This is a graduate/undergraduate seminar & the Spring 2005 version from me.
American Poetry to 1900
3300:451:001
2005 Spring
Tue,Thu POL 294
12:15-1:30PM
Jon Miller
(Ph.D., U. of Iowa, 2000)
Find me at 330-972-5717 (office and voice mail), mjon at uakron edu (email), or 363 Olin Hall (office). My office hours for Fall 2004 are Tuesday 10:00am to 11:00am, Tuesday 3:30pm to 5:30pm, and by appointment.
Course Description
Historical survey of major American poets to 1900.
Textbooks
I ordered these from the University bookstore. Get them quick since the bookstore will return unsold copies soon.
Hollander, John, ed. American Poetry: The Nineteenth Century. New York: The Library of America College Editions, 1996. ISBN 1-883011-36-1.
Dickinson, Emily. The Poems. Ed. R.W. Franklin. Reading edition. Cambridge: Belknap, 1999. ISBN 0674676246. The new and perhaps the best edition of Dickinson's poetry.
Whitman, Walt. Poetry and Prose. Library of America College Edition. 1996. ISBN 1883011353.
Reading
See reading schedule, below. Please note: if class is cancelled for any reason, we stay on schedule.
Vocabulary
Literature is language. To read, comprehend, and write persuasively about older literature, you need some knowledge of the language as it was at the time. You also need to know and understand the meaning of key literary terms. We'll have a list of words and definitions that you will memorize. The list will start only a few words and grow as the semester advances.
Quizzes
We'll have a brief quiz for every class. These will vary considerably in format. You can drop the lowest 20% of quiz scores (i.e., if we have 30 quizzes, you can drop 6). You cannot make up quizzes that you miss because of absence or tardiness.
Three Papers
750 words each. The topics will be generated by class discussion and will concern terms on our vocabulary list. These papers should have an argument presenting an interpretation of the text, and conform to MLA style. Due at the end of weeks 4, 9, and 14.
Attendance and participation
Your attendance grade is the percentage of classes that you attend. Your participation grade reflects your day-to-day contribution to the class. All students are expected to respect the worth and contribution of everyone in the classroom. Your attendance and participation grade is the product of your attendance grade and your participation grade. For example, if you attend 90% of the classes, and earn an A (95%) for participation, your attendance and participation grade is a B (90% * 95% = 86%).
Attendance policy
If you miss 20% of all classes, you fail. Since we are meeting 29 times, you will fail the class if you miss any 6 classes. Also note that there are no excused absences. If you miss class, I trust that you miss class for a good reason. It is not up to me to decide what reasons are better than other reasons; I will not excuse some absences while penalizing others. But if you want to tell me why you are missing class, know that I'm interested. I want to hear why. I will be interested because I will be concerned. On the other hand, I respect your privacy, and I do not require an explanation for every absence. I will keep a careful record of your absences but the responsibility for keeping an up-to-date count of them is yours.
Final Exam
For the final exam, you will prepare a one-page edition of any one poem. We'll begin discussing this assignment mid-semester and you will have ample opportunity to submit it early. Note that this exam is worth only seven percent of the final grade.
Final Grade
Final grades are computed with a spreadsheet. The formula for the final grade is as follows: Quizzes 33%, Papers 50%, Attendance and Participation, 10%, Final exam, 7%.
92.5, A; 90, A-; 87.5, B+; 82.5, B; 80, B-; 77.5, C+; 72.5, C; 70.0, C-; 67.5, D+; 62.5, D; 60, D-; below 60, F.
Reading schedule. AP19 refers to the Hollander anthology, listed above with the Dickinson and Whitman editions.
Tuesday, January 25 (week 2, class 3)
Philip Freneau, "On the Great Western Canal of the State of New York," AP19, pages 1 to 3.
Joel Barlow, "Advice to a Raven in Russia," AP19, pages 4 to 6.
Manoah Bodman, "An Oration on Death (selection)," AP19, pages 7 to 8.
