ENGL 431:

The Metaphysical Moment

NOTE: This is representative of the syllabi for this course. It is not necessarily the syllabus being used in any one semester.

"He affects the metaphysics, not only in his satires, but in his amorous verses, where nature only should reign; and perplexes the minds of the fair sex with nice speculations of philosophy, when he should engage their hearts, and entertain them with the softness of love." —John Dryden

Week I

(September 3)

Syllabus

Poems—

Marlowe— "The Passionate Shepherd to His Love"

Donne— "The Good-Morrow"

Elizabeth Browning— "How Do I Love Thee?"

Tennyson— "Locksley Hall"

Eliot— "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock"

Assignments for Next Week (September 10)

Tennyson— "Ulysses" (Handout)

Eliot— "Gerontion"

"Tradition and the Individual Talent" (Handout)

Guide Questions for "Tradition":

What does Eliot mean by Traditional?

What must a poet do to be good?

What is Eliot's attitude toward individual personality?

How should a poet be judged?

How does any poet relate to the poets before and after him?

Please find specific places where Eliot discusses these issues. Be prepared to answer the above questions in class as a framework for understanding the essay. Also, how does the essay relate to "Gerontion?"

Week II

(September 10)

Looking forward to The Waste Land

Tennyson—"Locksley Hall"

Eliot— "The Love Song . . ."

Tennyson—"Ulysses"

Eliot— "Gerontion"

"Tradition and the Individual Talent"

And, depending on our timing—

Eliot—"Ulysses, Order, and Myth"

Browning—"Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came"

* * *

Next Week (September 17)

We'll complete any of the above not considered today, especially the essay and poem:

Browning—"Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came" (Handout)

Eliot— "Ulysses, Order, and Myth" (Handout)

And perhaps we will begin:

Part I of The Waste Land: "The Burial of the Dead"

The Waste Land: Some initial questions

What are some of the themes that appear?

What are some of the strains—"leit-motifs"—that begin?

What works of past literature seem to appear?

What scenes stand out immediately?

Week III

(September 17)

Eliot—"Tradition and the Individual Talent"

"Ulysses, Order, and Myth"

Browning—"Childe Roland . . ."

Next Week (September 24)

The Waste Land: Parts I and II

In any case be prepared for both. We may even start I today!

***

Roles for The Waste Land

Specialists:

London in the 20s and The Lost Generation—Gretchen

Freud and Psychology—Jackson

World War I—Willie

Elizabethan England

Shakespeare: Antony and Cleopatra—Brandy

The Tempest—Greg

Sonnet Form—Moe

Spenser—Dianne

Dante's Divine Comedy—Jim

Virgil's Aeneid—Atlas!

Greek Mythology—Quiana, Alex

Arthurian Legend—Michelle, Melissa

The Tarot—Amanda

Buddhism—Melissa

Hinduism—Mary

Christianity and the Bible—Michelle

St. Augustine—Ana

Eliot's Own Life—Christina

Week IV

(September 24)

"Whan that Aprill with his shoures soote

The droghte of March hath perced to the roote"

Geoffrey Chaucer

The Waste Land: Parts I-II

Next Week (October 1)

The Waste Land: Parts III-V (?) Parts IV and V (if we finish I and II today)

We'll see how far our exploration takes us . . .

Week V

(October 1)

"HURRY UP PLEASE IT'S TIME"

The Waste Land Parts II, III

Recall of Themes

Tiresias

New Images and Aspects

Next Week (October 8)

The Waste Land Parts IV, V

Looking Ahead (October 15)

Completing The Waste Land; Beginning John Donne

(October 22)

***Open Book Test***—Probably!

Week VI

(October 8)

The Waste Land Parts III, IV

Understanding of Themes

Tiresias

New Images and Aspects

Next Week (October 15)

The Waste Land Part V - and, perhaps, John Donne (Bring books)

Looking Ahead (October 22)

***Open Book Test***

Tennyson— The Victorian Background

"Locksley Hall"

"Ulysses"

Browning— "Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came"

E.B. Browning—"How Do I Love Thee?"

Eliot and the Modern

"The Love Song of JAP"

"Gerontion"

"Tradition and the Individual Talent"

"Ulysses, Order, and Myth"

*** The Waste Land ***

Week VII

Today (October 15)

"These fragments I have shored against my ruins"

The Wasteland and Eliot - Part V and Beyond

Beginning John Donne

Next Week (October 22)

*** Open Book Test ***

Looking Ahead (October 29)

I. Some Elizabethan Poems

II. Five Minute Oral Reports:

1. The Pastoral Tradition

2. The Ladder of Love (Castiglione)

3. Petrarchanism or the Petrarchan Love Poem

4. Wit

5. Conceit (Elizabethan and Metaphysical)

6. Paradox

III. Continuing John Donne

Week VIII

(October 22)

Donne: "The purpose of an image in his poetry is to define the emotional experience by an intellectual parallel"

—Joan Bennett

Does this characterize Eliot too?

