British and American poetry over the last two hundred years can be understood to come from the “Romantic” tradition. Even modern poetry is based upon this rebellion against conventional forms and the emphasis on the individual. This module will give a general overview of the central themes of this type of poetry.

Historical Overview of Poetry

Thus far the poetry of this course has been fairly old. We will now move to poetry's softer side (and darker side). In this module, poetry will be examined through the lens of history. We will be reviewing how poetry has evolved from the ancient epics to the lyrical romantics and into the age of skeptical modernists. We will be surveying many poets as they journey through time: William Blake, Henry Wordsworth, Robert Frost, and T.S. Eliot to name a few.

Let's Review

Final Thoughts

The background in this section will help you to guide your understanding of themes in the various poetic periods. Remember that poets don’t necessarily even consider themselves part of these various literary movements, and often their work will both include and challenge the conventions of the time period in which they write. The next lesson will focus upon the unique qualities of poetry and how it functions as its own genre of literature.

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