Short Essay
Due: Wednesday, April 1
The first part of our course has been dedicated to an analysis of poetry from different eras and different parts of the world. Poets have shared their fears, love, sadness, joy, or anxiety with readers they would never meet, and their words have resonated with us in different ways.
Choose one of the assigned poems that has impressed you the most, BUT that we have NOT fully discussed in class. Analyze it in detail, making sure to discuss all the aspects of poetry we have explored in class (see the documents titled Poetry Analysis).
Audience:
Write this paper for a group of friends who have not read the same texts as you have, but who are interested in the same topic.
Format:
Your essay should:
have a clear introduction, at least 5 body paragraphs, and a conclusion;
have a clear thesis;
develop only ONE idea in each body paragraph;
use Times New Roman size 12, have 1 inch margins, be double spaced, and use left alignment;
use MLA style for citations (see http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/ for further information);
have your name, course title and section, and date at the top left corner of your paper.
Your essay should be at least 3 pages long but no more than 5 pages long.
Expectations and grading criteria:
For this assignment, you will need to demonstrate that: you can identify a clear theme for the poem and develop it in a coherent argument; you can isolate at least three specific and appropriate moments of the poem that can support your argument; you can discuss those moments in some detail and in relation to the theme of the poem; you can explain why and how each moment supports your argument; you can connect these moments to each other into a coherent whole.
Plagiarism Policy
Plagiarism is the unauthorized use or close imitation of the language and thoughts of another author and the representation of them as one’s own original work, as by not crediting the author (www.dictionary.reference.com). Any act of plagiarism will be punished according to the CUNY policy for academic integrity, which can be found at http://www.kbcc.cuny.edu/studentaffairs/student_conduct/Pages/academic_integrity.aspx
Note: Your essay should discuss the following in relation to the poem:
subject
theme
tone
speaker
setting (spatial and temporal)
signification of particular words/phrases: denotation and connotation// ambiguity
Your essay should also refer to at least three of the following in relation to the theme of the poem:
signification of syntax: emphasis//repetition//inversions
figures of speech: metaphor/simile/analogy/metonymy/synecdoche/symbols
sounds of poetry: meter (regular vs. free verse)//caesura//enjambment
form of poem: narrative//dramatic//discursive//descriptive//reflective
external form: rhyme//alliteration/blank verse//villanelle//sonnet//haiku
For example, you can use emphasis, free verse, and alliteration=3 elements. ( You do NOT have to use 3 elements from each category).
Please, underline all these elements as you discuss them in your essay. For example, Shakespeare uses the metaphor eye of heaven in order to suggest that.
Please, first read the sample I uploaded to Essays in order to see what I am looking for. You can ask me questions via the Discussion board or during our time on Blackboard Collaborate.