Open Book Tests

Wednesday (October 29)

1. Elizabethan Reports and Discussion

2. Please read carefully and be prepared to discuss "The Metaphysical Poets"

by T. S. Eliot (pgs. 158-165 in Donne text).

3. Next, we will consider some opening Donne poems. Please read Donne's "Song" and "Woman's Constancy," in Donne text.

Good luck on the test today!

Week IX

(October 29)

"Come live with me and be my love"

I. Let's consider the Elizabethans and their Poetry

II. Oral Reports:

1. The Pastoral Tradition—Jim G., Alex, Jackson

2. The Ladder of Love (Castiglione)—Moe, Mary, Melissa

3. Petrarchanism or the Petrarchan Love Poem—Ana, Amanda, Brandy

4. Wit—Dianne, Gretchen, Willie

5. Paradox—Greg, Quiana

III. And now, on to John Donne and the Seventeenth Century Metaphysicals—EliotÕs Essay

Next week (November 5) (if not discussed this week)

Poems by Donne:

"The Sun Rising"

"The Canonization"

"The Flea"

"Elegy XIX"

"The Ecstasy"

Week X

(November 5)

"Here lies a King, that rul'd as hee thought fit

The universall Monarchy of wit."

I. Donne Himself

III. Donne: Poems: "The Sunne Rising," "The Canonization," "The Flea," "Elegie XIX,"

"The Ecstasy"

IV. Eliot's "Metaphysical Poets"

Wednesday (November 12)

Poems of Donne: This collection of poems (except for "The Relique" and "The Funerall") may have been written in Anne More. Please read all all, and be prepared to discuss in class:

Page 5 "The Undertaking"

60 "Elegie XVI. On His Mistress"

14 "The Anniversary"

31 "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning"

40 "The Relic"

37 "The Funeral"

119 "Holy Sonnets 1 (XVII)"

Now that we have discussed "The Canonization" and "Elegie XIX" in class, please read:

195 Brook, "The Language of Paradox"

203 Hunt, "Elegy 19: "To His Mistress Going to Bed'"

These are two of the outstanding critical analyses of individual poems by Donne.

Next time I will also give you your first short paper assignment to be handed in the following week. This is just a first warning!

Also, please note that our class will not meet on November 26. By then I will have assigned our final group projects; so you may want to plan to meet with your group.

Week XI

(November 12)

Reading Donne's Poetry—Poems perhaps to Anne

Wednesday (November 19)

I. Here are two of Donne's more difficult lyrics, and the last, holy poetry:

Pg 13—"Air and Angels"

46—"A Lecture Upon the Shadow"

113—"Holy Sonnet 4" ("At the round earth's")

115—10 ("Batter my heart . . .")

117—1 ("Thou hast made me . . .")

117—2 ("I am a little world . . .")

128—"Hymn to God my God, in my sickness"

129—"A Hymn to God the Father"

II. Paper Assignment: See accompanying sheet. Due Next Week.

Paper for the Metaphysical Moment: A 3-5 page essay explication comparing and contrasting a given set of an Elizabethan and a Metaphysical poem. You may want to think about various changes—in the periods, the treatment of the subject, style and form, mood, etc. This should also be a close comparative reading of the poems.

Choice of:

1. Marlowe, "The Passionate Shepherd to His Love" Handout

Donne, "The Bait"

(You may include Ralegh's earlier response to

Marlowe —"The Nymph's Reply . . . .) Handout

2. Shakespeare, "Sonnet 146" ( "Poor soul . . .") Handout

Donne, "Sonnet" (Death be not proud . . .)

3. Spenser, "Epithalamion"

Donne, "Epithalamion Made at Lincoln's Inn"

(If interested in these two longer poems, ask me.)

4. An Elizabethan poem with a Donne of your choice

(But you must check with me first.)

