CW310-30 Reeling & Writhing: Poetry & Intertextuality for Advanced Studies
Introductory description
EN3D3-30 Reeling & Writhing: Poetry & Intertextuality for Advanced Studies
Module aims
This module, which is centred upon the experience of occidental cultures, aims to encourage an understanding that both the making and the reception of literary texts (and other artworks) are inseparable from deep cultural currents and trans-national responses to religion, myth and history. It hopes to deepen and intensity students' familiarity, critically but especially through practice, with one of the key aspects of all literary work: intertextual writing. Cultural and in particular literary production will be examined in relation to human strategies of myth-making. Students will become literate in the means by which mythologies are constructed, and will find ways of deploying their analytical skills in the making of new texts. The module is a writing module and aims primarily at generating and enhancing skills in the construction of texts. Inseparably from that, it aims also to reinforce skills in close reading, deconstruction of rhetorical strategies, and awareness of cultural and historical contexts and cross-national comparative dimensions. Students will be required to create intertextually-conceived writings in poetry and to make manifest the thinking behind their work.
Outline syllabus
This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.
Every week there will be both reading and writing assignments.
a) Term 1, weeks 1 to 5: Myths and histories of antiquity.
Exploration of some key non-Biblical historical and mythological narratives in the western tradition (from Ovid, Homer, Herodotus, etc.), together with poetry and visual images derived from these narratives. Workshops combine analysis of original texts and images with discussion of student work produced in response to the studied texts and the writings derived from them.
Week 1: Introductory
Week 2: For discussion: Homer, Iliad Book XVIII and W H Auden, ‘The Shield of Achilles’. Followed by workshop.
Week 3: For discussion: Ovid, from Metamorphoses, Book X, Rilke, ‘Orpheus. Eurydike. Hermes’ and Ovid, from Metamorphoses, Book VIII, Swift, ‘Baucis and Philemon’. Followed by workshop.
Week 4: For discussion: Ovid, from Metamorphoses, Book X, Hughes, ‘Pygmalion’ (Shaw et al), related films (e.g. Pretty Woman). Followed by workshop.
Week 5: For discussion: Herodotus, extracts on Polycrates, poem by Schiller; Herodotus, extract on Candaules and Gyges, poem by C H Sisson. Followed by workshop.
b) Term 1, weeks 7 to 10: The Great Code.
Examination of selected Biblical narratives together with poetry and visual images derived from these narratives. A typical workshop session will spend one hour examining texts and images and one hour discussing student texts produced in response to both the Biblical texts and the writings derived from them.
Week 7 For discussion: Genesis ch. 2-3, extracts from Milton, Paradise Lost, Book IX. Followed by workshop.
Week 8 For discussion: Daniel ch. 4-5, Byron ‘To Belshazzar’, Heine ‘Belsazar’. Followed by workshop.
Week 9 For discussion: Luke 15, 11-32, poem and prose extract by Rilke, painting by Rembrandt, sculpture by Rodin. Followed by workshop.
Week 10: For discussion: Matthew ch. 26-28 (Mark 14-16, Luke 22-24, John 17-21), paintings by Brueghel, van der Weyden, Mantegna, sculpture by Michelangelo. Followed by workshop.
c) Term 2, weeks 1 to 5: Creating mythic images.
Examination of some key iconographies, using sources in the visual arts as well as texts. In workshops, analysis of texts and images is followed by discussion of student texts produced in response to these.
Week 1: For discussion: Prometheus, paintings by Rubens and Ribera, poems by Goethe, Byron and Gautier. Followed by workshop.
Week 2: For discussion: Leda and the Swan, paintings by Boucher, Correggio, Paul Matthias Padua, poem by W B Yeats. Followed by workshop.
Week 3: For discussion: The Annunciation (Matthew 1, 18-25; Luke 1, 26-38), paintings by Leonardo da Vinci, Simone Martini, Dante Gabriel Rossetti (discussion of the iconography of the Virgin Mary). Followed by workshop.
Week 4: For discussion: Bluebeard, texts by Perrault and Angela Carter. Followed by workshop.
Week 5: For discussion: vampires, including Dracula. Followed by workshop.
d) Term 2, weeks 7 to 10: Student choices.
Historical and mythological texts chosen by students on the module will be discussed. Workshops follow the model already described, combining scrutiny of texts and images with discussion of student texts.
Learning outcomes
By the end of the module, students should be able to:
- demonstrate a broad understanding of the subject and an advanced conceptual grasp of its central concerns, and apply a nuanced understanding of critical, analytic and creative approaches;
- use independent and self-reflective critical judgement and express it in highly-informed, nuanced and accurate English, observing scholarly standards of presentation;
- display an advanced confidence in textual and formal analysis and an ability to organise and present information, arguments and analysis to an advanced standard;
Subject specific skills
No subject specific skills defined for this module.
Transferable skills
No transferable skills defined for this module.
Study time
| Type | Required |
|---|---|
| Seminars | 18 sessions of 2 hours (100%) |
| Total | 36 hours |
Private study description
Reading & research
Costs
No further costs have been identified for this module.
You must pass all assessment components to pass the module.
Assessment group A
| Weighting | Study time | Eligible for self-certification | |
|---|---|---|---|
Assessment component |
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| Assessment | 100% | No | |
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Students will be required to submit both an original portfolio (300 to 500 lines of poetry, with a 1,000-word commentary) and a 5,000-word critical essay. |
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Reassessment component is the same |
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Feedback on assessment
Students will be emailed bespoke individual feedback (typically 1,000 words) on their weekly assignment work after the end of the first term’s coursework.
Feedback on assessed work on completion of the module course will be given electronically (via Tabula) and, if desired by the student, verbally.
Courses
This module is Option list A for:
- Year 3 of UCXA-QQ37 Undergraduate Classics and English
This module is Option list C for:
- Year 4 of UPHA-VQ73 Undergraduate Philosophy and Literature with Intercalated Year