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Introducing Week Four

In this video, Dr Alexandra Kingston-Reese introduces the material we will cover this week. Writing about poetry will form our central focus for this week. What do you want to …

The Ghazal

In this article, Professor Claire Chambers explores the history of the ghazal. Ghazal poetry is an intimate and short lyric form of verse from the Middle East and South Asia. …

If you’ve enjoyed Week Three…

In this article, Dr JT Welsch explores further avenues of study if you would like to find out more about intertextuality, translation, or ekphrasis. As we heard this week, the …

The Sonnet: Making Time

In this article, Professor Brian Cummings explores time in the sonnet – have a look at the ‘see also’ section to find the poems that Professor Cummings’ examines in this …

A very short history of poetic form

In this video, Professor Hugh Haughton gives a very short history of poetic form, focusing on the sonnet form. Below, we’ve enclosed links to some of the sonnets Professor Hugh …

How to read a line

In this article, Dr Kenneth Clarke explores how to read a line a poetry. This article aims to help you think about the different ways you can approach poetry, and …

Summing up week three

Dr Alexandra Kingston-Reese, our course convener, sums up the material that we have covered in week three of our course, ‘How to Read a Poem’. This week, we’ve discussed intertextuality, …

Poetry and its therapeutic use

In this article, Flora Sagers, a PhD student at the University of York and one of our course educators, details poetry’s therapeutic potential. The best moments in reading are when …

‘Handfast’ and its intertexts

In this article, Professor Helen Smith discusses the intertexts of Vahni Capildeo’s poem, ‘Handfast’, from Capildeo’s collection Measures of Expatriation. In our Downloads section, you can find a full version …

Tracing Intertexts – (II)

In this video, Vahni Capildeo traces the intertextual relationship between the contemporary poetry of Caroline Bergvall and the Middle English poetry of Geoffrey Chaucer. Find out how these poets are …