Week XII

(November 19)

The Last and Lasting Donne

"Air and Angels"

"A Lecture Upon the Shadow"

Holy Sonnets and Hymns

Today and (December 3):

I. The School of Ben (Johnson)

Jonson—

Herrick—

II. The Followers of Donne

Herbert— "Easter Wings," "Vertue," "The Collar," "The Pulley"

Crashaw— "Wishes," "The Weeper"

Vaughn—"The Retreat," "They Are All Gone," "The World"

III. Andrew Marvell

"The Garden," "To His Coy Mistress"

In addition, your short paper will be due on December 3. And we'll complete our consideration of the seventeenth-century metaphysicals and return to the 20^th Century and Eliot. (Please bring both texts). Finally, we'll begin to discuss the Four Quartets, your panels concerning which will be held on December 10 and December 17 (the day set for the final exam). The exam will be take-home to be returned that day. Your assignments for the panels on the Four Quartets follow. Will the first person listed act as group leader for organizing and presentation purposes?

I. "Burnt Norton" (Time and Memory)—

II. "East Coker" (The Past and England)—

III. "The Dry Salvages" (American Heritage)—

IV. "Little Gidding" (A Final Understanding)—

AND A HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL

Week XIII

Today (November 29):

I. The School of Ben

Jonson

Herrick

Lovelace and Suckling

II. The Followers of Donne

Herbert

Crashaw

Vaughn

Marvell

Wednesday (December 6):

Eliot—"Ash-Wednesday"

December 13: "Burnt Norton," "East Coker"

December 20: "The Dry Salvages", "Little Gidding"

Exam due back.

Week XIV

Today (December 3)

More Metaphysical Poets

Eliot Once More — and Four Quartets (1943)

Wednesday (December 10)

"Burnt Norton"

"East Coker"

(Final exams given out)

Wednesday (December 17)

"The Dry Salvages"

"Little Gidding"

(Final Exams returned)

And a Celebration to Crown our Achievement!

Week XV

(December 10 )

"The way upward and downward are one and the same."

—Herakleitos

"Burnt Norton" — Brandy, Amanda, Ana

"Time past and time future

What might have been and what has been

Point to one end which is always present."

"East Coker" —Gretchen, Dianne, Willie

"In my end is my beginning."

Wednesday, December 17

"The Dry Salvages"

"Little Gidding"

Final Exams handed back to me.

Course Evaluations

Week XVI

(December 17)

"Being is intelligible only in terms of becoming."

—Herakleitos

"The Dry Salvages" — Jim, Alex, Jackson

"Not fare well,

But fare forward, voyagers."

"Little Gidding" — Greg, Mary, Melissa, Moe

"The end is where we start from."

