Dr. Hart’s Guide for Students: Using This Anthology
What You Will Find in this Anthology
This anthology serves as an introduction to Victorian era poetry and poetic theory. You will find background information on authors, genre, and form, as well as reading questions alongside the primary texts. When you come to class, I will expect that you have read the poems and are prepared to discuss the reading questions in writing, in small groups, and/or in discussion.
Background Information
Background information will generally precede the primary texts and will appear in burgundy textboxes such as this one.
Reading Questions
- Reading questions generally will precede the primary text. Very long works (Aurora Leigh, Maud, The Ring and the Book, etc.) may have reading questions interspersed inside the text.
- You should be prepared to address the reading questions in class, both in discussion and in writing.
- Sometimes a reading question will be part of a Hypothesis exercise. I will let you know when that’s afoot.
Supplementary Info / Context / Miscellanea
Items that I want you to have close to the readings and that do not fall into the category of background or reading questions will appear in green textboxes such as this one.
How to Use this Anthology FAQ
What formats is the anthology available in?
The anthology is available as online text, as a printable PDF, and as an EPUB book for Adobe Digital Editions, Apple Books, and/or Kindle. While you may use this text in whatever format works best for you (online or as a printed PDF), be aware that there are advantages and disadvantages to both. I’ve discussed some of these in the FAQ below. You may wish to experiment before you commit to a format for the semester.
Is there anything in the online version that doesn’t appear in the print version?
Yes. The anthology contains embedded links and videos that are only available in the online format.
But I need to annotate as I read, and I can’t do that with an online text.
But you can! I have equipped this anthology with a plug-in called Hypothesis that allows you to annotate the text and save your annotations so that they are visible only to you. See User Guide here, and let me know if you have questions.
I want a printed version. How can I get one?
My best advice is to print on campus using the copies allotted to you through your student fees.
But all that loose paper!
Do not attempt to deal with 100s of pages of loose material. That way lies madness. Instead, print the anthology all at one time, and then take the pages to the University Bookstore, the FedEx store, or an Office Max/Depot and have the pages spiral bound.
