MSt Special Subject in Nineteenth-Century Poetry

Michaelmas Term 2017-18

Weeks 1-5, Wednesday 17.15-18.30

Convenor: Seth Whidden (Queen’s)

Students will meet for 5 sessions of 1.5 hours each. Reading lists will be made available in advance for
discussion in session 1. In addition to reading from within and beyond the lists, students are expected to
attend lectures to supplement their knowledge of C19 poetry: from versification (Prelims) to prescribed
poets (FHS Paper XI) and special topics related to poetry (FHS Paper XII); see the Faculty lecture list for
more information.

All students will submit work from this component for the examination, in the form of a scholarly essay
(6,000–7000 words, including footnotes but excluding bibliography) to be submitted as per the University
Regulations.

Each session will be divided into three parts: a student presentation of 10-15 minutes related to that
week’s topic; a discussion (approx. 45 mins) of the primary and secondary readings for that session; and a
discussion of the methods for writing a graduate essay, both generally and as they pertain to a student’s
project. In order to participate fully in all aspects of each session and to submit work on time, students
will need to be thinking about their essay from the earliest weeks.

Sessions will follow this schedule:

Session 1 (week 1)
Topic: Victor Hugo and Romanticism
Tutor: Katherine Lunn-Rockliffe (Hertford)
Methodological objective: How to read, write and think like a researcher

Session 2 (week 2)
Topic: Baudelaire
Tutor: Ève Morisi (St Hugh’s)
Methodological objective: How to compile a bibliography

Session 3 (week 3)
Topic: Rimbaud
Tutor: Seth Whidden (Queen’s)
Methodological objective: How to define a topic and situate one’s work in relation to existing scholarship

Session 4 (week 4)
Topic: Freeing verse (vers libéré and vers libre)
Tutor: Seth Whidden (Queen’s)
Methodological objective: How to write an essay plan — students must bring ideas for their own essay

Session 5 (week 5)
Topic: Mallarmé, Symbolism, and Decadence
Tutor: Patrick McGuinness (St Anne’s)
Methodological objective: How to edit one’s own work

See University Regulations for all details on submitting your final essay.