John Pagano

^{A
writing intensive course required of all English majors, Critical Writing
introduces students to select works of critical theory while refining their
ability to read and respond to literary works ranging through a variety of
genres and historical periods. Topics of interest include the nature of
aesthetic and creative experience, the relationship between artist and society,
and the workings and value of the poetic imagination.}

^{**Available
at Labyrinth & Columbia Bookstore. Request by course/instructor and pick
them up before midterm.}

^{You
are expected to attend and contribute to class each time we meet. If you must
miss class, please try to notify me in advance (x49012 ; email, jpagano@barnard.edu)
and keep up with the material.}

^{You
are allowed 2 unexcused absences: more than 2 will adversely affect your grade.}

^{The
nature of the course--weekly meetings for concentrated study of imaginative and
critical texts--makes absences and silences especially conspicuous, so please
prepare the assigned readings and participate in discussions. To help
approximate ideal participation, I'll try to alert you in advance to important
issues in a work.
Since your ideas constitute the basis of our seminar, I encourage you to
share them with us. The intensity of your engagement will determine the level of
success and enjoyment we achieve as a community.}

^{For
each class, I will ask students to help lead discussion by focusing on a central
element of the work that they found to be engaging and that we might profitably
discuss--a central character or relationship between characters, an important
symbol, an emblematic moment, a major theme, an insight into artistic or
aesthetic experience, a critical argument or orientation,}

^{a
challenge to or confirmation of your own view of the artist or the creative
imagination. A suggestion: rather than drafting a self-contained formal
presentation to be read in class, try organizing insights as notes &
questions to guide us through the work, offering and eliciting commentary on the
element you are discussing. Be ready for questions or comments from your
classmates and your instructor. You might organize your thoughts in writing by
following any of the writing strategies listed below (GQ’s, KP’s, FF’s), allowing these written responses to serve
as points of departure for our class discussion.}

^{If
you prefer to present your ideas more formally in writing, aim for no more than
a couple of pages, so that we can join you in the enterprise. Please realize
that when asked to deliver such a presentation, you will be responsible for
directing the class (at least initially), thus we are depending on you to be
present, punctual, prepared, and
provocative!}

^{The
following exercises are designed to heighten your understanding and appreciation
of the works we will be reading together, keep you in the rhythm of writing in
response to what you read, and enable you consistently to offer a significant
contribution to class discussion in our seminar.}

^{After
reading the work carefully, write 2 questions/observations that direct attention
to issues we might profitably discuss.}

^{Locate
an especially representative passage, one that depicts a work's thematic
emphasis, a crucial moment in the plot,

a revelation of character, an organizing symbol, a writer's basic aesthetic, a
persuasive argument, a compelling observation about the nature of the artist,
creativity, or aesthetic experience. Jot down insights that this passage helps
you formulate about the assigned work. Be
ready to direct us to and explore its richness as a representative element in
the work.}

^{For
each work you read, mark the text and note your responses to its various
elements--what interests, bewilders, provokes, enlightens, fascinates, or
inspires you in this particular work? What insights have you gained from your
reading? After you've thought about these matters, choose the 1 element you find
most engaging and briefly (1 side of a page) explain its significance: Why did you find this
element engaging? Why does it seem important? How does it relate to the course's overarching concerns, to particular
issues designated for a specific class discussion, to you as a creative
individual? Jot down your ideas freely, without worrying much about
correctness--your primary objective is to monitor the workings of your
imagination as you read, generating a response that can serve us in class
discussion and serve you for more formal writing assignments Write freely, but
keep focused on the element under consideration. Occasionally, I’ll direct you
to specific items.}

^{**** FORMAL ESSAYS ****}^{4
Short Essays (4-5 pages)}^{Research Paper (8-10 pages)}

^{Essays should be presented in accordance with MLA format--see
"Preparation of Papers" Department handout or appropriate handbooks.
Topics will be distributed and explained in class. No assignments will be accepted more than a week after due date. Never
miss class because you have not completed a paper.}

^{At
least two during the semester, one of which should be used to discuss the
research paper. Feel free to come by and speak with me whenever you
wish--informal conversations can often spark insight. Brief chats about
impending presentations or ideas for papers are welcomed. If you're unable to
see me during my office hours, we can arrange another convenient time.}

