Syllabus: English 250 (Study of Literature--I)
Instructor: Martin Maner
Term: Fall 1999
Time: 9:00-10:40 TTh
Room: 034 Millett
Office hours: TTh, 3:15-5:00 in 446 Millett, and by appointment
at other times.
E-mail: martin.maner@wright.edu
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Required texts:
Abrams, M.H. A Glossary of Literary Terms. 7th ed. Fort Worth:
Harcourt, 1999.
Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA Handbook for Writers
of Research Papers.
5th ed. New York: MLA, 1999.
Meyer, Michael. The Bedford Introduction to Literature. 5th ed.
Boston: Bedford-St. Martin's, 1999.
You are also required to have a standard college-level handbook of grammar and usage such as The Harbrace College Handbook, The St. Martin's Handbook, or The Little, Brown Handbook. (If you are not sure whether your handbook is appropriate, check with me.)
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Date Topic Reading*
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* Page numbers beginning with "A" refer to the Abrams Glossary; page numbers beginning with "M" refer to the Meyer Bedford Introduction.
Thu The study of literature
None
9/16 Class policies
Ungraded diagnostic exam
Tue Discussion of diagnostic
9/21 What to say about a poem
M 1-6
Qualities of a good thesis
M
2063-81
M 671-98
M 799-800
Thu Comments on poetry and its enjoyment
M 710-13
9/23 Interpretation, features, and functions
"The Fish"
M 682-84
Ambiguity
A 10-11
Concrete and
abstract
A 43-44
Connotation and
denotation A 46-47
Motif and theme
A 169-70
Discuss Paper #1
assignment
Distribute handouts
Tue Word choice, word order, and tone
M 717-31
9/28 "The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner"
"To His Coy Mistress"
"Dover Beach"
M 757-58
"In a Station of the Metro"
M 772
"I Knew a Woman"
Handout
Images
M
652-74
Persona, tone, and voice
A
217-19
Poetic diction
A 228-30
Distribute sample paper
Handout
Quiz #1: in class
Thu Paper #1 due: Response paper on
M 682-84
9/30 Elizabeth Bishop's "The Fish"--500 words
minimum
Peer evaluations
Distribute "April Inventory"
handout
Group discussion of sample paper
Tue Figures of speech
M
774-96
10/5 "Mirror"
M
786-87
"A Valediction: Forbidding
Mourning" M 686-87
"April Inventory"
Handout
Antithesis
A
11-12
Euphony and cacophony
A
83-84
Figurative language
A
96-103
Rhetorical figures
A
270-73
Return graded papers
Quiz #2: in class
Wed Last day to drop without a "W"
10/6
Thu Symbol, allegory, and irony
M
797-825
10/7 Conceit
A
42-43
Hyperbole and understatement
A 120
Symbol
A
311-14
Irony
A
134-38
Paradox
A
201-02
Pun
A
253
Synesthesia
A
315
Tue Sounds
M
826-55
10/12 "God's Grandeur"
M
837-38
From An Essay on Criticism
M
847-48
Alliteration
A
8-9
Blank verse
A
24-25
Free verse
A
105-08
Heroic couplet
A
114-15
Meter
A
159-65
Onomatopoeia
A
199-200
Rhyme
A
273-75
Quiz #3: in class
Thu Patterns of rhythm
M
856-75
10/14 "Still to Be Neat"
M
866
"My Papa's Waltz"
M
871-72
Distribute handout
Tue Writing answers on examinations
Handout
10/19
Thu Paper #2 preliminary draft due:
10/21 critical analysis of any assigned poem--1000 words
minimum
Peer evaluations
Last day to drop with a "W"
Tue Poetic forms--I (stanza, rhyme scheme, couplet, tercet,
quatrain, 10/26 terza rima)
M
876-84
"Shall I compare thee . . . "
M 881-82
"My mistress' eyes . . . "
M 882
"Death Be Not Proud"
M
1090
"When I Consider How My Light is
Spent" M 1110
Conventions
A
47-48
Form and structure
A
101-02
Sonnet
A
290-91
Stanza
A
294-97
Return of preliminary drafts with
critiques
Thu Poetic forms--II (villanelle, sestina, limerick, haiku,
elegy,
10/28 picture poem, parody)
M
884-900, M 772-76
"On First Looking into Chapman's
Homer" M 879-80
"The Windhover"
M
1100
Ballad
A
18-19
Epigram
A
79-80
Lyric
A
146-47
Ode
A
198-99
Refrain
A
263
Quiz #4: in class
Tue Writing critical analysis
M
2080-87
11/2 Problems and pitfalls
Developing an argument
Last day for freshmen to drop with a
"W"
Thu Quoting and paraphrasing--I
11/4 Parenthetical documentation
Deadline for optional preliminary draft
of Paper #3
Tue Quoting and paraphrasing--II
11/9 Discuss sample papers
Final draft of paper #2 due
Thu Veterans Day
11/11 No classes at WSU
Tue Basics of critical theory
M
2021-43
11/16 "Ars Poetica"
M
1107-08
Affective fallacy
A
4
Criticism
A
49-53
Intentional fallacy
A
126-27
New Criticism
A
180-82
Objective correlative
A
197
Pathetic fallacy
A
203-04
Tension
A
315-16
Quiz #5: in class
Thu Course review through close analysis
11/18 "Leda and the Swan"
M
1132
Tue Question-answer review for final exam
Review notes
11/23 Course evaluation
Paper #3 due: diction, rhythm, and imagery in any assigned sonnet--1000 words minimum
Tue Final examination
11/30 8:00-10:00 AM
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Evaluation
Second paper preliminary draft on time,long enough
5%
Exercises and quizzes (drop lowest grade)
25%
Paper #1
15%
Paper #2--final draft
20%
Paper #3
20%
Final examination
15%
----
100%
Course grades are computed by multiplying weighted percentages times the numerical value of letter grades, thus: A=4.0, A-=3.8, B+=3.2, and so on.
