5. Free Verse

About this Lecture

Lecture

In this module, Stephanie discusses free verse, arguing that it is misleading to think that just because free verse lacks the formality of the sonnet or the villanelle, that it cannot itself convey meaning in a poem. To demonstrate this, she discusses Jack Gilbert's 'Forgotten Dialect of the Heart', before exploring the potentially unwanted impact of more formal poetry.

Course

In this course, we look at the use of form in poetry. The purpose of this course is to demonstrate the many ways in which the form of a poem can convey meaning. This includes the use forms that are traditionally associated with certain themes - such as the sonnet or the heroic couplet - as well as poetic devices such as rhyme, repetition and anaphora. Poems discussed in detail include: 'Design' (Robert Frost), 'Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening' (Robert Frost), 'Because I could not stop for death' (Emily Dickinson), 'Squash Rackets' (Carmine Starnino), 'One Art' (Elizabeth Bishop), and 'The Forgotten Dialect of the Heart' (Jack Gilbert)

Lecturer

Stephanie Yorke is reading for a DPhil in English Literature at Wolfson College, Oxford. Her first collection of poetry was published by Signature Editions in April 2012. It's called 'Both Boys Climb Trees They Can't Climb Down'.