Assignments for 10/5 - 10/7

Poem due 10/5. Group 4 will present; everyone else bring two copies. No special writing assignment.

10/7: Challenging assignment - start early. During this reading period we will focus on the use of myth in poetry. Poets have used myth in all periods but more self-consciously after 1800 or so. Please carefully read the excerpt from Percy Bysshe Shelley's "Defence of Poetry." It is a magnificent - but somewhat dense to modern readers - piece of prose. Also carefully read the three poems: one by John Milton (early 17th); one by William Butler Yeats (Irish, 19th - 20th C); and one by T.S. Eliot. Write a bit of literary analysis: how do these poets attempt to fulfill Shelley's hopes for poetry? How, in each case, does the poet use myths to achieve the effects of the poem. These poems are challenging, and you might well have to do a bit of research - at least to look up the references. I would encourage you to look for materials on university sites, avoiding online encyclopedias. Please cite anything you use. The readings are on Blackboard, under resources.