Close readings: ten great poems of the period 1840-1940

Cambridge is famous for close reading as the foundation of literary study. This course will examine ten poems which will be studied as contrasting pairs, the poets being: Tennyson/ Ezra Pound; Robert Browning/ T S Eliot; Christina Rossetti/ Wallace Stevens; G M Hopkins/ Marianne Moore; Yeats/ Auden.

Course details

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Start Date
28 Jul 2024
Duration
5 Sessions over one week
End Date
3 Aug 2024
Application Deadline
23 Jun 2024
Location
International Summer Programme
Code
W45Pm21

Tutors

Aims

This course aims to: 

  • teach how to read poems closely and productively
     
  • develop a critical vocabulary for the study of poetry
     
  • compare and contrast Victorian with Modernist poetry

Content

Cambridge is famous for close reading as the foundation of literary study. This course will draw on that discipline and its traditions. We shall spend a week examining at least two poems a day. Each class will begin with the poems set for that day being read aloud and we shall then discuss the poems, each day comparing one poem with another. If you join this class, you must be prepared both to read aloud and engage in discussion. 

The course is not primarily historical, though it has a historical dimension to it. The poems we shall read and discuss all belong to the same period of English literature: roughly 1840-1940, a period which includes both the post-Romantic poetry of the Victorians and the radically experimental work of the Modernists. In each class a Victorian poet will be compared and contrasted with a Modernist. The poets whose work we shall discuss will be paired as follows: Alfred Tennyson/ Ezra Pound, Robert Browning/ T.S. Eliot, Christina Rossetti/ Wallace Stevens, Gerard Manley Hopkins/ Marianne Moore, W.B. Yeats/ W.H. Auden. A few other poets may come up as well. Each poet will be briefly contextualised, but the main focus will be on reading and discussing the words on the page and the sounds and rhythms we hear when the words are recited. 

Though the differences between 1840 and 1940 are profound, it could be argued that the ten poets listed above all belong to a modern sort of society: one in which religion is open to doubt, democracy is beginning to develop, and daily life is more affected by mechanisation and technology than by agriculture and the organic life of the countryside. Perhaps, therefore, we shall find as many similarities as contrasts.

Despite this emphasis on the period, however, this will not be primarily an historical course, but a series of exercises in literary appreciation. 

Presentation of the course 

This course is not based on historical generalisations or summaries of what happened in the relevant period. Instead, we shall attend closely to complete poems, two a day, listening to the sound of them, recognising forms, genres and conventions, locating their meaning in their detail – the words, images, allusions and rhythms that make them up. Through such close reading of particular works we may hope to learn how to read poems in general. 

Course sessions

  1. Alfred Tennyson and Ezra Pound 
    Poems with a common classical theme
     
  2. Robert Browning and T.S Eliot 
    Poems in the voice of an imagined character
     
  3. Christina Rossetti and Wallace Stevens 
    Poems of atmosphere
     
  4. Gerard Manley Hopkins and Marianne Moore 
    Poems concerned with the non-human other
     
  5. W.B. Yeats and W.H. Auden 
    Poems constrained by political events

Learning outcomes

You are expected to gain from this series of classroom sessions a greater understanding of the subject and of the core issues and arguments central to the course. 

The learning outcomes for this course are:

  • to develop a deeper and more articulate appreciation of lyric poetry
     
  • to become familiar with the modes and procedures of the short poem in the late 19th and early 20th centuries 
     
  • to practice the skill of comparing specific poems of contrasting types

Required reading

You should read the selections from Tennyson, Robert Browning, Christina Rossetti, Gerard Manley Hopkins, Yeats, Pound, T.S. Eliot and Auden in: 

Ferguson, Margaret, Mary Jo Salter and Jon Stallworthy, The Norton Anthology of Poetry 
(London: W, W, Norton 2005 5th edition) ISBN-10 0393968200 ISBN-13 978-0393968200

It won’t be necessary to bring this heavy book to Cambridge. 

You are asked not to read about any of the poems in advance of the course and not to consult anything on the internet, except to look up the meanings of difficult words. You may also use the internet to learn about the legendary figure of Odysseus (or Ulysses).

Typical week: Monday to Friday 

Courses run from Monday to Friday. For each week of study, you select a morning (Am) course and an afternoon (Pm) course. The maximum class size is 25 students.   

Courses are complemented by a series of daily plenary lectures, exploring new ideas in a wide range of disciplines. To add to your learning experience, we are also planning additional evening talks and events. 

c.7.30am-9.00am  Breakfast in College (for residents)  
9.00am-10.30am  Am Course  
11.00am-12.15pm  Plenary Lecture  
12.15pm-1.30pm  Lunch 
1.30pm-3.00pm  Pm Course  
3.30pm-4.45pm  Plenary Lecture/Free 
6.00pm/6.15pm-7.15pm Dinner in College (for residents)  
7.30pm onwards Evening talk/Event/Free  

Evaluation and Academic Credit  

If you are seeking to enhance your own study experience, or earn academic credit from your Cambridge Summer Programme studies at your home institution, you can submit written work for assessment for one or more of your courses.  

Essay questions are set and assessed against the University of Cambridge standard by your Course Director, a list of essay questions can be found in the Course Materials. Essays are submitted two weeks after the end of each course, so those studying for multiple weeks need to plan their time accordingly. There is an evaluation fee of £75 per essay. 

For more information about writing essays see Evaluation and Academic Credit

Certificate of attendance 

A certificate of attendance will be sent to you electronically after the programme.