John Quincy Adams, "To the Sun-Dial," AP19, page 9.
John Quincy Adams, "To Sally," AP19, pages 9 to 11.
James Kirke Paulding, "The Backwoodsman (selection)," AP19, pages 12 to 15.
Thursday, January 27 (2, 4)
Clement Moore, "A Visit from St. Nicholas," AP19, pages 16 to 17.
Francis Scott Key, "Defence of Fort McHenry," AP19, pages 18 to 19.
Washington Allston, "America to Great Britain," AP19, pages 22 to 23.
Washington Allston, "Coleridge," AP19, page 23.
Washington Allston, "Art," AP19, pages 23 to 24.
John Pierpont, "The Fugitive Slave's Apostrophe to the North Star," AP19, pages 25 to 27.
Samuel Woodworth, "The Bucket," AP19, page 28.
Richard Henry Dana, "The Pleasure Boat," AP19, pages 32 to 35.
Fitz-Greene Halleck, "On the Death of Joseph Rodman Drake," AP19, page 41.
John Howard Payne, "Home, Sweet Home!," AP19, page 48.
Lydia Huntley Sigourney, "Indian Names," AP19, pages 49 to 50.
Carlos Wilcox, "from The Age of Benevolence," AP19, pages 53 to 55.
William Cullen Bryant, "Thanatopsis," AP19, pages 56 to 58.
Tuesday, February 1 (3, 5)
William Cullen Bryant, "To a Waterfowl," AP19, pages 58 to 59.
William Cullen Bryant, "Inscription for the Entrance to a Wood," AP19, pages 59 to 60.
William Cullen Bryant, "Green River," AP19, pages 60 to 62.
William Cullen Bryant, "Summer Wind," AP19, pages 62 to 63.
William Cullen Bryant, "To an American Painter Departing for Europe," AP19, page 65.
William Cullen Bryant, "The Painted Cup," AP19, pages 69 to 70.
Joseph Rodman Drake, "The American Flag," AP19, pages 78 to 79.
Joseph Rodman Drake, "Bronx," AP19, pages 80 to 81.
George Moses Horton, "On Liberty and Slavery," AP19, pages 83 to 84.
George Moses Horton, "On Hearing of the Intention of a Gentleman to Purchase the Poet's Freedom," AP19, pages 84 to 85.
A. Bronson Alcott, "Sonnet XIV: "Not Wordsworth's genius, Pestalozzi's love," AP19, page 87.
Thomas Cole, "A Painter," AP19, page 88.
Thomas Cole, "Lines Suggested by Hearing Music on the Boston Common at Night," AP19, pages 88 to 89.
Edward Coote Pinkney, "Italy," AP19, pages 94 to 95.
Edward Coote Pinkney, "The Voyager's Song," AP19, pages 95 to 97.
Edward Coote Pinkney, "Serenade," AP19, pages 97 to 98.
Edward Coote Pinkney, "The Widow's Song," AP19, page 98.
George Pope Morris, "The Oak," AP19, page 99.
Lydia Maria Child, "The New-England Boy's Song About Thanksgiving Day," AP19, pages 100 to 101.
Ralph Waldo Emerson, "The Humble-Bee," AP19, pages 108 to 109.
Ralph Waldo Emerson, "The Snow-Storm," AP19, pages 109 to 110.
Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Fable," AP19, pages 115 to 116.
Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Give All to Love," AP19, pages 120 to 121.
Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Bacchus," AP19, pages 125 to 127.
Thursday, February 3 (3, 6)
Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Blight," AP19, pages 133 to 134.
Sarah Helen Whitman, "To ——," AP19, page 139.
Nathaniel Hawthorne, "I left my low and humble home," AP19, page 140.
Nathaniel Parker Willis, "January 1, 1829," AP19, pages 141 to 142.
Nathaniel Parker Willis, "Unseen Spirits," AP19, pages 142 to 143.
