EN4364 The Art of Victorian Poetry

Academic year

2024 to 2025 Semester 1

Further information on which modules are specific to your programme.

Key module information

SCOTCAT credits

30

The Scottish Credit Accumulation and Transfer (SCOTCAT) system allows credits gained in Scotland to be transferred between institutions. The number of credits associated with a module gives an indication of the amount of learning effort required by the learner. European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) credits are half the value of SCOTCAT credits.

SCQF level

SCQF level 10

The Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) provides an indication of the complexity of award qualifications and associated learning and operates on an ascending numeric scale from Levels 1-12 with SCQF Level 10 equating to a Scottish undergraduate Honours degree.

Availability restrictions

Not automatically available to General Degree students

Planned timetable

Friday 13.00-15.00

This information is given as indicative. Timetable may change at short notice depending on room availability.

Module coordinator

Dr S J Lodge

This information is given as indicative. Staff involved in a module may change at short notice depending on availability and circumstances.

Module Staff

Dr Sara Lodge

This information is given as indicative. Staff involved in a module may change at short notice depending on availability and circumstances.

Module description

This module explores the richness and diversity of poetry written and/or published in the period 1837-1901. Covering a range of major works, it examines the new demands made of poetry in this era, and the different ways in which poets respond to the challenge of skepticism and disagreement about poetry's place in an industrialised society. The structure of the module is both chronological and thematic, addressing issues such as gender, class, religion, and nation in relation to Victorian poetry. Throughout, the module uses the background of visual art - including poetry book illustration, Victorian paintings based on subjects from Victorian poetry, and artworks commemorated in Victorian poems - to highlight issues regarding poetry's status, aims, and appearance in the period. Looking at the art of poetry in relation to visual art, it asks how Victorian poetry aligns itself with broader aesthetic debates about form, function, and representation. (Group C)

Relationship to other modules

Pre-requisites

BEFORE TAKING THIS MODULE YOU MUST PASS EN2003 AND PASS EN2004

Assessment pattern

2-hour Written Examination = 50%, Coursework = 50%

Re-assessment

exam = 100%

Learning and teaching methods and delivery

Weekly contact

1 x 2-hour seminar, and 2 optional consultative hours.

Scheduled learning hours

20

The number of compulsory student:staff contact hours over the period of the module.

Guided independent study hours

280

The number of hours that students are expected to invest in independent study over the period of the module.

Intended learning outcomes

  • Students should acquire a sound critical knowledge of a range of Victorian poems in their historical and literary contexts. Students will read and evaluate contemporary and modern commentary upon these poems and consider various topics in Victorian art and Victorian life as they relate to poetry.
  • Students should refine their skills in close critical reading and develop their analytical abilities in relation to poetic form, language, and metre.
  • Students should exercise skills in comparing, discussing, and critiquing poems by different authors, and in sustaining arguments based on textual evidence – as demonstrated by spoken contributions in seminars and assessed in written essays and examination answers.