Content: This module enables third-year students to develop further their existing skills in the core literary critical activity of commentary and analysis. You will already have practised such skills extensively during the first-year Criticism course, and in the commentaries which you have written each term for your tutor throughout the BA programme. You will also have encountered the practice of commentary and analysis, also known as close reading, in seminars and lectures throughout the three years of your degree. The module offers further opportunities to practise and enhance your skills in the critical analysis of unseen passages and poems. Teaching is primarily in seminars, to enable hands-on application and refinement of close reading strategies while also extending your knowledge and understanding of literary genres, forms, and techniques. By the end of the course you will be confident in practising critical commentary and analysis at an advanced level.

The module will cover the following topics:

Analysis of different genres (poetry, prose, drama)
 Analysis of texts from a range of periods
 Commentary on single unseen texts
 Comparison of two or more unseen poems or passages.
Teaching Delivery: Teaching is primarily in seminars, with 4 per term through the autumn and spring terms. Under the guidance of a seminar leader, you will read and discuss unseen poems and passages, sharing ideas and supporting each other in developing your observation and understanding of literary techniques, your analysis of their effects, and your ability to draw together your responses into a coherent and purposeful argument. A small amount of preparatory reading will be required in advance of seminars and will be distributed in advance by your seminar leader. There will also be 2-3 lectures providing guidance on productive approaches to unseen texts, and on how to organise your observations and responses into well-structured and effective critical essays.

Critical Commentary and Analysis is a compulsory module for all third-year BA students in English, except those taking three or more medieval or language-related optional modules, who may choose to substitute an alternative module.

By the end of the module, you should be able to:

Demonstrate critical appreciation by responding sensitively to unseen texts from a range of genres and periods
 Apply advanced critical and analytical skills to diverse texts with confidence
 Analyse texts either singly or in comparison
 Recognise a wide range of literary techniques and analyse their effects using a wide-ranging and appropriate critical vocabulary
 Share and develop critical responses orally in a group setting
 Organise your responses to texts into coherent and purposeful essays.
Assessment is by a six-hour desk examination, offering a choice of passages of prose, poetry, and drama for commentary and analysis. Passages will be drawn from a range of literary periods; some will be for comment on their own, others in pairs or groups for comparison. You should not write more than in a three-hour exam, but should use the extra time for reading, thinking, and planning.

Recommended Reading: There is no prescribed reading for the course, but a list of background reading on practical criticism (another name for critical commentary and analysis) and writing about poetry is available on the course’s Moodle page. You will also find it useful to consult:

Chris Baldick, Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms, revd edn (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008) – available online from UCL Library.