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Write an essay in which you analyze TWO POEMS for how they explore social expectations or assumptions. Your analysis should be comprehensive, consistent, organized, and well supported, not just a mere listing of “things” you notice in the poems. Among the “things” you might consider in your analysis (but to which you are neither limited nor required to address) are the poets’ use of the following: figurative language, imagery, tone, words and their sounds, diction, syntax, denotation vs. connotation, allusion, simile and metaphor, rhythm and rhyme, symbolism, social/historical/political context. Ultimately, your essay should be more than observations or discussion. You must have a single, unified claim that you are defending over the course of several paragraphs.
Consider these suggestions:
Begin by looking at the poetry selections in our packet carefully, with an eye toward a recurring theme or focus of interest to you.
Follow the four step pattern of poetic analysis: 1) get to know the poems through informal description and paraphrase; 2) figure out how the poems work through close reading and analysis; 3) decide on your interpretation of the poems and construct/outline your argument; and 4) then draft your essay.
As will be the case throughout the course, you are allowed to conduct basic social/historical/cultural research to make your analysis more thorough and meaningful, but do not read other critical analyses of your poem or poems, especially online from simplistic sites like gradesaver.com and sparknotes.com. Instead, consider researching the historical, cultural, or social context in which the poems were written to add depth to your analysis.
Argue a specific thesis about the poems, using your analysis of each poem’s elements to illustrate how those elements relate to each other to help expand the reader’s understanding of social expectations or assumptions. This thesis will probably work best at the end of your introduction.
Do NOT organize your paragraphs by poem, with each paragraph simply discussing a poem in its entirety. That makes for a very stiff and choppy essay without effective paragraph points. It is much better to focus on key arguments you want to make about social expectations or assumptions in each paragraph, and then bring in the poem or poems that help you talk about those ideas. Also make sure that your topic sentences are your opinion statements, not simply statements of fact or general observations about the poems or poets.
You will likely have five to six analytical body paragraphs, plus intro and conclusion paragraphs. Each will be, on average, about a half page or so in length.
Avoid the generic summary intro and summary conclusion paragraphs. Make them more engaging. What does your reader need to know to understand your thesis fully at the end of the introduction? The answer to that question will be what you include in your intro. In your conclusion, help your readers by telling them what they should take away from your essay and these poems specifically, rather than just restating all of your points.
Use these questions as a guide for your analysis of each selected poem:
What actually happens in each poem? Anything? Nothing? Is it a real happening or something inside the speaker’s mind? Does the poem have some sense of past, present and future? (In other words, what happened prior to the poem starting, what happens during the poem, and what is suggested will happen after the poem?)
What conflicts, if any, related to social expectations or assumptions are present in the poem? Keep in mind, these expectations or assumptions do not have to be between real individuals or groups—they can be between ideas or words or even within an individual him- or herself. How are these expectations or assumptions shown to the reader? Do they seem reasonable or fair? If so, why? If not, why not?
What can you discern about the speaker of the poem and his or her target audience? (Usually, you should assume it is not the author unless significant textual evidence contradicts that assumption. Think of the speaker in many ways as a fictional character created by the poet.)
What emotions does the poem seem to convey, if any? What key words or phrases seem to provide that emotional spark?
Your essay should feature the same stuff as most academic essays:
A strong, controlling thesis statement that asserts the analysis you will defend, usually found at the end of the introduction paragraph.
Unified and coherent body paragraphs with concise and precise topic sentences that offer the writer’s assertions, not just facts or observations.
Effective use of quotation and paraphrase (you will need only a little summary) required to support the writer’s assertions as valid.
Quotations and/or line references as needed (do not quote the entire poem, especially in one big chunk)
Present tense verbs throughout, varying only as appropriate to indicate real world events in the past or the passage of time within the work.
Thoughtful, logical paragraph structure that builds your argument one piece at a time.
An engaging style/voice that is uniquely yours, including sarcasm, snark, empathy, passion, frustration, anger, or whatever else you feel is appropriate for the subject matter and the points you want to make.
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