Course Details in 2026/27 Session

Module Title	LH Love Poetry
School	Eng, Drama, & Creative Studies
Department	English Literature
Module Code	09 30633
Module Lead	Andrew Hodgson
Level	Honours Level
Credits	20
Semester	Semester 1
Pre-requisites
Co-requisites
Restrictions	None
Contact Hours	Lecture-10 hours Seminar-20 hours Guided independent study-170 hours Total: 200 hours
Exclusions
Description	The experience of love lies behind some of the most exhilarating poems written in English, as well as some of the worst. This module explores visions of and responses to love in English poetry since Shakespeare. Students will trace the development of the love poetry in English over four centuries, asking, asking how far poetry on the subject has changed and remained consistent and what the development of the genre suggests about our evolving sense of the significance of love. We will ask whether the love poem can be understood as a coherent genre or as a loose label for poems on a similar but diverse experience – and what our answer to that question suggest about the nature of love itself. Emphasis throughout will be on poetry as an art form capable of unique eloquence about the pleasures and pains of love: discussion will be grounded in questions of verbal artistry and imaginative depth; but lectures and seminars will also entail reaching out into questions about gender and poetry’s interaction with the culture of which it is a part. The course will range widely, taking in short lyrics as well as longer meditative and narrative poems: authors discussed will range widely, but may include such poets as Shakespeare, Donne, Rochester, Behn, Pope, Shelley, Emily Brontë, Rossetti, Hardy, Auden, Berryman, Cope.
Learning Outcomes	By the end of the module students should be able to: demonstrate knowledge of love poetry in English since Shakespeare and an ability to understand individual works within the context of the genre at large. analyse in detail the formal workings of major poems in the genre and respond in depth to nuances of tone and language. demonstrate advanced understanding of the literary and/or historical contexts in which love poetry is written. conduct a persuasive written response to poems from the genre over a 4,000 word essay, engaging in detail with primary and secondary sources.
Assessment	30633-01 : 4,000 Word Essay : Coursework (100%)
Assessment Methods & Exceptions	Assessment: 4,000 word essay Reassessment: 4,000 word essay
Other
Reading List