ENLT 2523

The whole class is based out of his anthology. You usually read 2 poets a week. The reading is manageable as it is only poetry, but you should spend time on it to get the most out of the seminar discussion. The class is only for those who like poetry, though. You don't have to be an English major, but make sure you enjoy and can decipher poetry with ease. Ramazani knows EVERYTHING too, which is awesome.
There are 3 big papers. The grade is based 70% on those and 30% split up between participation and co-leading a discussion.

Ramazani is the most brilliant yet humble professor I have had yet. I'm not a huge poetry person but definitely have an interest in it, and this class was very manageable. There are 3 papers and 1 revision, some pop quizzes (on content questions of the poetry, never analytic), and a group assignment to lead one class. You read the works of 1-2 poets for each class, and while the poetry is relatively short, do leave time to analyze it!! Discussion was always worth going to, and I would definitely recommend this class if you have any interest at all in poetry--Ramazani is an expert but so approachable and hilarious!

Ramazani really enjoys teaching, and you can tell by the effort he puts into his classes. You know what to expect each class: you read all of the assigned poems and discuss them in class. Typically you are given an "assignment" to look for a specific poetic device, moment, etc. There are random pop quizzes, so it's essential that you do the reading every time. Ramazani gives so much feedback on papers (and grades them disturbingly quickly). You will learn a lot in this course, but it is certainly not easy.

Ramazani is an amazing professor. He is extremely intelligent and also very nice and approachable. I took this class as a first year, and it definitely helped my writing abilities. He does have some short pop quizzes, which aren't anyone's favorite. There is also a group presentation which isn't too bad and that you lead with others. On each paper he would write a page full of comments on the back, which was very helpful (most professors take forever to grade papers, and don't leave thorough comments). From my first paper to my last, I definitely saw an improvement in the quality of my work (ah if only all my papers were like my last one). We had 3 papers, and instead of a final we all went up to his house and discussed poetry. The subject material for this course was very interesting, and this is one of the classes at UVA that I would definitely recommend that others take!