Program Overview

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English - Poetry

Overview

Poetry is, quite simply, the activity for which Queen’s University is best known around the world. Nobel Laureate Seamus Heaney was both a student and lecturer here at Queen’s, and other famous poet-alumni of the university include Ciaran Carson, Paul Muldoon and Medbh McGuckian. Heaney was a founding member of the famous ‘Belfast Group’ in the 1960s, a forum in which young poets came together with critics to discuss their work and the craft of good poetry more generally. The fruitful interaction of creative and critical activity is at the heart of what this unique MA offers.

Drawing on our long-standing reputation for producing distinguished critics and poets, this programme's creative-critical intersections make it suitable for a new generation of poets and critics alike. Students will be joining an academic environment with a world-leading expertise in the critical appreciation, writing, and understanding of modern poetry.

As a student on the MA in Poetry: Creativity and Criticism you can choose to follow either a critical or a creative pathway, or a combination of the two. Students who follow a critical pathway will be joining an academic environment with a long-standing reputation for the critical appreciation, reception and understanding of modern poetry. Poets who come to develop their own creative writing have the unique opportunity of working with some of Ireland's most renowned poets.

English - Poetry highlights

• World Class Facilities
• Student Experience
• Internationally Renowned Experts
• Further Study Opportunities

Course Structure

• Full-time students take 3 taught modules in each semester (the core ‘Reading and Writing Poetry’ module in semester 1 is a ‘double’ module), followed by the dissertation.
• Part-time students take 3 modules in each year, on either a 1+2 or 2+1 model across the two semesters, and the dissertation either in the summer at the end of their second year, or from September to May in their third year.

Semester One Modules

• ENG7307: Reading and Writing Poetry. Compulsory. 40 CATS. Weekly workshop and weekly seminar.
• ENG7300: Form in Poetry. Compulsory. 20 CATS. Weekly seminar.

Semester Two Modules (Indicative)

• ENG7301: The Poetry Collection. Compulsory. 20 CATS.
• ENG7305: Irish Poetry. Optional. 20 CATS.
• ENG7094: The Poetry Workshop. Optional. 20 CATS.
• ENG7375: Love Poetry. Optional. 20 CATS.
• ENG7119 or ENG7199: Fulbright Special Option (tbc). 20 CATS.

The MA is awarded to students who successfully complete compulsory and optional taught modules totalling 120 CATS points and a dissertation of either a 15,000-word thesis or a poetry portfolio of 30 pages plus 3000 word accompanying commentary (60 CATS points).

Exit qualifications are available: students may exit with a Postgraduate Diploma by successfully completing 120 CATS points from taught modules or a Postgraduate Certificate by successfully completing 60 CATS points from taught modules.

Compulsory Modules

• Form in Poetry
• Reading and Writing Poetry
• The Poetry Collection

Optional Modules

• Irish Poetry
• Love Poetry
• The Poetry Workshop
• Fulbright Scholar special option

Course Details

In semester 1 students explore a range of writings – both poetry and criticism – through concepts and themes such as: Art, Love, Death, Animals, Nonsense, Music, Weather, Work. Poets studied in the seminars include Yeats, Plath, Auden, Eliot, Bishop, and Heaney. Students are introduced to the form and language of poetry, as well as to the historical dimensions of, and contexts for, various poetic forms – both traditional and experimental. The writing workshops involve detailed discussion of students’ own poetry, which they can bring to class for feedback from the tutor and other students. In semester 2 students study contemporary poetry collections, focusing on the ways in which the structure of a given poetry collection contributes to the overall meaning of the work, as well as choosing from specialist options which include Irish poetry, Love poetry, and writing workshops. The optional module list is indicative only.

Dissertation

Dissertation of up to 15,000 words or a poetry portfolio of 30 pages plus commentary on an agreed topic for the MA.

People teaching you

• Dr Dawn Watson
• Dr Gail McConnell
• Dr Stephen Sexton
• Prof Fran Brearton
• Professor Leontia Flynn

Teaching Times

Teaching is typically on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday mornings or afternoons.

Learning and Teaching

You will have the chance to take a variety of modules and to develop writing and research projects of unique interest to you.

• You will be part of a cohort of poets and critics who you’ll get to know well in weekly seminars and workshops, and you’ll be taught and supervised by a small staff team who are passionate about the reading and writing of poetry.