^{Writing
Fellows are available for consultation at any stage of the writing process, from
formulating preliminary ideas to implementing suggestions for revision. They are
an especially valuable source of insight and direction—please feel free to
engage them in dialogue about your work whenever the opportunity arises.}

^Week 1:	^{Introduction; Diagnostic}
^{Week 2:}	^{Classical Ideals: The Fate of Poets}
		^{Euripides, The Bacchae}
		^{Plato, excerpts from The Republic and The Ion (CMS)}
		^{Aristotle, The Poetics (CMS)}
		^{Nietzsche, The Birth of Tragedy (CMS)}
^Week 3:	^{Epic Romance: Marvels, Quests & Archetypes}
		^{Beowulf (Norton Anthology)}
		^{Northrop Frye, "The Archetypes of Literature" (CMS)}
^Week 4:		^{Renaissance Paradigms: Tragic Redemption & Saving Imagination}

		^{**ESSAY 1 DUE}
		^{Shakespeare, Hamlet}
		^{Sidney, "Apology for Poetry" (CMS--102-106, 110-12,120)}
		^{Elaine Showalter, "Representing Ophelia: Women, Madness, and the Responsibilities of Feminist Criticism" (CMS)}
^Week 5:	^{Neo-Classic to Romantic: Rules, Reason, Revolution}
		^{Johnson, from Preface to Shakespeare (in Norton!)}
		^{Wordsworth, Preface to Lyrical Ballads (CMS)}
		^{Coleridge, Biographia Literaria, chs. XIV & XIII (CMS)}
^{Poems (in Norton):}
		^{Wordsworth--"We Are Seven," "Strange Fits of Passion," "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud," "Resolution and Independence" Coleridge--"Rime of the Ancient Mariner"/ “Kubla Khan”}
^Week 6:	^{Romanticism: The Uses of Enchantment}
^{**ESSAY 2 DUE}
		^{Keats, Four Letters (CMS)}
		^{"La Belle Dame sans Merci,""Ode to Psyche," “Ode to a Nightingale”(Norton)}
		^{Shelley, "A Defence of Poetry" (CMS)}
		^{"Hymn to Intellectual Beauty," “Ode to the West Wind," “To a Sky-Lark”(Norton)}
^Week 7:	^{Romanticism: The Act of Creation}
		^{Mary Shelley, Frankenstein}
		^{Survey Critical Perspectives: Bio-Historical , Reader-Response, Psychoanalytic, Feminist, Cultural}
^Week 8:	^{A Solitary Voice}

	^{**ESSAY 3 DUE}
		^{Emily Dickinson, selected poems (handout)}
		^{Woolf, "Shakespeare's Sister" (CMS)}
		^{William Luce, The Belle of Amherst (handout)}
		^{Adrienne Rich, “Vesuvius at Home: The Power of Emily Dickinson” (handout)}
^Week 9:	^{The Victorian Age: The Passing of Romance}
		^{Robert Browning, “Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came" Tennyson, " The Lady of Shalott," “The Passing of Arthur" (Norton)}
		^{Arnold, "The Study of Poetry" (CMS)}
		^{Pater, Conclusion from Studies in the Renaissance (CMS)}
^Week 10:	^{The Modern Self Under Scrutiny}
^{**ESSAY 4 DUE}
		^{James Joyce, "The Dead" (Norton)}
		^{T. S. Eliot, “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” (Norton)}
^Week 11:	^{The Artist's Search for Meaning}
		^{Woolf, To the Lighthouse}




^Week 12:	^{Feminist Poetics: Empowering Voices}
		^{Adrienne Rich, "When We Dead Awaken" (CMS)}
		^{Selected Poems by Plath, Sexton, Rich (handout)}
^Week 13:	^{The World as Puzzle}
		^{Stoppard, Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead}
^{ PROSPECTUS & (PARTIAL) DRAFT OF RESEARCH PAPER DUE THIS WEEK}
^Week 14:	^{The Emergence of a Poet}
		^{Mary Oliver, “The Poet’s Voice” & selected poems}
^{RESEARCH PAPER DUE by end of week}

^{John Pagano}		^411BH
^x49012		^{Office Hours: TBA}