ENG4562 - Reading Literature: Prose and Poetry

Objectives:

On successful completion of the module, students will be able to:
Apply a range of creative and analytical approaches to reading and commenting on poems and stories.
Identify and demonstrate critical appreciation of narrative forms such as: fantasy, fabulation, romance, realism, metafiction, history; and poetic forms such as the sonnet, the narrative poem, dramatic monologue and free verse.
Identify accurately and demonstrate critical appreciation of literary devices such as: plot, characterisation, voice, symbol; rhyme, rhythm, alliteration, metre.
Discuss specific stories and poems on the basis of a detailed and sensitive reading, relating their work appropriately to cultural and social contexts.

Content:

In Semester 1, students will be given the opportunity to develop skills in reading narrative texts closely, critically and analytically. They will also be enabled to define and use literary terms relevant to the study of narrative. Sessions will focus on the meanings of key literary terms and will also explore the distinctive nature of different modes of fiction and different styles of writing. The module will focus on a selection of short stories, presented as an e-CLARCS pack, from a range of different eras and cultural settings.

In Semester 2, students will be given the opportunity to develop their skills in reading poetry critically and analytically. They will do this by exploring aspects of the poet's craft through individual and group exercises drawing on particular poems from various periods, including early modern, romantic and modernist. They will think about how poems are represented online, in education, and in the media, and work towards presenting their own discussion and analysis of a poem in a podcast or other artefact.

Learning and Teaching Information:

Workshops will combine tutor input, learning activities involving small-group discussion, and whole-class discussions. Online quizzes and exercises will also be used in Semester 2 to help with the development of skills of analysis and comprehension and application of concepts.

Workshops
Contact hours: 40
Intended Group size: 20

Guided independent study
Hours: 160

Further details relating to assessment
Directed activities: these consist of weekly tasks that must be completed and submitted for inspection at timetabled sessions each week. The assessment will be assessed on a pass/fail basis with a pass requiring at least 75% of all weekly tasks to be completed successfully. A pass will lead to the full award of 10% towards the final module mark. A fail in directed activities will contribute 0% to the final mark.

Semester 1 Assessment - The Skills Audit: this comprises a research task, a close-reading exercise, an annotated reading list, and a short critical appreciation. The tasks for the Skills Audit will be issued in stages over Semester 1, with opportunities given for formative feedback.

Semester 2 Assessment - Negotiated Assessment: The task will be to choose a poem and present a reading, analysis and discussion of it in a format that the student will design and agree with the tutor. This may be a group or individual project. Possible formats include podcast, video, digital artefact, or micro-teaching session.

Assessment:

001 Directed Activities; throughout semester 1 & 2 10%
002 Skills Audit; 2000 words; end semester 1 45%
003 Negotiated Assessment; 2000 words; end of semester 2 45%
200 Directed Activities sem 1 20%
201 Skills Audit 2000 words end sem 1 80%

Fact File

Module Coordinator - Juliette Taylor-Batty
Level - 4
Credit Value - 20
Pre-Requisites - NONE
Semester(s) Offered - 4YL

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