed; Stressed-Unstressed; etc.)
Anapestic (Unstressed-Unstressed-Stressed; Unstressed-Unstressed-Stressed; etc.)
Dactylic (Stressed-Unstressed-Unstressed; Stressed-Unstressed-Unstressed; etc.)
Accentual (Any number of unstressed syllables but four stresses in the line)The lines may be any number of feet long; please indicate the number of feet for the first four types when you post your lines (for example, “If I were a dying froggie” may be classified as trochaic tetrameter because the line alternates Stressed-Unstressed; Stressed-Unstressed; Stressed-Unstressed; Stressed-Unstressed and it has four feet, or repetitions of the Stressed-Unstressed pattern).
Post your lines on MyHeritage by 5:00 p.m. on Monday.
Writing Assignment:
Read “Writing About a Poem—Analysis” (515-517) and “How to Quote a Poem” (520-522), Advanced students might also want to look at “Formalist Criticism” (549-551). Draft of Paper #1 to Prof. Mendez or Dr. Schmidt by the end of the day on Friday IF YOU WANT GENERAL FEEDBACK.
Week 7: Read “Closed Form” (Chap. 10). Paper #1 posted on MyHeritage by the end of the day on Friday.
Participation Assignment:
Choose ONE of the closed forms listed on MyHeritage, each referring to a particular type of closed form poetry. DO NOT choose a thread claimed by another unless all have been taken. Briefly explain the FORM of that particular type of poem AND give your opinion of the challenges, weaknesses, and/or strengths of that form. Post your ideas on MyHeritage by 5:00 p.m. on Monday.
Week 8: Read “Open Form” (Chap. 11). Begin work on poems for workshop. Poetry Assignments.
Participation Assignment:
“Open form” simply means that the poem does not comply to a PRESET pattern of rime, meter, structure, imagery, etc. One poet opined that while closed form poetry might have a pleasing sound even when lame, open form poetry invites the worst. For example, suppose I wrote the following “fine” bits of doggerel:
The world is made of snow (kind of dirty)
With men like great big giant snowflakes
Blowing around all over the place.I root to toot my flute in suit of zoot.
A boot, old coot, makes moot your duty—HOOT!!Yes, the latter has rime and meter but is not a standard form (thank God!), so I can “claim” it as my own “open” form.
Please find an example of a BAD open form poem (you might visit the chapter on “Evaluating Poetry” for some ideas) and post it here with a brief comment on why you think the poem is BAD. Post your poem + commentary on MyHeritage by 5:00 p.m. on Monday. Read the others and then post a comment on MyHeritage on one of the BAD poems the other students posted by 5:00 p.m. on Friday.
Week 9: The Effect of a Poem. Read “Imagery” (Chap. 5). Begin Haiku Assignment. (See Chap. 5 section on haiku for ideas and examples.)
Participation Assignment:
Work on Haiku Assignment—that emphasizes IMAGERY.
Week 10: Poetic Language. Read “Figures of Speech” (Chap. 6).
Participation Assignment:
When understood by the audience, figures of speech in poetry serve to express a thought in a more concise and more striking way. Find an EFFECTIVE use of a figure of speech. Then write a "paraphrase" of the idea(s) expressed in the figure of speech. How is the original more concise and/or more striking than your paraphrase? Does the figure of speech have any other advantages over your paraphrase. Post your poem/segment of poem + paraphrase + commentary on MyHeritage by 5:00 p.m. on Monday. Read the others and then post a comment on MyHeritage about one of the figures of speech another student posted by 5:00 p.m. on Friday.
Writing Assignment:
Read “Writing About a Poem—Explication” (511-515). Draft of Paper #2 to Prof. Mendez or Dr. Schmidt by the end of the day on Friday IF YOU WANT GENERAL FEEDBACK.
Week 11: Poetic Language, continued. Read “Symbol” (Chap. 12) and “Myth and Narrative” (Chap. 13). Paper #2 posted on MyHeritage by the end of the day on Friday.
Participation Assignment:
In the intro to the American edition of The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien explains at length the difference between symbol and allegory and why his novel contains the former but not the latter. In short, symbols stand as signposts to point in the general direction of meaning and interpretation but do not tell you exactly where to go, while allegories have the detailed MapQuest attachment to print out and follow. I would add that ordinary metaphors and similes, etc., are NOT symbols, though an extended and developed one might do so. Thus, in Huckleberry Finn the river Huck and Jim travel has some symbolic overtones, though Twain never refers to these via metaphor or simile.
Your assignment: find a poem in our text (the ones in the chapter can be used unless they are already spelled out completely!) that has a symbolic level to it. Briefly discuss the symbolism AND why this is a symbol and not an allegory.
Post your commentary on MyHeritage by 5:00 p.m. on Monday. Read the others and then post a comment on MyHeritage about one of the poems another students selected by 5:00 p.m. on Friday.
Week 12: Music and Poetry. Read “Song” (Chap. 7). Work on Song Participation Assignment and Poetry Assignment.
Week 13: Read “What Is Poetry?” (Chap. 18).
Participation Assignment:
In light of this chapter as well as our reading, writing, and workshops, return to your first “What Is Poetry?” post on MyHeritage and suggest additions, changes, etc.
Writing Assignment:
Read “Writing About a Poem—Comparison and Contrast” (517-520). Draft of Paper #3 to Prof. Mendez or Dr. Schmidt by the end of the day on Friday IF YOU WANT GENERAL FEEDBACK.
Week 14: Post Final Drafts of Poems on MyHeritage by the end of the day on Wednesday.
Participation Assignment:
Post a comment on one poem by each of the other students (UP TO 5 STUDENTS) by the end of the day on Friday.
Week 15: Work on Take-Home Examination. Take-Home Examination and Paper #3 posted on MyHeritage by 5:00 p.m. on Friday.
Fall 2022 FINAL DATES:
FORUMS
Fall 15-Week Semester: Weekly
TAKE-HOME FINAL
Fall 15-Week Semester: 12/3
PAPERS and POETRY
Fall 15-Week Semester: P1 10/3, P2 10/31, P3 11/21, Poetry 11/28, Debrief/Sharing 12/2