Nathaniel Parker Willis, "The Lady in the White Dress, Whom I Helped Into the Omnibus," AP19, pages 143 to 144.
William Gilmore Simms, "By the Swanannoa," AP19, page 147.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, "A Psalm of Life," AP19, pages 149 to 150.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, "Hymn to the Night," AP19, page 151.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, "The Wreck of the Hesperus," AP19, pages 152 to 154.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, "The Village Blacksmith," AP19, pages 154 to 156.
Tuesday, February 8 (4, 7)
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, "Mezzo Cammin," AP19, page 156.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, "Seaweed," AP19, pages 158 to 159.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, "from Evangeline," AP19, pages 161 to 162.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, "The Children's Hour," AP19, pages 169 to 170.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, "The Landlord's Tale: Paul Revere's Ride," AP19, pages 171 to 174.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, "Snow-Flakes," AP19, pages 174 to 175.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, "Chaucer," AP19, page 179.
John Greenleaf Whittier, "The Haschish," AP19, pages 188 to 190.
John Greenleaf Whittier, "The Barefoot Boy," AP19, pages 190 to 192.
John Greenleaf Whittier, "Skipper Ireson's Ride," AP19, pages 193 to 195.
John Greenleaf Whittier, "Snow-Bound," AP19, pages 201 to 221.
Thursday, February 10 (4, 8)
Paper #1 due.
Edgar Allan Poe, "To Science," AP19, page 229.
Edgar Allan Poe, "Al Aaraaf," AP19, pages 229 to 230.
Edgar Allan Poe, "Alone," AP19, page 231.
Edgar Allan Poe, "To Helen," AP19, pages 231 to 232.
Edgar Allan Poe, "Israfel," AP19, pages 232 to 233.
Edgar Allan Poe, "The Haunted Palace," AP19, pages 235 to 236.
Edgar Allan Poe, "Dream-Land," AP19, pages 238 to 239.
Edgar Allan Poe, "The Raven," AP19, pages 239 to 244.
Edgar Allan Poe, "The Bells," AP19, pages 247 to 250.
Tuesday, February 15 (5, 9)
Edgar Allan Poe, "Annabel Lee," AP19, pages 251 to 252.
Abraham Lincoln, "My Childhood-Home I See Again," AP19, pages 253 to 256.
Oliver Wendell Holmes, "The Chambered Nautilus," AP19, pages 258 to 259.
Oliver Wendell Holmes, "Nearing the Snow-Line," AP19, page 263.
Fanny Kemble, "To the Wissahiccon," AP19, page 272.
Christopher Pearse Cranch, "Correspondences," AP19, pages 276 to 277.
Christopher Pearse Cranch, "Enosis," AP19, pages 277 to 278.
Christopher Pearse Cranch, "The Cataract Isle," AP19, pages 278 to 279.
Christopher Pearse Cranch, "The Spirit of the Age," AP19, pages 281 to 282.
Christopher Pearse Cranch, "An Old Cat's Confessions," AP19, pages 282 to 284.
Christopher Pearse Cranch, "Bird Language," AP19, pages 286 to 287.
Christopher Pearse Cranch, "The Printing-Press," AP19, pages 287 to 288.
Christopher Pearse Cranch, "The Locomotive," AP19, page 288.
Christopher Pearse Cranch, "The Photograph," AP19, page 288.
Charles Timothy Brooks, "Our Island Home," AP19, page 289.
Jones Very, "The New Birth," AP19, page 290.
Jones Very, "The Morning Watch," AP19, page 290.
Jones Very, "The Garden," AP19, page 291.
Jones Very, "The Song," AP19, page 291.
Epes Sargent, "The Planet Jupiter," AP19, page 295.
Epes Sargent, "The Sea-Breeze at Matanzas," AP19, page 295.
Daniel Decatur Emmett, "Dixie's Land," AP19, pages 296 to 297.
Henry David Thoreau, "On fields oer which the reaper's hand has passd," AP19, page 302.
Cornelius Mathews, "The Masses," AP19, page 307.
