Poetry Professor Concern...Sort Of

Okay, my poetry professor presentations are going fairly well. It is having many intended and many unintended positive consequences. Today we fared into end-stopped lines and stanzas vs. enjambment and the consequence of each. It's that kind of teachable moment that this project routinely creates.

One possible concern. My students seem to be doing considerable research to help along their analysis. I mean, this is great because it adds such depth to our discussions, but I worry that in some cases this research is replacing close reading.

So, what are your thoughts? How do you balance? Do you balance? Does the positive outweigh the negative?