Assessment

Assessments associated with the course are outlined below:

• Creative portfolios
• Essays
• Learning Journal

Entrance requirements

• Normally a strong 2.2 Honours degree or equivalent qualification acceptable to the University either in English, or in Comparative or World Literature, or in Creative Writing; or joint or combined Honours with English, Literature, or Creative Writing as a major subject.
• In addition, applicants are required to submit a sample of literary-critical written work (eg an essay on literature completed as part of an undergraduate degree), and, for those who also wish to pursue creative assessment options, a sample of 8-10 poems/pages of poetry, which will be assessed to determine if an offer of admission can be made.
• Applicants who wish to pursue creative writing-only assessment normally require a 2.2 Honours degree or equivalent qualification acceptable to the University in any discipline and are required to submit a sample of original written work (8-10 poems/pages of poetry) which will be assessed to determine if an offer of admission can be made.
• Exceptions may be made in the case of applicants with a strong track record of publication, prize-winning, or relevant professional experience.

International Students

• Our country/region pages include information on entry requirements, tuition fees, scholarships, student profiles, upcoming events and contacts for your country/region.

English Language Requirements

• Evidence of an IELTS* score of 6.5, with not less than 5.5 in any component, or an equivalent qualification acceptable to the University is required.
• *Taken within the last 2 years.

Tuition Fees

• Northern Ireland (NI) £7,300
• Republic of Ireland (ROI) £7,300
• England, Scotland or Wales (GB) £9,250
• EU Other £21,500
• International £21,500

Additional course costs

• There are no specific additional course costs associated with this programme.

Career Prospects

• Graduates of the programme have a good employment record, entering professions such as publishing, journalism, arts administration, events organisation, the media, public relations, teaching, advertising, business and industry.
• The programme has an outstanding track record of student success in publication, and of graduates continuing their studies into (funded) PhDs in modern poetry or creative writing.

Prizes and Awards

• Students may apply for the Ireland Chair of Poetry Student Award (each worth €1,000), open to students studying for Masters degrees in Creative Writing or in Poetry in three Irish academic institutions.

Graduate Plus/Future Ready Award for extra-curricular skills

• In addition to your degree programme, at Queen's you can have the opportunity to gain wider life, academic and employability skills.
• For example, placements, voluntary work, clubs, societies, sports and lots more.
• So not only do you graduate with a degree recognised from a world leading university, you'll have practical national and international experience plus a wider exposure to life overall.
• We call this Graduate Plus/Future Ready Award.
• It's what makes studying at Queen's University Belfast special.

Modules

Form in Poetry

• Overview: A discussion and analysis of how poetic form in general is produced, this module introduces students to the form and language of poetry as well as the historical dimensions of, and contexts for, various poetic forms.
• Learning Outcomes: On completion of the module, students should have acquired a knowledge of some set verse forms in English, their adaptation by poets within the tradition, and how poetic material can shape itself.
• Skills: By the end of the module, all students will have acquired improved skills at recognising and using poetic forms.
• Coursework: 100%
• Examination: 0%
• Practical: 0%
• Credits: 20
• Module Code: ENG7300
• Teaching Period: Autumn
• Duration: 11 weeks
• Pre-requisite: No
• Core/Optional: Core

Reading and Writing Poetry

• Overview: Inspired by the original ‘Belfast Group’ workshops, attended by both poets and critics, this module provides the opportunity for students to analyse and evaluate new and established writing (by themselves, or by others as appropriate) and in the process to engage with different approaches to the reading, writing, and analysis of poetry.
• Learning Outcomes: By the end of the module, all students will have developed and honed their analytical skills in interpreting and evaluating poetry; they will also, as appropriate, enhance their creative writing skills and/or their knowledge of key critical debates about poetry in the 20th and into the 21st centuries.
• Skills: An ability to analyse poetry at a sophisticated level; enhanced skill in the writing or interpretation of new work; the ability to identify and evaluate the implications of poets writing on poetry; enhanced communication and group-work skills in a context of creative and critical intersection.
• Coursework: 100%
• Examination: 0%
• Practical: 0%
• Credits: 40
• Module Code: ENG7307
• Teaching Period: Autumn
• Duration: 11 weeks
• Pre-requisite: No
• Core/Optional: Core

