ENGL 212: Poetry and Plays (Rev. 5 & 6) Report a Broken Link
ENGL 212 introduces forms of poetry, with a wide variety of examples from Shakespeare to Atwood, examining themes, structure, style, and imagery.
The second part of the course introduces the elements and forms of drama and provides a historical perspective on the development of drama with reference to three plays: a tragedy from the early seventeenth century, a tragi-comedy from the late nineteenth century, and a modern comedy.
Supplementary Materials List
| Poetry |
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This site contains suggestions and tips for reading poetry. |
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Several definitions of poetry from various poets. |
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This is a handout containing advice on writing an explication of a poem. |
| Poetic Forms |
| An extensive website on the ballad form. |
| A description on the form and technique of free verse poetry. |
| This site contains links to several versions of “Bonny Barbara Allan.” |
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Pastoral poetry with links to Marlowe and Raleigh. |
| A brief description of the ballad form. |
| On reading lyric poetry. |
| A site on the history and diversity of sonnets. |
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A critique of “Lyrical Poetry as a Natural Genre.” |
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A brief and generalized description of odes. |
| A brief description of sonnet types. |
| Margaret Atwood |
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A biography and an essay by Atwood on her writing philosophy. |
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This site contains a bibliography of publications on Margaret Atwood and her works, and a list of additional Internet resources. |
| Bill Bissett |
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A biography, list of publications, and list of critical materials on bissett’s work. |
| William Blake |
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This site, set up by faculty members of Union College, NY, contains some interesting biographical material, including information on Blake’s art and his philosophy of life. |
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An annotated bibliography. |
| An extensive site that provides access to Blake’s major visual and literary art. |
| Anne Bradstreet |
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A biography, links to poems, and a bibliography. |
| Robert Browning |
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Commentary on “My Last Duchess.” |
| A comprehensive site on Robert Browning’s life and works, and the history and politics of his time. |
| George Elliott Clarke |
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CBC Radio interview with and audio clips of George Elliott Clarke. |
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Athabasca University Canadian Writers Website. Contains a brief biography of Clarke, a detailed bibliography, and links. |
| Leonard Cohen |
| Find words and phrases used in Cohen’s poetry, prose, and songs. |
| This site, set up by Sony Music Canada, contains lists of Cohen’s records and all Cohen’s song lyrics. |
| Samuel Taylor Coleridge |
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A comprehensive site containing Coleridge’s poetry, literary theory and criticism, and links to additional resources. |
| E. E. Cummings |
| This site contains links to biographical, critical, and bibliographical information about E. E. Cummings and his poetry. |
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This website contains full-text articles on the poetry of E. E. Cummings. |
| Emily Dickinson |
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A detailed biography and links to critical essays and articles. |
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An explication of Dickinson’s poem. |
| John Donne |
| A comprehensive site on Donne’s life and works, with links to essays and additional resources. |
| T. S. Eliot |
| Several brief essays on Eliot’s poem. |
| A biographical essay and critical essays on several of Eliot’s poems. |
| A page devoted to T. S. Eliot and his life. |
| Robert Frost |
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An annotation of Frost’s poem “Design.” |
| A biographical essay and critical essays on several of Frost’s poems. |
| Robert Herrick |
| A comprehensive site on Herrick’s life and works, with links to essays and additional resources. |
| Gerard Manley Hopkins |
| A comprehensive site on Hopkin’s life and works, and the history and politics of his time. |
| Ben Jonson |
| A comprehensive site on Jonson’s life and works, with links to essays and additional resources. |
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An explication of Jonson’s poem. |
| John Keats |
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An online gallery hosted by the British Library. |
| An analysis of Keat’s poem. |
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A collection of resources dedicated to the second generation Romantic poet. |
| Dorothy Livesay |
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A biography, list of publications, and list of critical materials on Livesay’s work. |
| A detailed biography. |
| Christopher Marlowe |
| A comprehensive site on Marlowe’s life and works, with links to essays and additional resources. |
| This site is dedicated to the study of Marlowe as an innovative poet. |
| Notes on “The Passionate Shepherd to His Love” and “The Nymph’s Reply to the Shepherd.” |
| John Milton |
| A comprehensive site on Milton’s life and works, with links to essays and additional resources. |
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Devoted to the life, literature, and times of John Milton. |
| Ezra Pound |
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A list of recommended Pound websites, and a BBC radio interview. |
| A short biography and links to some of Pound’s most famous literary works. |
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A critical essay by Donald Lyons. |
| Al Purdy |
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A biography, list of publications, and list of critical materials on Purdy’s work. |
| Sir Walter Ralegh |
| A comprehensive site on Ralegh’s life and works, with links to essays and additional resources. |
| Notes on “The Passionate Shepherd to His Love” and “The Nymph’s Reply to the Shepherd.” |
| Adrienne Rich |
| A biographical essay and critical essays on several of Rich’s poems. |
| Several brief essays on Rich’s poem. |
| Duncan Campbell Scott |
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A biography and a selection of the poet’s work. |
| William Shakespeare |
| A paraphrase and analysis of “Sonnet 18.” |
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This page contains the text to “Sonnet 73,” a paraphrased version, and a commentary. |
| A paraphrase and analysis of “Sonnet 116.” |
| A paraphrase and analysis of “Sonnet 130.” |
| Alfred Lord Tennyson |
| A site designed for students, containing notes on the poem, illustrations, and additional links. |
| A comprehensive site on Tennyson’s life and work, with links to essays and additional resources. Contains information on how to write an essay about Tennyson’s poetry! |
| Tom Wayman |
| An essay by Wendy Keitner. |
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This site includes a biography on the life of Tom Wayman, a list of his literary works, his writing philosophy, a list of published works, and other resources. |
| William Wordsworth |
| This museum provides information about the centre for British Romanticism and home of William Wordsworth. |
| This site contains an extensive list of links to biographical, biblographical, critical, and historical information. |
| William Butler Yeats |
| This site contains information on Yeats’s career and writing. |
| Plays |
| Henrik Ibsen |
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A celebration of Ibsen on the 100th anniversary of his death. Contains biographies, links, and a list of plays in production. |
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An e-text of Hedda Gabler with an introduction by William Archer. |
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An interview with Cate Blanchett on playing Hedda Gabler. |
| A Hedda Gabler Study Guide. |
| Ann-Marie MacDonald |
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This site contains biographies of Ann-Marie MacDonald, a list of books and literary award, reviews, quotes, and links to extra resources. |
| This essay gives a detailed description of the play, including explanations and examples of certain themes, symbols, and other literary devices. |
| William Shakespeare |
| Shakespeare Illustrated explores nineteenth-century paintings, criticism, and productions of Shakespeare’s plays and their influences on one another. |
| Renaissance Drama from its medieval origins to the closing of the theatres. |
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Lectures on the substance and construction of Shakespeare’s Tragedies, including Othello. |
| Shakespeare: his biography and dramas, and Elizabethan times. |
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The text of Othello can be found here. |
| General Sites |
| A guide to Internet resources in theatre and performance studies. |
| An online encyclopedia of Canadian theatre and drama. |
| Dozens of links to literary sites. |
| A comprehensive website dedicated to poetry and poets. |
| The Victorian Web is a comprehensive website dedicated to all aspects of Victorian society, culture, aesthetics, authors, literary canon, and genres. |
| A website for humanities research with links to humanities and humanities-related resources. |
| Writing and Glossary Sites |
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Available through Athabasca University Library. |
| This site is designed to assist Athabasca University students with essay writing. |