American Romanticism Syllabus Element

Student Presentation Assignment: Poetry reader / discussion leader

1. Announce author, title, and location of poem in the Norton Anthology. Except in a couple instances, the poems are written by living poets as a way of connecting our course to contemporary literature. The student reads a poem from the Norton Anthology, then interprets the poem’s romantic (or non-romantic) qualities and invites comments from other students.

Connections to the Course Objectives are encouraged.

Good poems give rise to many potential insights, but the overriding purpose of this presentation is to relate the poem to the course content of American Romanticism. Therefore the reader’s introduction and interpretation to the poem should emphasize how the content and/or style of the poem conforms to or resists a Romantic interpretation. Discussion may inevitably raise issues apart from Romanticism, but it is the presenter’s duty to return the discussion and summary to themes relevant to the course and to Romanticism generally.

2. Welcome to project an outline of your presentation on the webpage, but you may lead the discussion without a posting if preferred. (Email to instructor at least an hour before class.)

3. Introduce, read aloud, and briefly interpret your assigned poem relative to Romanticism and possibly one or two course objectives.

Limit any biographical information on the poet to material directly relevant to subject of American Romanticism.  Do not simply review the life of the poet. Rather, touch on a couple of relevant highlights or ignore this aspect altogether. Get to the poem as directly as possible.

For interpretation, consider these three standard questions:

  • What is “Romantic” about the poem? (Refer to course objectives or previous discussions, or speculate on additional meanings of Romanticism or “romantic.”)

  • What in the poem resists or violates Romanticism or a romantic interpretation?

  • What about the poem seems identifiably American?

4. Ask  two or more questions regarding the poem or your interpretation and lead discussion.

5. Ten-minute time limit for presentation itself. Discussion may run longer.

 

A web summary posting is required for all presentations--see Model Assignments.