University of St Andrews

Key information

SCOTCAT credits : 30

ECTS credits : 15

Level : SCQF level 10

Semester: 1

Availability restrictions: Not automatically available to General Degree students

Planned timetable: Friday 13.00-15.00

This module explores the richness and diversity of poetry written and/or published in the period 1837-1901. Covering a range of major works, it examines the new demands made of poetry in this era, and the different ways in which poets respond to the challenge of skepticism and disagreement about poetry's place in an industrialised society. The structure of the module is both chronological and thematic, addressing issues such as gender, class, religion, and nation in relation to Victorian poetry. Throughout, the module uses the background of visual art - including poetry book illustration, Victorian paintings based on subjects from Victorian poetry, and artworks commemorated in Victorian poems - to highlight issues regarding poetry's status, aims, and appearance in the period. Looking at the art of poetry in relation to visual art, it asks how Victorian poetry aligns itself with broader aesthetic debates about form, function, and representation. (Group C)

Relationship to other modules

Pre-requisite(s): Before taking this module you must pass EN2003 and pass EN2004

Learning and teaching methods and delivery

Weekly contact: 1 x 2-hour seminar, and 2 optional consultative hours.

Scheduled learning hours: 20

Guided independent study hours: 280

Assessment pattern

As used by St Andrews: 2-hour Written Examination = 50%, Coursework = 50%


Re-assessment: exam = 100%

Personnel

Module coordinator: Dr S J Lodge
Module teaching staff: Dr Sara Lodge

Intended learning outcomes

• Students should acquire a sound critical knowledge of a range of Victorian poems in their historical and literary contexts. Students will read and evaluate contemporary and modern commentary upon these poems and consider various topics in Victorian art and Victorian life as they relate to poetry.
• Students should refine their skills in close critical reading and develop their analytical abilities in relation to poetic form, language, and metre.
• Students should exercise skills in comparing, discussing, and critiquing poems by different authors, and in sustaining arguments based on textual evidence – as demonstrated by spoken contributions in seminars and assessed in written essays and examination answers.