ENGM5125 - A Peculiar Honesty: the Poet and Spiritual Tradition I

Objectives:

On successful completion of the module, students will be able to:

1 Demonstrate a substantial knowledge of the writings of one poet (or two linked poets) whose work is informed by a spiritual tradition or which addresses questions of spirituality;
2 Analyse poetic texts with rigour and sensitivity, making discerning use of appropriate literary critical techniques and theories;
3 Demonstrate thorough and detailed knowledge of at least one relevant contextual topic and apply this knowledge to critical discussion of particular texts;
4 Discuss the critical history of these texts from their initial reception to contemporary readings, and engage with debates in current scholarship.
5 demonstrate self-direction and critical independence in a sophisticated extended argument that uses a suitably wide range of evidence/illustrations for a 3,000-word essay.

Content:

This module offers students the opportunity to study extensively the works of one or two poets who ask such radical questions as ‘What am I to do?’ ‘How am I to be?’ or as R. S. Thomas more probingly asks: ‘Can a man face life if he feels that he is no-one?’ Poets who do not ‘cease from exploration’, who pursue the truth wherever it may lead, and who have the kind of sensibility that is captive to wonder, awe, mystery, are the focus of this module, and this may include, for example, Herbert, Milton, Blake, Wordsworth, Tennyson, Hopkins, Emily Dickinson, T. S. Eliot, Auden, Edwin Muir, R. S. Thomas, Elizabeth Jennings, Kathleen Raine. Students will be encouraged to read closely, giving detailed attention to form and content and relating particular poems to relevant personal, social and intellectual contexts. Serious reflection on related critical issues will support discernment of the distinctive contribution the poet makes to a broad spiritual tradition.

Learning and Teaching Information:

Seminars will make use of a number of learning and teaching methods including: short presentations by tutor; exercises in groups; informal presentations by students; plenary discussions. Students will be set reading to complete before each seminar, and they will be expected to bring their own reflections to bear on the exercises and discussion. The 20-minute individual tutorial may take different forms as appropriate to the individual student (e.g. face-to-face discussion, e-mail consultations). These tutorials are intended to give students some guidance on their choice of essay question and on researching the topic.

seminars
Contact hours: 6 x 2 hours
Intended Group size: 1

Individual tutorial
Contact hours: 20 minutes per student

Assessment: