Introduction to literary studies seminar for D. Theinová
Osnova sekce
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INTRODUCTION TO LITERARY STUDIES SEMINAR
WINTER SEMESTER 2025/2026
Daniela Theinová, PhD
Tuesday 17:30-19:10, Room 111
Wednesday 15:50-17:20, Room 18
Wednesday 17:30-19:00, Room 1Consultation hours: in person or online, by email appointment
Email: daniela.theinova@ff.cuni.cz
NB: Scroll below to access reading materials and questions/assignments for each upcoming class.
Link to the Moodle site of prof. Pilný’s Introduction to Literary Studies lecture: https://dl1.cuni.cz/course/view.php?id=12354
OBJECTIVES
The general aim of the seminar is to improve students’ reading and interpreting skills. Students are provided with an opportunity to test out in practice some of the knowledge gained in the lecture and to discuss the critical terms with which they were acquainted. The seminar also includes several sessions focused on the use of some basic terms of poetics in an analysis of specific poems. Formal properties of the academic essay are applied in the students’ final written projects.
SYLLABUS – WINTER SEMESTER 2025/26
THE SCHEDULE AND THE SELECTION OF READING MATERIALS IN THE SYLLABUS IS TENTATIVE; please scroll below to find an updated reading list and questions for each week.
SYLLABUS – WINTER SEMESTER 2025/26
Please note that this outline is preliminary. Relevant topics and reading for each week of the course can be accessed below.
WEEK 1 (30 Sept and 1 Oct)
Introduction, Course Outline and Requirements
Introduction to researchWEEK 2 (7 and 8 Oct)
Figurative Language 1: Metaphor, Metonymy, Synecdoche
Definitions of the tropes, examples and discussion: Shakespeare, ShelleyWEEK 3 (14 and 15 Oct)
Figurative Language 2
Written assignment (deadline and topic to be announced)WEEK 4 (21 and 22 Oct)
Figurative Language 3: Irony
Examples and discussion: Shakespeare, SwiftWEEK 5 (28 and 39 Oct)
Poetic Form 1: Sound Patterning: Metre and Rhythm
Metrical form. Scansion.
Examples and discussion: Blake, WilsonWEEK 6 (4 and 5 Nov)
Poetic Form 2: Sound Patterning: Rhyme & Poems and Songs
Purpose and effects of sound patterning and rhyme.
Examples and discussion: Dickinson, DonneWEEK 7 (11 and 12 and Nov)
Poetic Form 3: Rhythm, Rhyme
Examples and discussion: Keats, Hopkins, RyanWEEK 8 (18 and 19 Nov)
NO CLASSES – Week for the Humanities
(Pick your poem and topic for the mid-term essay; start looking for secondary sources)
WEEK 9 (25 and 26 Nov)
Verse Forms
Overview of verse forms.
Examples and discussion: Bishop, D. ThomasWEEK 10 (2 and 3 Dec)
History of staging conventions, tragedy and comedy. Literary vs. dramatic text, modes and means of expression.
Discussion of J. M. Synge’s Riders to the SeaWEEK 11 (9 and 10 Dec)
Drama and Theatre II
Modern drama and theatre.
Discussion of Samuel Beckett’s Krapp’s Last TapePlease NOTE: ESSAYS must be uploaded on the course site by 23.59 on 12 December. Essays must be typed (as a WORD DOC not a PDF) and uploaded on the course Moodle site. For further instructions see below.
WEEK 12 (16 and 17 Dec)
Genre I
Criteria of classification; function and use of genre.
Discussion of Angela Carter’s “In the Company of Wolves”WEEK 13 (6 and 7 Jan)
Intertextuality, Allusion, AI
Definitions of terms
Examples and Discussion: Muldoon, McGuckian (selected extracts)
CONCLUSIONS: Course evaluations, essays evaluations, information on testMATERIAL
Recommended Reading:
Aristotle, Poetics.
Bredin, Hugh. "Comparisons and Similes". Lingua 105 (1998), 67-78.
Bredin, Hugh. "Metonymy". Poetics Today 5, no. 1 (1984): 45-58.
Cuddon, A.J., The Penguin Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory (London: Penguin, 1992).
Donoghue, Denis. Metaphor (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2014).
Fludernik, M., An Introduction to Narratology (Abingdon: Routledge, 2009).
Green, K. and LeBihan, J., Critical Theory and Practice (London: Routledge, 1996).
Herman, D., ed., The Cambridge Companion to Narrative (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007).
Hobsbaum, P., Metre, Rhythm and Verse Form (Abingdon: Routledge, 1996).
Montgomery, M., et al., Ways of Reading (London: Routledge, 1992).
Pavis, P., Dictionary of the Theatre: Terms, Concepts, and Analysis (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1998).
Preminger, A. and Brogan, T.V.F., The New Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1993).Further Reading on Poetry and Poetics:
Attridge, Derek. The Experience of Poetry: From Homer’s Listeners to Shakespeare’s Readers (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2019).
Maxwell, Glyn. On Poetry (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2016).
Lerner, Ben. The Hatred of Poetry (New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2016).
Longenbach, James. The Resistance to Poetry (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2004).
