Unit information: British Poetry 1945 - Present in 2013/14

Unit name	British Poetry 1945 - Present
Unit code	ENGLM3006
Credit points	20
Level of study	M/7
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24)
Unit director	Dr. Griffiths
Open unit status	Not open
Pre-requisites	None
Co-requisites	None
School/department	Department of English
Faculty	Faculty of Arts

Description including Unit Aims

This course will examine a number of influential poets from recent decades. Most weekly seminars will focus on a single poet, using as a starting point a particular volume or a range of designated poems from a career-spanning collection. The poets&� works will be considered in relation to evolving poetic traditions and to established lines of critical interpretation. Some seminars may be more thematic, exploring poems by a group of authors. Poets likely to be studied include Philip Larkin, Geoffrey Hill, Ted Hughes, Seamus Heaney, Derek Walcott, and Paul Muldoon.

Intended Learning Outcomes

Students will engage in depth with major poets of the specified period and with the significant body of critical and theoretical debate surrounding their work. Historical and cultural contexts will be explored – including some which problematize the notion of Britishness.

Teaching Information

7 x 2-hour seminar, 1 reading week, 11 Consultation Hours

Assessment Information

1 essay of 4,000 words

Reading and References

• Philip Larkin, Collected Poems, ed. Anthony Thwaite
• Geoffrey Hill, Selected Poems (London: Penguin, 2006)
• Ted Hughes, Birthday Letters (London: Faber and Faber, 1998)
• Seamus Heaney, Opened Ground: Poems 1966-1996 (London: Faber and Faber, 1998)
• Derek Walcott, The Bounty (London: Faber and Faber, 1997)
• Paul Muldoon, New Selected Poems 1968-1994 (London: Faber and Faber, 1996)