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Attendance
Attendance at every class meeting is required. There are no "excused absences, so please don't offer excuses. (I assume that if you miss a class, it is for a good reason.) If you miss a class, please do not ask me whether you "missed anything important." This question implies that on some days, nothing but trivial and unimportant material is presented. Also, please do not ask me to go over the material you missed; it is your responsibility to review such material with a classmate. (During the first day or two of classes, you should find a classmate who is willing to exchange notes on missed classes.)
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Assistance on Papers
I am happy to meet with you individually for assistance, but administrative work may force me to miss
some office hours occasionally. Appointments a day ahead of time are advisable.
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Writing-Intensive Component
Two grades are given for this course: a grade for the course itself, and a grade for the "writing-intensive" component. The writing-intensive grade is "pass" or "fail." The average grade on the three course papers must be C- or better to earn a "pass" for the writing-intensive portion of the course.
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Class Policies
1. Late work will be subject to the following reductions: Final drafts turned in after the beginning of class but by the end of office hours on the due date will be penalized 5 points. Papers turned in after 5 PM on the due date but before 5 PM on the next day will be penalized ten points and another ten points for each day or portion of a day the paper is late. Late take-home exercises will be reduced one letter grade per day or portion of a day.
2. Papers shorter than the assigned minimum length will receive grade reductions of 5 points for each unit of 100 words by which they fall short. (If you use proper MLA format and a 10-character-per-inch font, a 1000-word paper is about 4 pages long.)
3. I cannot give make-up quizzes, exercises, or midterm exams.
4. I will not give a make-up final examination unless arrangements have been made before the regularly scheduled examination is given.
5. A preliminary draft is not a rough draft. The preliminary draft should represent your best effort; it should be a paper ready to hand in for credit in a regular literature course, even though in this writing-intensive course it will receive further revision.
6. Assistance on written work should be limited to the instructor, library reference personnel, and the Writing Center (025 Library). Automatic penalty for any form of plagiarism (defined as passing off the work of someone else as if it were your own): F for the course, written notification of the Dean of Liberal Arts and the English Department Chairer. (Re-using work submitted for credit in another course is another form of academic dishonesty, since it puts other students at a disadvantage. If you wish to write a single paper to meet two course requirements, you should secure written permission from both instructors, and the paper should meet the combined length requirements of both assignments.)
7. I normally do not grant "I" grades for the course. If you miss an assignment, your grade will be computed on the basis of the work you completed, with the missing assignment counted as a zero.
8. Arriving late is distracting and discourteous to your classmates. Keep in mind that more than a couple of late arrivals will lower your course grade. (If you have an instructor or supervisor who regularly makes it impossible for you to arrive on time, see me about this.)
9. Mid-course changes in the syllabus (assignments, readings, grading policies) are sometimes necessary, though I will always try to provide sufficient advance notice of such changes.
10. My office is 446 Millett, telephone 775-2639. You may also leave messages for me with the department secretaries at 775-3136. To meet paper deadlines in the event of a missed class, you may FAX papers to me at 775-2707. (Since FAX copies are often not very legible, you should always follow up with a regular printed copy as soon as possible.) You may e-mail me at martin.maner@wright.edu; I check my e-mail daily and will answer you promptly. This syllabus is posted at
<http://philos.wright.edu/Dept/ENG/MANER/MANER.HTM>.