English 112
Professor: Fernando Benavidez
Essay 2: Critical Response to Poetry
DUE: SUNDAY, MARCH 11TH before 11:59PM
Poems to Consider: Some elements to consider:
Brooks “The Mother” Diction
Donne “Batter My Heart” Syntax
Bishop “The Fish” Imagery
Frost “Mending Wall” Simile
http://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/mending-wall Synecdoche
Whitman “Beat! Beat! Drums!” Tone
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/174737 Irony
Clifton “homage to my hips” Form
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/179615 Metaphor
Espada “Heart of Hunger” Symbolism
http://www.martinespada.net/Heart_of_Hunger.html
Arnold “Dover Beach”
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/172844
Dickinson “I cannot live with you”
https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/i-cannot-live-you-640
Shakespeare “Sonnet 18”
https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/shall-i-compare-thee-summers-day-sonnet-18
Angelou “Caged Bird”
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-poets/poems/detail/48989
Assignment:
This next essay is “open” for you to analyze anything you feel you want to analyze. There are no specific questions for you to answer for this essay. Instead, you can choose one poem or you can compare two or three poems for this assignment. But, you must come up with your own thesis and analysis about the meaning or analysis of the poem/s. To analyze, you can focus on two or three elements that you think are important to a poem (or poems) and discuss what you think the poet is trying to tell us about the human condition. Remember, you must analyze.
Your thesis should tell the reader these FOUR things: 1. What poem/s you are writing about; 2. which elements you will analyze; 3. why they are important to the meaning of the poem; and 4. what you think the poet(s) is/are trying to say about the human condition. DO NOT SPEND THE ENTIRE ESSAY JUST PARAPHRASING THE POEM.
Think about the meaningfulness of these poems to help guide your analysis. Remember, poems are not to be read in a literal way. That is, EVERYTHING in the poem/s is/are symbolic and meant to “represent” or symbolize something about the human condition. For example, Bishop’s “The Fish” is NOT about a speaker who went fishing. So, the fish in the poem is not meant to be seen as an actual animal. It is a symbol. Your job is to analyze what the meaning is in your essay.
Choose from these poems (1 or 2 poems) and any of these elements (2 – 3 elements) listed above to produce a 2-3 page (500-750 words) thesis-based essay that demonstrates your critical understanding of the elements of poetry. In addition, this assignment should demonstrate your ability to write a grammatically correct and interestingly original and focused essay. Remember, DO NOT JUST PARAPHRASE the poem; you should be able to paraphrase any of these poems in a few sentences, especially if they’re short.
It is critical that you state an effective thesis as it will determine the direction and development of your essay. Your goal should be to present a unique, but informed, explication/analysis of one or more of the poems. Also, the best organizational model for an essay about poetry is to write about the peom(s) in chronological order. That is, write about the beginning of the poem at the beginning of your essay. Write about the middle of the poem in the middle of your essay. And, write about the end of the poem at the end of your essay. And, you don’t have to write one paragraph about symbolism, then one paragraph about imagery, and then one separate paragraph about the speaker. Instead, all of these elements can (and should) be analyzed simultaneously about the meaning of the entire poem.
*Finally, use at least 1-2 secondary sources to help support your thesis. At least one source should be an academic source (from the library databases). Proper MLA citation and effective integration of quotes from the secondary sources and the story are required. Write authoritatively in the third person; avoid editorializing and using terms such as “I think” and “I believe.” And, do not tell me what you “will do” in the paper. Just analyze the text.
According to DCCC policy, any plagiarized assignment will earn a grade of zero. No exceptions. Be sure that you check grammar and spelling before you submit the essay, too. There should be no fragments, run-ons, or comma splices in your essays, too. Finally, you should always use the Writing Center and “Smarthinking” during your drafting/writing process. View the English Rubric under “Materials” for a general guide for good writing.
*Remember, I DO NOT only want to know what happens in the poem. I obviously already know this. Instead, I want to know what you think the poet is trying to say about the human condition, about identity, or love, or war, or motherhood, or “America,” or self-awareness, or forgiveness, or art, or anything else that analyzes (NOT paraphrases) the poem/s in terms of what they say about the human condition.
*Consult the “English Rubric” posted in the “Materials” tab for a good idea of what constitutes an “Excellent” essay. And, read the “First Draft Revision Checklist” handout.