Final Exams to be returned

Course Evaluations

Farewell and Happy Holidays




			ENGL 431: The Metaphysical Moment NOTE: This is representative of the syllabi for this course. It is not necessarily the syllabus being used in any one semester. "He affects the metaphysics, not only in his satires, but in his amorous verses, where nature only should reign; and perplexes the minds of the fair sex with nice speculations of philosophy, when he should engage their hearts, and entertain them with the softness of love." —John Dryden Week I (September 3) Syllabus Poems— Marlowe— "The Passionate Shepherd to His Love" Donne— "The Good-Morrow" Elizabeth Browning— "How Do I Love Thee?" Tennyson— "Locksley Hall" Eliot— "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" Assignments for Next Week (September 10) Tennyson— "Ulysses" (Handout) Eliot— "Gerontion" "Tradition and the Individual Talent" (Handout) Guide Questions for "Tradition": What does Eliot mean by Traditional? What must a poet do to be good? What is Eliot's attitude toward individual personality? How should a poet be judged? How does any poet relate to the poets before and after him? Please find specific places where Eliot discusses these issues. Be prepared to answer the above questions in class as a framework for understanding the essay. Also, how does the essay relate to "Gerontion?" Week II (September 10) Looking forward to The Waste Land Tennyson—"Locksley Hall" Eliot— "The Love Song . . ." Tennyson—"Ulysses" Eliot— "Gerontion" "Tradition and the Individual Talent" And, depending on our timing— Eliot—"Ulysses, Order, and Myth" Browning—"Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came" * * * Next Week (September 17) We'll complete any of the above not considered today, especially the essay and poem: Browning—"Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came" (Handout) Eliot— "Ulysses, Order, and Myth" (Handout) And perhaps we will begin: Part I of The Waste Land: "The Burial of the Dead" The Waste Land: Some initial questions What are some of the themes that appear? What are some of the strains—"leit-motifs"—that begin? What works of past literature seem to appear? What scenes stand out immediately? Week III (September 17) Eliot—"Tradition and the Individual Talent" "Ulysses, Order, and Myth" Browning—"Childe Roland . . ." Next Week (September 24) The Waste Land: Parts I and II In any case be prepared for both. We may even start I today! *** Roles for The Waste Land Specialists: London in the 20s and The Lost Generation—Gretchen Freud and Psychology—Jackson World War I—Willie Elizabethan England Shakespeare: Antony and Cleopatra—Brandy The Tempest—Greg Sonnet Form—Moe Spenser—Dianne Dante's Divine Comedy—Jim Virgil's Aeneid—Atlas! Greek Mythology—Quiana, Alex Arthurian Legend—Michelle, Melissa The Tarot—Amanda Buddhism—Melissa Hinduism—Mary Christianity and the Bible—Michelle St. Augustine—Ana Eliot's Own Life—Christina Week IV (September 24) "Whan that Aprill with his shoures soote The droghte of March hath perced to the roote" Geoffrey Chaucer The Waste Land: Parts I-II Next Week (October 1) The Waste Land: Parts III-V (?) Parts IV and V (if we finish I and II today) We'll see how far our exploration takes us . . . Week V (October 1) "HURRY UP PLEASE IT'S TIME" The Waste Land Parts II, III Recall of Themes Tiresias New Images and Aspects Next Week (October 8) The Waste Land Parts IV, V Looking Ahead (October 15) Completing The Waste Land; Beginning John Donne (October 22) *Open Book Test—Probably! Week VI (October 8) The Waste Land* Parts III, IV Understanding of Themes Tiresias New Images and Aspects Next Week (October 15) The Waste Land Part V - and, perhaps, John Donne (Bring books) Looking Ahead (October 22) *Open Book Test* Tennyson— The Victorian Background "Locksley Hall" "Ulysses" Browning— "Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came" E.B. Browning—"How Do I Love Thee?" Eliot and the Modern "The Love Song of JAP" "Gerontion" "Tradition and the Individual Talent" "Ulysses, Order, and Myth" * The Waste Land * Week VII Today (October 15) "These fragments I have shored against my ruins" The Wasteland and Eliot - Part V and Beyond Beginning John Donne Next Week (October 22) * Open Book Test * Looking Ahead (October 29) I. Some Elizabethan Poems II. Five Minute Oral Reports: 1. The Pastoral Tradition 2. The Ladder of Love (Castiglione) 3. Petrarchanism or the Petrarchan Love Poem 4. Wit 5. Conceit (Elizabethan and Metaphysical) 6. Paradox III. Continuing John Donne Week VIII (October 22) Donne: "The purpose of an image in his poetry is to define the emotional experience by an intellectual parallel" —Joan Bennett Does this characterize Eliot too? Open Book Tests Wednesday (October 29) 1. Elizabethan Reports and Discussion 2. Please read carefully and be prepared to discuss "The Metaphysical Poets" by T. S. Eliot (pgs. 158-165 in Donne text). 