ENGL 1011: Literature and Composition II
This course is the second part of first-year English and introduces you to poetry and drama. In the first half, the course briefly considers the major features of poetry and then looks closely at how a poem is organized, how thematic patterns emerge, how the work of a specific poet can be characterized according to style, and how specific subjects can be treated in different ways. Students will be studying a selection of modern and contemporary poems. In the second half of the course, students will study three plays, each of which introduces an important form of drama. Topics for consideration include dramatic structure, tragedy, comedy, characterization, theme, and expressionist theatre.
Learning outcomes
The main purposes of ENGL 1011 are to expand students’ capacity to understand and think analytically about poetry and drama, as well as to further develop skills in writing critical and interpretive essays on literary works.
More specifically, students should be able to:
- Identify and explain major styles, components, and techniques of twentieth-century poetry and of a selection of plays, using specific examples from works studied in the course.
- Identify and discuss literary patterns in a poem or play.
- Identify and explain the contribution to the work as a whole of important passages selected from the plays and poems studied in this course.
With respect to the poetry section of the course, students should be able to:
- Explicate poems not included among the selections studied in this course.
- Evaluate and compare different authorial treatments of particular themes and subjects in poems from the course reading list.
With respect to the drama section of the course, students should be able to:
- Analyze dramatic structure, characterization, theme, and specific techniques in the plays studied in this course.
- Describe the purposes and most common techniques of a range of plays, including tragedy, comedy, and expressionist drama.
- Move from reading a play to imagining how it might be performed on stage.
Course topics
- Unit 1: Introduction to Poetry
- Unit 2: Understanding and Writing about Poetry
- Unit 3: Style and Subject in Poetry
- Unit 4: Introduction to Drama and Tragedy
- Unit 5: Comedy in Drama
Required text and materials
The following materials are required for this course:
-
20th-Century Poetry & Poetics. 5th edition.Geddes, G. Toronto: Oxford University Press. (2006).
Type: Textbook. ISBN: 978-0-915-42209-2 -
Othello. Shakespeare, William. Toronto: Penguin Books Canada. Signet Classic 2nd Revised edition. (1998).
Type: Play. ISBN: 978-0-451-52685-4 -
Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet). First Vintage Canada edition. MacDonald, Ann-Marie. Toronto: Random House of Canada Limited. (1998).
Type: Play. ISBN: 978-0-676-97169-9 -
A Glossary of Literary Terms. 11th. Edition. Abrams, M H. Harpham, G. Boston: Thomson Wadsworth. (2012).
Type: Text. ISBN: 978-1-285-46506-7
Additional requirements
Print students will need Internet access and use of a computer/laptop with a USB port.
Assessments
Please be aware that should your course have a final exam, you are responsible for the fee to the online proctoring service, ProctorU, or to the in-person approved Testing Centre. Please contact exams@tru.ca with any questions about this.
To successfully complete this course, students must achieve a passing grade of 50% or higher on the overall course, and 50% or higher on the final mandatory exam.
| Assignment 1: Poetic Devices | 15% |
| Assignment 2: Poetry Explication | 15% |
| Assignment 3: Drama Responses | 10% |
| Assignment 4: Drama Essay | 20% |
| Mandatory Final Exam | 40% |
| Total | 100% |
WEB
| Assignment 1: Poetry Open Book Quiz | 15% |
| Assignment 2: Online Participation in Discussion Forums | 10% |
| Assignment 3: Poetry Explication Essay | 15% |
| Assignment 4: Drama Essay | 20% |
| Mandatory Final Exam | 40% |
| Total | 100% |
Open Learning Faculty Member Information
An Open Learning Faculty Member is available to assist students. Students will receive the necessary contact information at the start of the course.
