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ENG10120

Academic Year 2026/2027

How to Read Poetry (ENG10120)

Subject:
English
College:
Arts & Humanities
School:
English, Drama & Film
Level:
1 (Introductory)
Credits:
5
Module Coordinator:
Professor Danielle Clarke
Trimester:
Autumn
Mode of Delivery:
On Campus
Internship Module:
No
How will I be graded?
Letter grades

Curricular information is subject to change.

This Level 1 seminar-style course aims to introduce beginning students to the mechanics of reading poetry. It is unashamedly rooted in close reading, and each session will be focused on two or three key poems. In each class, we will develop a full, detailed, analysis of the chosen texts, attending to how a wide variety of formal elements generate their multi-layered meanings. By the end of the module, the aim is that you will bring all the elements of analysis together with confidence as you develop ways of writing intelligently about poems. Students will be expected to read more widely around a given genre, type or form - for example, in order to start to understand the power of allusion, and the various levels at which this might work. You will be encouraged to consider historical and material contexts as key determinants of meaning. The module will aim to teach across a broad historical range, and will focus both on canonical and less well-known poems, as well as asking questions about canon formation, aesthetics, and so on.




About this Module

Learning Outcomes:

1. To help students master a basic critical vocabulary for the analysis of poetry, acquainting students with resources for the study of poetry which are also likely to promote their critically-informed reading of literature more generally.
2. To encourage students to engage fully with textual and linguistic complexity.
3. To empower students as readers of poetry and to build confidence in their interpretive abilities, whilst engendering a love for poetry and its expressive possibilities.
4. To acquaint students with key poems and forms in the history of poetry.
5. To help students to understand how poems function on their own terms, and in relation to the social, material, and ideological systems of which they are a part.
6. To develop students' capacities to write effectively and fluently on poetry.


Indicative Module Content:

Each week, we will attend to a particular aspect of poetic analysis (eg, sound, meaning and pattern; denotation and connotation; rhythm and meter; figurative language, etc), integrating it with aspects already covered and gradually building a fully-equipped poetry-reading toolkit.

UNESCO highlights a set of key competencies that support individuals in their development and support society in achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). UCD has adapted these competencies and is combining them with others to form a general framework of learning competencies. This module will help you develop the competencies below to the levels specified. 
Learning Competency Additional Information Level

Collaboration

 The ability to learn from others; to understand and respect the needs, perspectives and actions of others (empathy); to understand, relate to and be sensitive to others (empathic leadership); to deal with conflicts in a group; and to facilitate collaborative and participatory problem solving. Advanced Beginner

Critical Thinking

 The ability to question norms, practices and opinions; to reflect on one’s own values, perceptions and actions. Advanced Beginner

Systems Thinking

 The ability to recognize and understand relationships; to analyse complex systems; to think of how systems are embedded within different domains and different scales; and to deal with uncertainty. Novice

Strategic

 The ability to collectively develop and implement innovative actions that further sustainability at the local level and further afield. Not addressed

Integrated Problem Solving

 The overarching ability to apply different problem-solving frameworks to complex sustainability problems and develop viable, inclusive and equitable solution options that promote sustainable development, integrating the competencies in this list. Not addressed

Self-awareness

 The ability to reflect on one’s own role in the local community and (global) society; to continually evaluate and further motivate one’s actions; and to deal with one’s feelings and desires. Advanced Beginner

Normative

 The ability to understand and reflect on the norms and values that underlie one’s actions; and to negotiate values, principles, goals, and targets, in a context of conflicts of interest and trade-offs, uncertain knowledge and contradictions. Advanced Beginner

Anticipatory

 The ability to understand and evaluate multiple scenarios for the future – possible, probable and desirable; to create one’s own visions for the future; to apply the precautionary principle; to assess the consequences of actions; and to deal with risks and changes. Novice

Digital Literacy and Judgement

 The ability to access, evaluate, create and communicate information in digital environments; to engage critically, ethically and responsibly with digital technologies and digital information; to understand their opportunities, limitations, risks and impact on individual’s digital identities; and to exercise informed judgement in digital participation and decision-making. Novice

AI Literacy & Agency

 The ability to understand, critically evaluate and responsibly engage with artificial intelligence; to recognise how AI systems are shaped by human values; to assess their ethical, social and environmental implications; and to exercise human judgement, agency and accountability in AI-related contexts. Novice

Wellbeing

 Wellbeing is having the resources and skills to meet life's challenges, including attributes such as personal development skills, resilience, stress management, strengths, lifestyle skills, nutrition, physical activity, sleep, alcohol/substance use, academic skills, time management, goal setting, interpersonal skills, group work, communication. Advanced Beginner

The United Nations identified seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as core to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and UCD contributes in general to SDG 4 Quality Education. Further SDGs explored within this module if relevant are listed below. A scale of 1 - 5 indicates the extent to which the SDG is covered.


Goal Name Description Coverage

Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls 2
 

Student Effort Hours:
Student Effort Type Hours
Specified Learning Activities

28
Autonomous Student Learning

48
Seminar (or Webinar)

24
Total

100

Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
All classes will be conducted as seminars. This means that the teaching and learning in these sessions will be interactive and participatory, as we work together to try to understand how poems work. These sessions will combine whole-group discussion and small-group work. Outside class, students are asked to read poetry as widely as possible (a set anthology will be used as starting point for this reading, to which regular reference will be made in class). Students may be asked to keep a notebook recording their impressions of the material they are encountering, along with the questions and connections this material stimulates.

Note: The use of Generative AI is not permitted for assessments in this module.

Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

Not applicable to this module.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Not applicable to this module.
 

Assessment Strategy
Description Timing Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade In Module Component Repeat Offered
Assignment(Including Essay): Essay: Essay (length: 2,000 - 2,500 words) Week 14 Standard conversion grade scale 40% No
60
 No
Reflective Assignment: Commonplace Book: A weekly journal in response to prompts provided by the module co-ordinator Week 2, Week 3, Week 4, Week 5, Week 6, Week 7, Week 9, Week 10, Week 11, Week 12 Standard conversion grade scale 40% No
40
 No

Carry forward of passed components
No
 

Resit In Terminal Exam
Spring No
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 

Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment
• Group/class feedback, post-assessment
• Self-assessment activities

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

- Regular individual feedback on continuous-assessment written exercises throughout the semester. as well as in-class large-group feedback on this work. - regular individual and group oral feedback on ideas developed during seminar discussion. - Individual formal written feedback on the end-of-semester essay (after the assessment period for the semester concerned). - one-to-one oral feedback meeting on the end-of semester essay available (where possible) on request

All course materials are provided on Brightspace.

Name Role
Professor Danielle Clarke Lecturer / Co-Lecturer
Assoc Professor Lucy Collins Lecturer / Co-Lecturer
Dr Catherine Kilcoyne Tutor

Timetabling information is displayed only for guidance purposes, relates to the current Academic Year only and is subject to change.
Autumn Lecture Offering 1 Week(s) - Autumn: All Weeks Wed 09:00 - 10:50
Autumn Lecture Offering 2 Week(s) - Autumn: All Weeks Mon 11:00 - 12:50
Autumn Lecture Offering 4 Week(s) - Autumn: All Weeks Thurs 11:00 - 12:50
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