ENGL1929

Everybody knows that poets love nature, but what does “love” mean, and for that matter, what does “nature” mean? This first-year seminar invites students to explore the deep and evolving relationship between poetry and the natural world. From ancient pastoral traditions to contemporary eco-poetry, we will examine how poets have thought about and depicted landscapes, seasons, and the human connection to nature. Readings will range across historical periods and include medieval and early modern ballads as well as poems by writers such as Andrew Marvell, William Shakespeare, Charlotte Smith, John Keats, Elizabeth Bishop, Louise Glück, and Alice Oswald. We will pay particular attention to poetic form: how are poems put together?

000979

Every Fall