This course offers an introduction to important topics in the interpretation and theory of poetry, from its mythic origins in bardic storytelling and tavern singing to contemporary music lyrics and art press chapbooks. We will investigate how poets and critics have defined poetry and its relation to other uses of language, other forms of literature, and other arts, particularly painting and music. Central themes include the interplay of form and meaning, the sounds of poetry, poetic voice and lyric expressivity, the representational and symbolic power of poetic words and images, patronage and market pressures, and the tension between print and orality in the poetic text. Our readings include poems, literary criticism and theory, philosophy, and classic works in poetics from Aristotle to Yeats. |