William Ellery Channing, "The Harbor," AP19, page 308.
William Ellery Channing, "Hymn of the Earth," AP19, pages 308 to 309.
William Wetmore Story, "Cleopatra," AP19, pages 310 to 314.
Thursday, February 17 (5, 10)
James Russell Lowell, "from A Fable for Critics," AP19, pages 315 to 316.
Julia Ward Howe, "My Last Dance," AP19, pages 330 to 331.
Julia Ward Howe, "Battle-Hymn of the Republic," AP19, pages 331 to 332.
Thomas Dunn English, "Ben Bolt," AP19, pages 340 to 341.
Walt Whitman, "1855 Preface," WW, pages 5 to 26.
Walt Whitman, "Song of Myself," WW, pages 27 to 88.
Tuesday, February 22
President's Day - no classes
Thursday, February 24 (6, 11)
Walt Whitman, "Song of Myself," WW, pages 27 to 88.
Walt Whitman, "Song of Occupations," WW, pages 89 to 99.
Tuesday, March 1 (7, 12)
Walt Whitman, "The Sleepers," WW, pages 107 to 117.
Thursday, March 3 (7, 13)
Walt Whitman, "I Sing the Body Electric," WW, pages 118 to 124.
Walt Whitman, "Inscriptions," WW, pages 149 to 188.
Tuesday, March 8 (8, 14)
Walt Whitman, "Children of Adam," WW, pages 248 to 267.
Walt Whitman, "Calamus," WW, pages 268 to 368.
Thursday, March 10 (8, 15)
Walt Whitman, "Drum-Taps," WW, pages 416 to 458.
Walt Whitman, "Memories of Pres. Lincoln," WW, pages 459 to 484.
Walt Whitman, "Songs of Parting," WW, pages 597 to 612.
Tuesday, March 15 (9, 16)
Alice Cary, "Autumn," AP19, page 492.
Alice Cary, "The West Country," AP19, page 493.
Frederick Goddard Tuckerman, "from Sonnets, First Series," AP19, pages 496 to 497.
Frederick Goddard Tuckerman, "from Sonnets, Second Series," AP19, page 498.
Frederick Goddard Tuckerman, "from Sonnets, Third Series," AP19, page 499.
James Monroe Whitfield, "America," AP19, pages 505 to 509.
Thursday, March 17 (9, 17)
Paper #2.
Thomas Buchanan Read, "Sheridan's Ride," AP19, pages 510 to 511.
George Henry Boker, "from Sonnets: A Sequence on Profane Love," AP19, pages 512 to 513.
Phoebe Cary, "The Day Is Done," AP19, pages 523 to 524.
Phoebe Cary, "Jacob," AP19, page 524.
Phoebe Cary, "When Lovely Woman," AP19, page 525.
Phoebe Cary, "Advice Gratis to Certain Women," AP19, pages 525 to 526.
Bayard Taylor, "from The Echo Club," AP19, pages 527 to 528.
Tuesday, March 22 (10, 18)
Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, "Bible Defence of Slavery," AP19, page 529.
Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, "The Slave Auction," AP19, page 530.
Stephen Foster, "Old Folks at Home," AP19, page 531.
Stephen Foster, "My Old Kentucky Home, Good-Night!," AP19, page 532.
Thursday, March 24 (10, 19)
Robert Lowry, "Beautiful River," AP19, pages 533 to 534.
Rose Terry Cooke, "Blue-Beard's Closet," AP19, pages 535 to 536.
Rose Terry Cooke, "Arachne," AP19, pages 536 to 537.
Francis Miles Finch, "The Blue and the Gray," AP19, pages 538 to 539.
John Rollin Ridge, "A Cherokee Love Song," AP19, pages 542 to 543.
Tuesday, March 29
Spring break
Thursday, March 31
Spring break
Tuesday, April 5 (11, 20)
Henry Timrod, "Dreams," AP19, page 548.
Paul Hamilton Hayne, "October," AP19, page 557.
