ENGL 90705 - Objectivism in 20th Century American Poetry

Institution:

University of Notre Dame

Subject:

English

Description:

In the 1930s a small group of American poets, following the lead of Ezra Pound and William Carlos Williams, launched a movement called "Objectivism," which concretized one of the major strains that runs through the entire history of American poetry. This Objectivist strain values facts over myths, Imagist precision over rhetorical sublimity, the vernacular over traditional poetic diction, an investigation of language over an adherence to traditional poetic forms, social and historical subject matter over lyric introspection. In its initial form, Objectivism was also a potent speaker on issues of class and ethnicity, informed most particularly by the Jewish secularism that defined its early immigrant practitioners. Although it would be difficult to locate more than a handful of "pure" Objectivists, the Objectivist strain exerts a powerful influence upon a vast range of poets and poetries. This semester we will investigate the contribution of Objectivism to the poetry and poetics of Pound, Williams, Charles Reznikoff, Louis Zukofsky, Lorine Niedecker, George Oppen, Charles Olson, Jack Spicer, Robert Duncan, Lyn Hejinian, and Susan Howe

Credits:

3.00

Credit Hours:

Prerequisites:

Corequisites:

Exclusions:

Level:

Instructional Type:

Lecture

Notes:

Additional Information:

Historical Version(s):

Institution Website:

www.nd.edu

Phone Number:

(574) 631-5000

Regional Accreditation:

North Central Association of Colleges and Schools

Calendar System:

Semester

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