Revised 05/2008

ENG 217 - Creative Writing: Poetry I (3 CR.)

Course Description

Introduces the student, in a workshop setting, to the fundamentals and techniques of writing poetry.

Lecture 3 hours per week.

General Course Purpose

Seeks to improve students’ writing of poetry through use of the writing workshop. 

Course Prerequisites/Corequisites

Course Prerequisites/Co-requisites Students must have successfully completed ENG 112, College Composition II or ENG 125, Introduction to Literature, or the equivalent, or received division approval.

Course Objectives

GOAL ONE: WRITING SKILLS

Students will be taught the basic elements and techniques in the writing of poetry. By the end of the course, students will be able to:

• demonstrate their ability to use the elements and techniques of poetry by writing a number of poems totaling at least 100 lines of edited text.

GOAL TWO: PARTICIPATING IN THE WORKSHOP

Students will be taught how to participate effectively in the writing workshop. By the end of the course, students will be able to:

• demonstrate their understanding of the value of the writing workshop by giving and receiving feedback both sensitively and constructively.

GOAL THREE: CRITICAL READING

Students will be taught how to read student-written and professionally written poems from the perspective of a poet. By the end of the course, students will be able to:

• analyze poems for their use of genre-specific techniques and for their quality.

Major Topics to Be Included

• The craft of writing poetry, including but not limited to imagery, figures of speech, diction, rhythm,
• sound, and form
• The creative imagination
• The role of criticism and the workshop
• Analyzing and evaluating poems from the perspective of a poet