O’Donoghue, Bernard. On Poetry: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2019).Some Useful Links:
Poetry at Harvard | Guide to Poetic Terms
A list of terms for describing texts, with an emphasis on terms that apply specifically to poetry, that appear most frequently in literary criticism, or for which dictionary definitions tend to be unenlightening.Glossary | Representation Poetry Online (utoronto.ca)
Poetry: How to Read a Poem
A free online course presented by the English department at the University of York, inviting readers into the wonderful world of analysing poetry.COURSE REQUIREMENTS
1. ATTENDANCE & PARTICIPATION
Students are expected to attend classes. YOU ARE PERMITTED A MAXIMUM OF TWO ABSENCES.PARTICIPATION
Participation extends beyond mere attendance. Expect your instructor to keep track of how often you contribute, particularly during the class discussions of assigned readings and/or minor written assignments.2. MID-TERM ESSAY
(see below for DALC Essay Guidelines and for some useful tips on academic writing)
Select ONE of the following texts:
W.H. Auden, “As I Walked Out One Evening”
Elizabeth Bishop, “The Unbeliever”
Audre Lorde, “Who Said It Was Simple”
James Baldwin, “The Giver”AND address ONE of the following topics in relation to the text you have chosen:
1. Isolate elements of metaphor, simile, metonymy and irony in the text; discuss the ways in which these elements are used to echo/articulate the themes of the text structurally.
OR
2. Comment on the formal features of the text (e.g., the use of metre, sound patterning, verse form, and language). How do these features shape its meaning?NB The minimum length for the essay is 1 500 words, the maximum length is 1550 words (THE WORD LIMIT INCLUDES THE MAIN TEXT OF THE ESSAY AND FOOTNOTES; it excludes the bibliography). Essays must include full footnotes and bibliographical references for all works cited or paraphrased (in accordance with the Notes and Bibliography Chicago Style – please consult the UALK Chicago Guidelines). Emphasis will be placed on depth and sophistication of argument, and upon the component of original research. Students are advised not to use Internet sources in place of adequately researching texts available in print or via the Charles University eResources Portal (UKAŽ). Essays must be presented with attention to correct spelling and stylistics. The recommended number of secondary sources is four to five. These must include at least one monograph or collection of essays (published in a book form) on a relevant theme. Plagiarism will not be tolerated and will result in a fail grade. The use of generative AI for this assignment is prohibited.
The deadline for the submission of essays is 23:59 12 December 2024. Essays must be typed in WORD format (NO PDFs) and uploaded on the course Moodle site. Contact me by e-mail (prior to the deadline) if you encounter difficulties uploading your paper.
Extensions will only be granted on the basis of a consultation or written request accompanied by a doctor’s certificate. Students are advised that they may, at the lecturer’s discretion, be given the option of re-submission where essays have failed to achieve a satisfactory standard of argumentation. However, any rewrites must be submitted (by email or on the course site) by 19 January 2026.
You should use at leas 4 SECONDARY SOURCES in your essay. These must include at least 2 monographs or collections of essays (published in a book form) on a relevant theme. The recommended number of sources excludes references to dictionaries, dictionaries of literary terms or encyclopedias. You can include these, but only in addition to your other sources.
3. FINAL TEST
(Only for single-subject students; see below for details.)ASSESSMENT
Double-subject Students
WS (zápočet): Attendance (max. 2 unexplained absences) and active participation in class, mid-term essay: interpretation of poetry (1 500 words).
SS (zápočet): Attendance (max. 2 unexplained absences) and active participation in class, mid-term essay: narrative analysis (1 500 words).
Criteria of Assessment: All assignments will be awarded a letter grade. Credit (zápočet) for each semester will be given on the basis of receiving a pass grade (i.e., A to C-) for both essay and participation.
Single-subject Students:
WS (zápočet): Attendance (max. 2 unexplained absences) and active participation in class, mid-term essay: interpretation of poetry (1 500 words), final test on poetics and genre definitions.
SS (zápočet, zkouška): Attendance (max. 2 unexplained absences) and active participation in class, mid-term essay: narrative analysis (1 500 words), final test on narrative strategies and approaches to text (literary theories).
Criteria of Assessment: All assignments will be awarded a letter grade. Credit (zápočet) for each semester will be given on the basis of receiving a pass grade (i.e., A to C-) for essay, test and participation each. The final exam grade (after the summer semester) will be calculated from the results in the individual assignments.Composition of Final Exam Grade for Single Subject Students
Participation winter semester
10%
Participation summer semester
10%
Essay winter semester
25%
Essay summer semester
25%
Test winter semester
15%
Test summer semester
15%
Value of Individual Letter Grades Awarded for Assignments
10%
15%
25%
A
10
15
25
A-
9
13.5
22.5
B+
8.7
13
21.75
B
8.5
12.75
21.25
B-
8
12
20
C+
7.7
11.5
19.25
C
7.5
11.25
18.75
C-
7
10.5
17.5
Conversion of Grades to a Final FFUK Exam Grade
FFUK Grade
Letter Grade
Percent (%)
Generally Accepted Meaning
1
A
96-100
Outstanding work
A-
90-95
2
B+
87-89
Good work, distinctly above average
B
83-86
B-
80-82
3
C+
77-79
Acceptable work
C
73-76
C-
70-72
F
F
0-69
Work that does not meet minimum standards for passing the course
Example:
A student’s performance has been graded as follows:
Participation winter semester A- = 9
Participation summer semester B = 8.5
Essay winter semester A- = 22.5
Essay summer semester C = 18.75
Test winter semester C = 11.25
Test summer semester B = 12.75
The final exam grade is 2 (B-) = 82.75% -
