Description
EN 1102 Poetry Analysis Essay Packet
Your assignment, if you choose to accept it (and you’d better, it’s worth 15% of your grade!) is to write a fully fleshed out Poetry Analysis Essay (3G) that defends a thesis you developed through a close critical reading/analysis of three (or more) works of poetry listed on the syllabus. Your analysis relies mainly on textual support from the primary text, but can also include at secondary sources that support/sustain your argument. Do not confuse “critical analysis” with “plot summary;” the goal is to develop, sustain, and advance a thesis based on a critique of the primary text that clearly demonstrates the presence of a major themes in the chosen collection of works.
Excellent papers will include support from at least one secondary source
Consider the following sample thematic elements (note that these are not themes in and of themselves, but abstract terms that can be used to construct themes. A theme is an observation on life or the human condition. What does your chosen work say about any of these ideas?):
Love and Hate
Grief
Innocence and Experience
Identity in America
American Dreams and Nightmares
Law and Disorder
War
Fathers and Sons
Death and Dying
Religion
Nature
Art
Feminism
Masculinity
Parents and Children
Sample Approach: Poetry Analysis
Topic: Fathers and Sons in Three 20th Century American Poems
Thesis: In poems by three American poets, sons recall their fathers with regret, a hint of violence, and a sense of legacy, in each case dealing with the complexity of filial love. (Explication/Thematic analysis)
Quoting Poetry: Each section must be supported by a quote or quotes from the literary texts. For quoting poetry, usually line number(s) is enough:
e.g. The speaker in Raymond Carver’s poem “Photograph of My Father in His Twenty-second Year” (1988) describes his father’s “sheepish grin” (l. 3), which suggests his father is perhaps embarrassed or shy.
The rhythm of the opening of “My Papa’s Waltz” mimics the action it describes: “The whiskey on your breath/ Could make a small boy dizzy” (ll. 1-2).
Remember Fremlin’s four steps to quoting:
1) Introduce the quote smoothly;
2) Cite the quoted words accurately, with quotations around direct quotes and / to indicate original line endings [use block format for more than four lines];
3) Cite text/author/line or page numbers;
4) Discuss the quote’s significance to your analysis [don’t expect the quote to speak for itself].
Your essay should contain a thesis statement that gives me an idea of how you will back this point up and how your support will be organized throughout. It should also fulfill the other requirements of your rubric.
750 words (two-three pages double spaced 12 point font). Please include your name, a title, the date, and your class hour at the top, as well as page numbers throughout.
Remember, this paper should include significant textual evidence (properly documented quotes or paraphrases from your chosen reading) to support your thesis, as well as sufficient analysis and concrete examples. In addition, since we are part of a larger conversation about literary analysis, the use of (properly documented) outside literary criticism is welcomed and encouraged.