Poetry refines techniques of address and description, punctuation and intimacy more than in any other field of writing. Each week we will focus on a different feature of poetry from a non-chronological selection of poetic works in English from the seventeenth century to the present-day. By focusing on the formal production of rhythm, voice, setting and audience, you will become even more finely attuned to the effects of language in your research writing. 

A printed reader of works will be distributed in week 2 of the course, which forms the week-to-week syllabus. Our activity will be mostly close-reading of poetry, which will mean that we also consider questions of interpretation and reception. The one course assignment will be to write (and share) a close reading of a poem of your choice.

By the end of this course, you will have a technical understanding of some of the defining features and effects of poetry in English, with a view to being a more precise and persuasive writer.