Course Description

GLS 592: Easy Under the Apple Boughs: The Natural World in Poetry

Instructor: Ashley Hudson

“It is not the moon, I tell you.
It is these flowers
lighting the yard.”
-- Louise Glück, “Mock Orange”

“Earth's the right place for love:
I don't know where it's likely to go better.”
-- Robert Frost, “Birches”

In his poem “Burnt Norton,” T.S. Eliot says, “The roses had the look of flowers that are looked at.” As such, this course will immerse students in the consideration of the representation of the natural world in poetry. We will examine such topics as the effects of memory on the natural world portrayed in poems, the concept of a poet’s emotional or internal landscape and its impact upon the external landscape of the poem, and the function and transformation of recurring natural imagery in a poet’s work. In addition, we will examine how the representation of the natural world in poetry has evolved throughout various periods in poetic history. We’ll ask what poetry tells us about the human relationship to nature. How does poetry call upon the natural world to arrive at deeper truths about the human condition?

In addition to reading a myriad of selected texts in this course, students will participate in discussion, submit brief weekly discussion summaries generated by the text, and develop a lexicon for discussing contemporary poetry while evolving critical thinking skills specifically relevant to such subject matter. The course will culminate in an academic guided-research paper (8-10 pages) and a final creative writing assignment (several poems) to be developed throughout the course. No previous poetry writing experience necessary.

Last Update: March 7, 2013