Studies in Poetry and Lyric

In this course students explore the elements of poetry and lyric---the relationship between meaning and rhythm, meaning and sound, and meaning and form---through a survey of poems and songs, on a page and stage, in addition to a few opportunities to write poetry. Texts studied will include nursery rhymes, songs, narratives, blank verse, limericks, ballads, sound poetry, shout-outs, slam poetry, and nonsense. We will participate in creative and analytical ways of reading and responding to lyric and poetry through studying some fixed forms (such as ballad, ghazal, and villanelle), exploring what happens when words hit the air, and looking at the close relationship between music and poetry, through the "music" of language and discussion of lyrics and their relation to poetry.