• This course serves as a comprehensive overview of poetic form, function, and analysis as these pertain to France and French literary history.  Certain objectives of the course are primarily historical or analytical, including a detailed study of the development, epistemology, and theorization of the genre(s); the acquisition of new vocabulary terms specific to poetic analysis while expanding on those familiar; and a survey of some of the francophone world's best poets from the Middle Ages to the present.  Other objectives of the course are more performative -- reading poetry, analyzing the metrical and rhythmic patterns of texts and the rhetorical tropes or stylistic devices present in them, learning translation techniques, and composing pastiches and original works in French.
• In addition to homework and preparation for quizzes and exams, students should be prepared to contribute to the learning environment of the classroom as a whole and to participate in daily group/partner activities.

• The majority of course materials are available on-line via the course program below;
• The course also requires students to perform some research at the library and to consult materials placed on reserve;
• Photocopies of authentic French texts will be distributed periodically.

• Class Participation / Attendance
• Quizzes (5)
• Homework / Projects (4)

• Written Exams (2) 
• Textual Analysis

Rationale : While the primary focus of this course is literary in nature, students will continue to hone their linguistic abilities in French.  Many language skills are difficult, if not impossible, to acquire in isolation, and the number of contact hours spent manipulating a foreign language is directly related to the success each student has in learning that language.  Cultural immersion aside, the classroom is often the arena that affords the most opportunities for contextualized language use.  Furthermore, since this course entails a good deal of interactive, in-class discussion and manipulation of texts, it is imperative that students be present to share in this process.  To ensure that students take full advantage of the classroom environment, the following attendance policy has been adopted :

1. Attendance will be taken at the beginning of each class session.
2. A student arriving to class after roll has been called will be counted as absent.
3. As this course meets just once weekly, each student is permitted only (1) unexcused absence without penalty.
4. Each unexcused absence beyond the first will result in the reduction of the course grade by three (3) percentage points.  (Example: A student whose average is 91 [A-], but who has 2 unexcused absences, will receive an 88 [B+] for the course).
5. Serious illness, family emergencies, or conflict with a university-sponsored activity (athletics, music groups, etc.) may be excusable with documentation.  Such cases will be handled on an individual basis.
6. Make-up policy : Eligibility to make up quizzes and exams is reserved for those who supply documentation for their absence and/or have made prior arrangements to reschedule such work.
7. Absence from class on one day does not excuse lack of preparation on the following day.  Students are responsible for contacting the instructor to learn of important announcements, assignments, etc. made during their absence.

• Quizzes are brief (10-15 minute) evaluative tools that focus on specific elements of class- and homework. 
• There will be five quizzes throughout the semester (see program for dates, subject)
• Quizzes are based on a scale of 30 points; they will thus total 150 points throughout the semester.

• The majority of class time will be devoted to interactive application of the materials presented in the homework; therefore, it is expected that each student be prepared by carefully reading the assigned materials prior to coming to class.
• Homework assignments need not be typed, but should be submitted in legible handwriting.  Please note the page and exercise numbers for each at the top.
• Written work is to be submitted at the beginning of the class session for which it has been assigned.  It is expected that no homework be late; in rare instances when a student is absent from class, s/he should remember to hand in the assignment in class the next day or the work will be considered late.  Late homework will receive no credit.

• Four projects will be completed throughout the course of the semester that are more involved than the typical homework assignments.  The general format for these assignments follows; a more detailed description of and instructions for each project will be distributed at a later time.

1) Study of Rhyme & Meter.
• Students will “dissect” a pre-selected versified text, identifying its various architectural elements, including :
• type(s) of rhyme present : masculine/feminine, rich/sufficient/poor, crossed/flat/embraced, etc.;
• metrical pattern : syllabification, placement of pauses/caesurae, enjambments, etc.;
• layout : stanzaic division, typographical arrangement, punctuation, etc.
2) Figures of Style / Rhetorical Devices.
• Students will select one of several texts provided and detail each of the figures of style present.
3) Pastiche or Performance. 
• Students will practice the art of pastiche (an imitation of a masterwork), creating their own versions of an existing French text, or memorize and perform a text of their choosing (subject to approval by the instructor) for the class.
4) Translation or Original Poem.
• Students will select one of various French poems from a list provided by the instructor and render it into English, preserving, where possible, all of the stylistic elements present in the original or pen a poem of their own in French.

• Two written exams will be administered in this course : one “midterm” and a “final”.  While each exam will focus on the material covered since the previous exam, the instructor's approach to learning is at once comprehensive and recursive.  This said, students should review all course materials prior to the final exam.
• Exams will measure the students’ knowledge of poetic history, their ability to identify various literary devices and to perform various analytical procedures, and their familiarity with the French/francophone masters of the genre.
• A review session will be held for each exam; you should review materials prior to that time and be prepared to ask relevant and specific questions.

• Students will synthesize what they have learned this semester by undertaking a textual analysis.  Students will select a text from a list of options provided and detail all of its noteworthy qualities (architectural elements, rhyme, meter, arrangement, punctuation, figures of style, tone, etc.) in a well-organized study of 4-5 pages in length.
• A reasonably polished draft will be submitted on October 30, and will account for 5% of the course grade.
• The final draft, due on the last day of class (December 4) will account for 10% of the course grade.

• It is the instructor’s policy to actively enforce the “Code of Academic Integrity” as outlined in the University’s General Bulletin (p. 34).  Students are asked to please familiarize themselves with the university’s definition of and stance regarding academic dishonesty.
• Students who may require exceptional classroom or evaluation environments (due to a learning disability, physical impairment, or the like) are asked to identify themselves to the instructor at the onset of the course, so that modified or alternative accommodations may be arranged.