ENG 373 - Topics: Epic and Anti-Epic (1)

In this class, we will explore the development of modern and contemporary epic poetry, reading an assortment of long poems that deploy and subvert conventions of the genre.  We will start the course by familiarizing ourselves with the history of epic poetry, reading through a few examples of older epics before moving into the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.   As we will see, epics resist the compression and selectivity often associated with poetry; instead, they embrace imaginative sprawl, character development, and narrative detail.  On our journey through these poems, we will encounter heroes, villains, and ghastly creatures.  We will ramble around with Walt Whitman, visit Derek Walcott’s Saint Lucia, and descend with Alice Notley’s Alette into strange underworlds.  Some consideration will also be given to how the epic mode has influenced contemporary popular culture. 

Though we will be looking at a single genre, I hope that all students, especially those who have been intimidated by poetry in the past, will become more conversant with how poems make meaning through sound, image, and form; a good amount of our time together will be spent close reading passages from these works.  There will likely be a chance to experiment with writing our own epics.  Requirements include regular reading reflections, essays, and a memorization / recitation assignment.  Prerequisite: writing-designated course (W), or ENG 201 , ENG 202 , ENG 215 , or ENG 225   
(Humanities)