Undergraduate Course: Literary Studies 1A (ENLI08020)
Course Outline
| School | School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 8 (Year 1 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This course aims to offer a space in which students can begin to explore what reading literature at university level entails. Students will be invited to explore different models of authorship, readership and textuality, in order to reflect on how meaning is produced in the genres of poetry and drama. For example, how do we identify metre and rhythm? What do terms like 'caesura' and 'parallelis' mean, and what are they used for? In drama there is a big difference between reading a play on the page and seeing it performed on a stage - how do we get from one to the other? This course will explore the key terms and concepts needed to address such questions and enable students to read previously unseen texts confidently at a first reading. |
| Course description |
On this course you will be encouraged to develop your close-reading skills in two of the core literary genres - poetry and drama. You will acquire the key specialist terminology associated with each genre through the study of the technical vocabulary you need to identify and explain how a literary text engages with accepted conventions. While some texts will be studied in full, lectures and tutorials will draw on a variety of examples by writers from diverse backgrounds to ensure you are introduced to some key concepts in literary criticism (e.g., formalism, performativity) and are encouraged to reflect on how diverse experiences and context affect the discussion of authorship and readership. Lectures will provide you with appropriate terminology and demonstrate how this is used in practice; to consolidate your understanding, you will undertake regular, formative exercises both individually and in small groups to prepare for broader discussion in weekly hour-long tutorials and engage with quizzes that will test your acquisition of technical vocabulary. In your final assessments, you will be expected to demonstrate how you can reflect upon and apply what you have learned by submitting two close readings for summative assessment.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | Students MUST also take:
Literary Studies 1B (ENLI08021)
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| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | AH/A level English or Scottish Literature or equivalent. |
| Additional Costs | Course Texts |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2026/27, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: 440 |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 22,
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 11,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
163 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
50 %,
Coursework
50 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Coursework Essay on Prose (1,600 words; take-home, time-limited assessment) (50%) (LO 1, 3, 4)
Final 2-hour Examination on Poetry (50%) (LO 2, 3, 4)
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| Feedback |
Autonomous Learning Group activities (weekly) LO 1, 2, 3, 4; Weekly individual preparation exercises LO 1, 2, 3, 4. |
| Exam Information |
| Exam Diet |
Paper Name |
Minutes |
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| Main Exam Diet S1 (December) | Literary Studies 1A: Examination on Poetry | 120 | |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Identify and employ literary critical terms to analyse prose
- Identify and employ literary critical terms to analyse poetry
- Produce critical close readings that show understanding of genre and varieties of form
- Provide textual evidence to critically evaluate how texts produce different literary effects
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Communication skills (verbal and written); interpersonal skills; critical thinking; team working; independent learning and development. |
| Additional Class Delivery Information |
2 one-hour Lectures per week, plus one-hour tutorial. |
| Keywords | Literary studies,poetry,drama,close reading,technical language |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Alan Gillis
Tel: (0131 6)50 3050
Email: Alan.Gillis@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Miss Hope Hamilton
Tel: (0131 6)50 4167
Email: hope.hamilton@ed.ac.uk |
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