Topic Choose any one poem from our Assignment Schedule and compose an analytical essay that argues how the poem reveals one of these themes: Man’s (human) relationship with the natural world is either good or bad A person’s identity is determined by place in society Society and a person’s nature are always at odds Adulthood is established by an abrupt, random crisis By the time we understand life, there is too little left to live Through alienation comes self-knowledge
To understand the surface of the poem (what it’s about), try answering these questions: What is being dramatized? What conflicts or themes does the poem present, address, or question? Is there a narrator? Define and describe the speaker and the speaker’s voice. Who is the audience? Are other characters involved? What happens in the poem? Consider the plot or basic design of the action. How are the dramatized conflicts introduced, sustained, resolved? When does the action occur? What is the date and/or time of day in the poem? Where does the poem take place? Describe the physical location.
To analyze (determine what the poem means), focus on the poem’s literary devicesthe tools the poet uses to construct the poem. This includes things like symbolism, irony, stanza number, meter, allusions, diction, and line breaks. What about these devices is important to understanding that the poem is more than what is on the surface?
The first paragraph should hook the reader in some way. You may use an anecdote about what appealed to you in the poem. You must include the title of the poem and the author’s name. The thesis must be presented as the final sentence (or two) of the introduction and must argue for a specific theme listed in the topic section of these directions. The body paragraphs must prove your thesis by analyzing the work you did in the Brainstorm and Analysis. You must refer to the poet by last name. Require poems to be cited by line numbers. If you choose to use a secondary source, you must in-text cite it correctly and explain what it does to support your thesis statement. The explication has no formal concluding paragraph; do not simply restate the main points of the introduction! The end of the explication should focus on why readers should care about this poem and/or its contribution to the world of poetry.
If there is a speaker (I voice) in the poem, refer to it as the speaker” not “the poet.” For example, do not write, “In this poem, Wordsworth says that London is beautiful in the morning.” However, you can write, “In this poem, Wordsworth presents a speaker who says that London is beautiful” or “The poet writes that London is beautiful.” We cannot absolutely identify poets as the speakers in their poems.
Use the present tense when writing the explication. The poem, as a work of literature, continues to exist! To avoid unnecessary uses of the verb “to be” in your compositions, the following list suggests some verbs you can use when writing the explication: dramatizes, presents, illustrates, characterizes, underlines, asserts, posits, enacts, connects, portrays, contrasts, juxtaposes, suggests, implies, shows, addresses, emphasizes, stresses, accentuates, enables.
Make a analytical essay about any of these poems:
“The Red Wheelbarrow” William Carlos Williams
“In a Station of the Metro” Ezra Pound
“We Real Cool” Gwendolyn Brooks
“The Negro Speaks of Rivers” Langston Hughes
“The Fish” Elizabeth Bishop
“Skunk Hour” Robert Lowell
“I heard a Fly buzz…” Emily Dickinson
“Song of Myself” (Chants 1, 2, 10, 21, 24, 51, 52) Walt Whitman
“The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” T.S. Eliot
“Oranges” Gary Soto
Make an analytical essay that argues how the poem reveals one of these themes:
Man’s (human) relationship with the natural world is either good or bad
A person’s identity is determined by place in society
Society and a person’s nature are always at odds
Adulthood is established by an abrupt, random crisis
By the time we understand life, there is too little left to live
Through alienation comes self-knowledge
Need a very long essay. 900 W
