Newcastle University

Pre Requisite Comment

Pre-requisite SEL1000 is for QW38 students only.
Pre-requisite SEL2215 is for all students, though students from other programmes may apply to the Module Leader.

Co Requisite Comment

N/A

Aims

1. Appreciation of the basic elements of poetry e.g. lineation, metrics, rhyme, imagery.
2. Development of voice and style to produce a poem with consideration of intended audience.
3. Develop reading and writing skills in poetry.
4. Develop imaginative skills in relation to own creative work.
5. Experience in drafting and revising in response to a range of feedback and reading.

Outline Of Syllabus

The module consists of a number of lectures and seminars, usually delivered weekly.

There will also be individual tutorials to be scheduled throughout the semester by teaching staff, at which each student may present a passage of their own writing for constructive criticism from their tutor, or submission plans may be discussed.

Intended Knowledge Outcomes

1. The student will acquire insight into the imaginative processes of writing
2. The student will also acquire insight into the affective power of language
3. The student will understand key technical aspects of poetic form
4. The student will expand their knowledge of a range of contemporary poetry

Intended Skill Outcomes

1. The ability to create and develop a poem.
2. The ability to apply craft skills, techniques and methods to own creative work.
3. The ability to maintain a creative journal.
4. The ability to build on and develop work already underway and engage in the process of editing and revision.
5. The ability to read exemplar and other texts with attention to verbal and formal creativity.
6. The ability to assess and reflect upon their own creative work and the work of peers with constructive rigour in seminar, and in their creative journal.
7. The ability to demonstrate engagement with the critical process in a self-reflexive essay.

Teaching Rationale And Relationship

The weekly lecture introduces the students to formal questions about poetry, and sets tasks and exercises to help them write.

The weekly seminar workshops enable the general principles of the course to be applied through close reading, or set exercises, or in practical critique of individual pieces of writing, led by the tutor.

The individual tutorial focuses the student’s attention on the revision process, leading in the commentary to an overview of techniques, and themes, and a contextualisation of their work in relation to contemporary writing.

Assessment Rationale And Relationship

Students will submit ten to twelve poems, depending on length (14-40 lines is an acceptable average length). A critical commentary of 1500 words will also be submitted. In this students should discuss their drafting process, and their principles of selection. They should also discuss any relevant information about genre, influences and themes explored in their work. It must include a bibliography of books read and events attended as part of this module.

The submission of creative work allows students to develop the range of skills and knowledge associated with the course. The accompanying commentary enables to student reflect critically upon their own creative processes, and to relate these to contemporary literature.

General Notes

N/A