Paul Hamilton Hayne, "On the Occurrence of a Spell of Arctic Weather in May, 1858," AP19, page 557.
Helen Hunt Jackson, "Crossed Threads," AP19, page 559.
Thursday, April 7 (11, 21)
Emily Dickinson, Fascicle A, ED, pages TBA.
Tuesday, April 12 (12, 22)
Emily Dickinson, Fascicle B, ED, pages TBA.
Thursday, April 14 (12, 23)
Emily Dickinson, Fascicle C, ED, pages TBA.
Tuesday, April 19 (13, 24)
Emily Dickinson, Fascicle D, ED, pages TBA.
Thursday, April 21 (13, 25)
Emily Dickinson, Fascicle E, ED, pages TBA.
Tuesday, April 26 (14, 26)
Paper #3 due.
Edmund Clarence Stedman, "Prelude to An American Anthology," AP19, page 605.
John James Piatt, "Taking the Night-Train," AP19, page 607.
Augusta Cooper Bristol, "Night," AP19, page 608.
Mark Twain, "Ode to Stephen Dowling Bots, Dec'd.," AP19, page 613.
Phillips Brooks, "O Little Town of Bethlehem," AP19, page 614.
Bret Harte, "Plain Language from Truthful James," AP19, pages 615 to 616.
Bret Harte, "What the Bullet Sang," AP19, page 617.
William Dean Howells, "The Empty House," AP19, pages 621 to 622.
William Dean Howells, "In Earliest Spring," AP19, page 622.
Joaquin Miller, "Columbus," AP19, pages 631 to 632.
William Reed Huntington, "The Cold Meteorite," AP19, page 635.
Constance Fenimore Woolson, "The Florida Beach," AP19, pages 648 to 649.
Edward Rowland Sill, "Opportunity," AP19, page 650.
Edward Rowland Sill, "California Winter," AP19, pages 650 to 651.
Ambrose Bierce, "Alone," AP19, page 664.
Ambrose Bierce, "Elegy," AP19, page 664.
Ambrose Bierce, "Lead," AP19, page 664.
Richard Watson Gilder, "The Sonnet," AP19, page 669.
George Washington Cable, "Creole Slave Songs," AP19, pages 670 to 672.
Emma Lazarus, "Echoes," AP19, page 674.
Emma Lazarus, "Long Island Sound," AP19, page 675.
Emma Lazarus, "1492," AP19, page 677.
Sarah Orne Jewett, "A Caged Bird," AP19, pages 679 to 680.
James Whitcomb Riley, "When the Frost Is on the Punkin," AP19, pages 681 to 682.
Eugene Field, "Dutch Lullaby," AP19, pages 685 to 686.
Ella Wheeler Wilcox, "The Engine," AP19, page 687.
Ella Wheeler Wilcox, "Nothing New," AP19, pages 687 to 688.
Albery Allson Whitman, "The Lute of Afric's Tribe," AP19, pages 694 to 695.
Ernest Fenollosa, "Fuji at Sunrise," AP19, page 701.
James A. Bland, "Oh, Dem Golden Slippers!," AP19, page 702.
Lizette Woodworth Reese, "Love, Weeping, Laid This Song," AP19, page 703.
Lizette Woodworth Reese, "One Night," AP19, page 703.
Lizette Woodworth Reese, "April in Town," AP19, page 704.
Katharine Lee Bates, "America the Beautiful," AP19, pages 706 to 707.
Hamlin Garland, "On the Mississippi," AP19, page 709.
Edith Wharton, "Chartres," AP19, page 713.
Thursday, April 28 (14, 27)
Edith Wharton, "An Autumn Sunset," AP19, pages 715 to 716.
George Santayana, "Sonnet III: "O world, thou choosest not the better part!," AP19, page 720.
Stuart Merrill, "Ballade of the Chinese Lover," AP19, page 724.
Ernest Lawrence Thayer, "Casey at the Bat," AP19, pages 726 to 728.