3. Next, we will consider some opening Donne poems. Please read Donne's "Song" and "Woman's Constancy," in Donne text. Good luck on the test today! Week IX (October 29) "Come live with me and be my love" I. Let's consider the Elizabethans and their Poetry II. Oral Reports: 1. The Pastoral Tradition—Jim G., Alex, Jackson 2. The Ladder of Love (Castiglione)—Moe, Mary, Melissa 3. Petrarchanism or the Petrarchan Love Poem—Ana, Amanda, Brandy 4. Wit—Dianne, Gretchen, Willie 5. Paradox—Greg, Quiana III. And now, on to John Donne and the Seventeenth Century Metaphysicals—EliotÕs Essay Next week (November 5) (if not discussed this week) Poems by Donne: "The Sun Rising" "The Canonization" "The Flea" "Elegy XIX" "The Ecstasy" Week X (November 5) "Here lies a King, that rul'd as hee thought fit The universall Monarchy of wit." I. Donne Himself III. Donne: Poems: "The Sunne Rising," "The Canonization," "The Flea," "Elegie XIX," "The Ecstasy" IV. Eliot's "Metaphysical Poets" Wednesday (November 12) Poems of Donne: This collection of poems (except for "The Relique" and "The Funerall") may have been written in Anne More. Please read all all, and be prepared to discuss in class: Page 5 "The Undertaking" 60 "Elegie XVI. On His Mistress" 14 "The Anniversary" 31 "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning" 40 "The Relic" 37 "The Funeral" 119 "Holy Sonnets 1 (XVII)" Now that we have discussed "The Canonization" and "Elegie XIX" in class, please read: 195 Brook, "The Language of Paradox" 203 Hunt, "Elegy 19: "To His Mistress Going to Bed'" These are two of the outstanding critical analyses of individual poems by Donne. Next time I will also give you your first short paper assignment to be handed in the following week. This is just a first warning! Also, please note that our class will not meet on November 26. By then I will have assigned our final group projects; so you may want to plan to meet with your group. Week XI (November 12) Reading Donne's Poetry—Poems perhaps to Anne Wednesday (November 19) I. Here are two of Donne's more difficult lyrics, and the last, holy poetry: Pg 13—"Air and Angels" 46—"A Lecture Upon the Shadow" 113—"Holy Sonnet 4" ("At the round earth's") 115—10 ("Batter my heart . . .") 117—1 ("Thou hast made me . . .") 117—2 ("I am a little world . . .") 128—"Hymn to God my God, in my sickness" 129—"A Hymn to God the Father" II. Paper Assignment: See accompanying sheet. Due Next Week. Paper for the Metaphysical Moment: A 3-5 page essay explication comparing and contrasting a given set of an Elizabethan and a Metaphysical poem. You may want to think about various changes—in the periods, the treatment of the subject, style and form, mood, etc. This should also be a close comparative reading of the poems. Choice of: 1. Marlowe, "The Passionate Shepherd to His Love" Handout Donne, "The Bait" (You may include Ralegh's earlier response to Marlowe —"The Nymph's Reply . . . .) Handout 2. Shakespeare, "Sonnet 146" ( "Poor soul . . .") Handout Donne, "Sonnet" (Death be not proud . . .) 3. Spenser, "Epithalamion" Donne, "Epithalamion Made at Lincoln's Inn" (If interested in these two longer poems, ask me.) 4. An Elizabethan poem with a Donne of your choice (But you must check with me first.) Week XII (November 19) The Last and Lasting Donne "Air and Angels" "A Lecture Upon the Shadow" Holy Sonnets and Hymns Today and (December 3): I. The School of Ben (Johnson) Jonson— Herrick— II. The Followers of Donne Herbert— "Easter Wings," "Vertue," "The Collar," "The Pulley" Crashaw— "Wishes," "The Weeper" Vaughn—"The Retreat," "They Are All Gone," "The World" III. Andrew Marvell "The Garden," "To His Coy Mistress" In addition, your short paper will be due on December 3. And we'll complete our consideration of the seventeenth-century metaphysicals and return to the 20^th Century and Eliot. (Please bring both texts). Finally, we'll begin to discuss the Four Quartets, your panels concerning which will be held on December 10 and December 17 (the day set for the final exam). The exam will be take-home to be returned that day. Your assignments for the panels on the Four Quartets follow. Will the first person listed act as group leader for organizing and presentation purposes? I. "Burnt Norton" (Time and Memory)— II. "East Coker" (The Past and England)— III. "The Dry Salvages" (American Heritage)— IV. "Little Gidding" (A Final Understanding)— AND A HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL Week XIII Today (November 29): I. The School of Ben Jonson Herrick Lovelace and Suckling II. The Followers of Donne Herbert Crashaw Vaughn Marvell Wednesday (December 6): Eliot—"Ash-Wednesday" December 13: "Burnt Norton," "East Coker" December 20: "The Dry Salvages", "Little Gidding" Exam due back. Week XIV Today (December 3) More Metaphysical Poets Eliot Once More — and Four Quartets (1943) Wednesday (December 10) "Burnt Norton" "East Coker" (Final exams given out) Wednesday (December 17) "The Dry Salvages" "Little Gidding" (Final Exams returned) And a Celebration to Crown our Achievement! Week XV (December 10 ) "The way upward and downward are one and the same." —Herakleitos "Burnt Norton" — Brandy, Amanda, Ana "Time past and time future What might have been and what has been Point to one end which is always present." "East Coker" —Gretchen, Dianne, Willie "In my end is my beginning." Wednesday, December 17 "The Dry Salvages" "Little Gidding" Final Exams handed back to me. Course Evaluations Week XVI (December 17) "Being is intelligible only in terms of becoming." —Herakleitos "The Dry Salvages" — Jim, Alex, Jackson "Not fare well, But fare forward, voyagers." "Little Gidding" — Greg, Mary, Melissa, Moe "The end is where we start from." Final Exams to be returned Course Evaluations Farewell and Happy Holidays home \| bs, corporate communication \| ba, english \| ma, publications design \| mfa, integrated design \| mfa, creative writing & publishing arts \| people \| portfolio \| facilities \| classes \| undergraduate applications \| graduate applications \| contact \| site index \| university of baltimore