Modernism and British Poetry Assignment

Today I set the assignment for this course. Some of you were absent, so for those who were, and for ease of reference for all of you, here are the details again:

For this assessment you are required to combine a short piece of ‘creative’ writing with a longer, more substantial piece of critical writing.

Part One

You should write a short pastiche of a ‘Modernist’ poem – that is, a piece of work that might pass for writing from the Modernist period (in the style, say, of W. B. Yeats, Ezra Pound, H.D., T.S. Eliot, or any other poet from this period).  This should be no longer than two sides of A4 (though one should be sufficient) and can be on any subject. You may write an original piece in the style of a Modernist writer, or you might like to re-write a poem from an earlier period (you may find a short Romantic poem a good starting point)

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(The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms describes a pastiche as ‘a literary work composed from elements borrowed either from various other writers or from a particular earlier author. The term can be used in a derogatory sense to indicate a lack of originality, or more neutrally to refer to works that involve a deliberate and playfully imitative tribute to other writers.’)

Part Two

For the second part of the assessment you should then write a short commentary (of approximately 750 words) on your pastiche in the form of a close critical analysis. This is the most important part of the assignment: you will be marked not on the quality of your pastiche but on the quality of the critical comments you make about it.

In this critical commentary you should explain what is being attempted in the creative piece; the ways in which its form is related to its content; and you should show by the use of detailed examples why you think it is characteristic of the Modernist experimental style.

Please note that the normal scholarly standards of essay-writing and presentation apply to this part of the assessment. Your pastiche can be as experimental in form as you like. Your commentary should be a well-structured, short essay.

You need not refer extensively to secondary reading but evidence of an engagement with Modernist practice and theory will be rewarded. In showing how your text is ‘Modernist’ you can (and should!) make comparisons with Modernist texts you have studied on the course.

This assignment will be worth 30% of your final mark.

DEADLINE: Completed assignments should be returned to the course tutor by 1pm on Thursday 23^rd December 2010.

DRAFTS: Feedback will be provided on any drafts submitted by Friday 17^th December. No feedback will be given on drafts submitted after that date. Drafts can be sent as Word attachments with an accompanying email to p.hart@iku.edu.tr.