The Poetry Collection

• Overview: Students, whether creatively or critically focused, research and discuss the different demands made on the work of the poet by a range of relevant archival, critical, and creative contexts.
• Learning Outcomes: To promote the understanding of the relation between the creative writing of, and the critical response to, poetry situating analyses within the main methodological approaches to poetry developed in the modern and contemporary periods.
• Skills: The ability to link critical reading to creative writing in a written exercise that is fluent in the relevant creative and critical terminology of any given poetic debate; the ability to produce cogent critical readings of the craft of poetic creation.
• Coursework: 100%
• Examination: 0%
• Practical: 0%
• Credits: 20
• Module Code: ENG7301
• Teaching Period: Spring
• Duration: 11 weeks
• Pre-requisite: No
• Core/Optional: Core

Dissertation Modern Poetry

• Overview: This double-weighted module comprises independent research on a topic that develops from the taught modular coursework.
• Learning Outcomes: By the end of the module you will: have a developed critical understanding of the study of modern poetry; have developed the skills needed to conduct an independent line of research; be able to organise and develop a complex argument into which detailed points are judiciously integrated; be able to write a cogent, well-illustrated dissertation, which displays originality in terms of consistent thinking and application of ideas, concepts and theories; be able to use appropriate resources to investigate research questions or support findings; be able to write a dissertation which adheres to scholarly norms of presentation and reference.
• Skills: The module will provide an opportunity to explore, to investigate and to identify themes for research within the field of Irish writing.
• Coursework: 100%
• Examination: 0%
• Practical: 0%
• Credits: 60
• Module Code: ENG7309
• Teaching Period: Summer
• Duration: 11 weeks
• Pre-requisite: No
• Core/Optional: Core

Special Topic Irish Writing

• Overview: This is a Special Topic module offered by a visiting Fulbright Distinguished Scholar.
• Learning Outcomes: On successful completion of this module students will achieve a detailed and complex understanding of an aspect of modern Irish Literature in English.
• Skills: Students will acquire and / or develop the skills of: close critical reading of primary material; the synthesis and weighing of different, sometimes competing, interpretations of literary texts; contextualisation of primary texts in relation to a range of historical and cultural narratives.
• Coursework: 100%
• Examination: 0%
• Practical: 0%
• Credits: 20
• Module Code: ENG7119
• Teaching Period: Spring
• Duration: 11 weeks
• Pre-requisite: No
• Core/Optional: Optional

Irish Poetry

• Overview: The module will examine key figures and movements in Irish poetry through the twentieth and into the twenty-first century.
• Learning Outcomes: Upon completion of the module, students will have: the ability to situate Irish poetry in its complex historical and political contexts; an understanding of the debates surrounding the politics of form in Irish poetry from Yeats to the present day; a refined and heightened grasp of the forms and themes of poetry; an awareness of the workings of literary influence in the Irish tradition; an understanding of the critical debates surrounding the reception of Irish poetry.
• Skills: The following skills will be developed and enhanced through the module: the ability to analyse the nuances of poetic form through close reading of individual poems; the ability to relate poetry to its historical, social and political context; the ability to trace and analyse literary influences; the ability to assess and intervene in critical debate about Irish poetry.
• Coursework: 100%
• Examination: 0%
• Practical: 0%
• Credits: 20
• Module Code: ENG7305
• Teaching Period: Spring
• Duration: 11 weeks
• Pre-requisite: No
• Core/Optional: Optional

Poetry: Creative Writing Workshop

• Overview: Poetry Creative Writing Workshop.
• Learning Outcomes: To further promote writing of poetry, self-criticism and revision; to develop class-dialogue about poetry and each other's work.
• Skills: Further development of creative-writing skills in the genre of poetry.
• Coursework: 100%
• Examination: 0%
• Practical: 0%
• Credits: 20
• Module Code: ENG7094
• Teaching Period: Spring
• Duration: 11 weeks
• Pre-requisite: No
• Core/Optional: Optional

Special Topic Creative Writing

• Overview: This is a Special Topic module offered by a visiting Fulbright Distinguished Scholar in Creative Writing.
• Learning Outcomes: On successful completion of this module students will have examined an aspect of creative writing and will have written extensively in the appropriate form or genre.
• Skills: Students will acquire and / or develop the skills of: close critical reading of primary material; the synthesis and weighing of different, sometimes competing, interpretations of literary texts; contextualisation of primary texts in relation to a range of historical and cultural narratives.
• Coursework: 100%
• Examination: 0%
• Practical: 0%
• Credits: 20
• Module Code: ENG7199
• Teaching Period: Spring
• Duration: 11 weeks
• Pre-requisite: No
• Core/Optional: Optional