"Unveiling the Poetic Craft: The Impact of Teaching Foregrounding Theory on Undergraduate Students’ Understanding of Poetry"

Abstract

The study examines the impact of foregrounding theory on students' understanding of poetry. In addition to conducting an experimental study, interviews were conducted with students to gather their perspectives on the influence of foregrounding theory. The findings suggest that while many students were unfamiliar with foregrounding theory prior to the study, the majority demonstrated a high level of understanding after engaging with the theoretical framework. Students perceived foregrounding theory as beneficial for enhancing critical thinking skills and increasing their comfort level in interpreting and articulating the meaning of poems. Despite variations in initial interest and recommendation certainty among students, the overall reception of foregrounding theory was favorable, highlighting its potential as a valuable pedagogical tool in literature and language arts curricula. These findings underscore the importance of integrating theoretical frameworks like foregrounding theory to enrich students' experiences with poetry analysis and foster critical thinking skills in literary studies.