Cirrus@Austlit

This unit provides a study of poetry in English from the United Kingdom to the USA and Australia, and draws on the entire period from Medieval times to the present. Poetry is a rather marginalised art in contemporary Western societies, including Australia, but those involved in it tend to believe in its value passionately. This derives from the belief that poetry is the deepest form of human expression, certainly the most profound form that language ever attains. The unit examines poetry and poetic language, covering both technical and philosophical elements of poetry and relating them to shifts in cultural values during the period studied.