Richard Hovey, "Accident in Art," AP19, page 731.
Gelett Burgess, "The Purple Cow," AP19, page 735.
Gelett Burgess, "The Purple Cow: Suite," AP19, page 735.
Edwin Arlington Robinson, "The Torrent," AP19, page 743.
Edwin Arlington Robinson, "Boston," AP19, page 743.
Edwin Arlington Robinson, "The Children of the Night," AP19, pages 744 to 745.
Edwin Arlington Robinson, "Richard Cory," AP19, page 749.
Edwin Arlington Robinson, "Reuben Bright," AP19, page 750.
Stephen Crane, "from The Black Riders and Other Lines," AP19, pages 752 to 754.
Stephen Crane, "from War Is Kind," AP19, pages 754 to 756.
Tuesday, May 3 (15, 28)
Paul Laurence Dunbar, "Accountability," AP19, page 757.
Paul Laurence Dunbar, "We Wear the Mask," AP19, page 759.
Alexander L. Posey, "Song of the Oktahutchee," AP19, page 764.
George Cabot Lodge, "Lower New York," AP19, page 768.
Trumbull Stickney, "At Sainte-Marguerite," AP19, pages 778 to 779.
19th-Century Versions of American Indian Poetry, "The Song of the Lenape Warriors Going Against the Enemy (Delaware)," AP19, page 783.
19th-Century Versions of American Indian Poetry, "Song for Medicine Hunting—Rarely for the Metai," AP19, pages 784 to 786.
19th-Century Versions of American Indian Poetry, "Chant to the Fire-Fly (Ojibwa)," AP19, page 787.
19th-Century Versions of American Indian Poetry, "from The Walam Olum, or Red Score, of the Len_xap_ (Delaware)," AP19, pages 794 to 800.
19th-Century Versions of American Indian Poetry, "Chinook Songs," AP19, pages 801 to 803.
19th-Century Versions of American Indian Poetry, "The Thanksgivings (Iroquois)," AP19, pages 804 to 805.
19th-Century Versions of American Indian Poetry, "Songs of the Kwakiutl Indians," AP19, pages 808 to 809.
19th-Century Versions of American Indian Poetry, "from History Myth of the Coming of the A'shiwi as Narrated by tKiklo (Zuni)," AP19, pages 816 to 818.
Folk Songs and Spirituals, "The Cowboy's Lament," AP19, pages 819 to 820.
Folk Songs and Spirituals, "Deep River," AP19, page 821.
Folk Songs and Spirituals, "Down in the Valley," AP19, page 822.
Folk Songs and Spirituals, "Ezekiel Saw de Wheel," AP19, page 823.
Folk Songs and Spirituals, "Frankie and Albert," AP19, pages 824 to 827.
Brewster Higley, "A Home on the Range," AP19, pages 831 to 832.
Folk Songs and Spirituals, "Jesse James," AP19, pages 833 to 834.
Thursday, May 5 (15, 29)
Daniel Decatur Emmett's Virginia Minstrels, "Jim Crack Corn, or the Blue Tail Fly," AP19, pages 834 to 835.
Folk Songs and Spirituals, "John Brown's Body," AP19, pages 835 to 836.
Folk Songs and Spirituals, "John Henry," AP19, pages 836 to 838.
Folk Songs and Spirituals, "Let My People Go," AP19, pages 839 to 842.
Folk Songs and Spirituals, "Michael Row the Boat Ashore," AP19, pages 843 to 844.
Folk Songs and Spirituals, "Oh My Darling Clementine," AP19, page 846.
Folk Songs and Spirituals, "One More River," AP19, page 846.
Folk Songs and Spirituals, "Steal Away," AP19, pages 849 to 850.
Folk Songs and Spirituals, "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot," AP19, page 850.
Folk Songs and Spirituals, "Working on the Railway," AP19, pages 853 to 854.
Wednesday, May 11 (finals week)
2:00pm Take-home final due.
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