POETRY PAPER ASSIGNMENT

POETRY PAPER ASSIGNMENT Use the followin" rel="nofollow">ing guidelin" rel="nofollow">ines to help you write the poetry paper: Choose any poem(s) from the poetry chapters in" rel="nofollow">in your book called Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama, SEVENTH Compact Edition, InteractiveEdition, Eds. X. J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. You have a number of options for paper topics, as follows: PICK ONE OPTION ONLY!, from the below choices.-You may choose to write a detailed, specific explication of one poem, usin" rel="nofollow">ing the questions and poetry language and concepts discussed in" rel="nofollow">in all of the poetry lectures to apply to the poem you choose, as well poetry in" rel="nofollow">information from your literary anthology to support your poin" rel="nofollow">ints. --Or you may choose a particular characteristic or poetic device and show how that device is used to achieve the poet's goals in" rel="nofollow">in three or more poems. --Another choice is to compare and contrast two or more poets in" rel="nofollow">in their treatment of a specific theme. The paper should be about 1,500-2,000 words Use the sample student essays in" rel="nofollow">in the chapters on poetry as models. Include the followin" rel="nofollow">ing elements in" rel="nofollow">in your paper: Paraphrase the poem lin" rel="nofollow">ine by lin" rel="nofollow">ine. Cite specific words, phrases, and lin" rel="nofollow">ines often to support the poin" rel="nofollow">ints you are makin" rel="nofollow">ing. Or you may take the opposite approach and cite a lin" rel="nofollow">ine, several lin" rel="nofollow">ines, or a stanza followed by the poin" rel="nofollow">ints you wish to make. You need to mentioned the five stories you've selected, in" rel="nofollow">in your in" rel="nofollow">intro, so that the reader of your essay knows specifically that you're focusin" rel="nofollow">ing your discussion of "character" on these five stories (not waitin" rel="nofollow">ing until each body paragraph to give story titles.) Also, titles of short stories should be put in" rel="nofollow">in "quotes," and book titles should be italicized (as per MLA). This paper may be organized any way you choose, but the three most common patterns are these: Use the poem itself as the basis of organization, makin" rel="nofollow">ing all poin" rel="nofollow">ints about certain" rel="nofollow">in lin" rel="nofollow">ines followin" rel="nofollow">ing a quotation of those lin" rel="nofollow">ines; or you can use the lecture questions as the basis, makin" rel="nofollow">ing all poin" rel="nofollow">ints and citin" rel="nofollow">ing lin" rel="nofollow">ines under each question; or you can use the termin" rel="nofollow">inology to explicate the poem, dividin" rel="nofollow">ing the paper in" rel="nofollow">into (perhaps) Sound Devices, Structure, Figurative Language, Diction, and Meanin" rel="nofollow">ing (theme). Regardless of your organizational pattern, the paper must in" rel="nofollow">include a discussion of all of these elements; it should not be a paper based only on your personal responses to the poem(s) or your understandin" rel="nofollow">ing of themes. FURTHER THOUGHTS/IDEAS TO HELP YOU WITH ESSAY 2 / THE POETRY PAPER Durin" rel="nofollow">ing our poetry unit, we will have asked a number of questions that help us in" rel="nofollow">in our analysis and evaluation of poetry. But underlyin" rel="nofollow">ing all of those considerations is one of the most important questions of all: What is the theme or meanin" rel="nofollow">ing of the poem? We are familiar with the concept of theme from other genres, so we remember that theme is similar to a thesis in" rel="nofollow">in nonfiction--it is the controllin" rel="nofollow">ing idea of the poem, the perspective which the poet wishes readers to address. As you write your poetry papers this week, part of your analysis and evaluation of the poem(s) you choose to write about will be your understandin" rel="nofollow">ing the meanin" rel="nofollow">ing of the poem(s). Certain" rel="nofollow">inly, the devices a poet uses are related to theme, as is true for all of the elements of fiction (plot, settin" rel="nofollow">ing, characters, poin" rel="nofollow">int of view), but it is important to realize that unless we can articulate the theme of a poem, we have not fully understood its complete meanin" rel="nofollow">ing. One of the most foolproof ways to be sure that we understand a poem's meanin" rel="nofollow">ing is to paraphrase the poem, lin" rel="nofollow">ine by lin" rel="nofollow">ine. Puttin" rel="nofollow">ing the poet's words in" rel="nofollow">into our own makes us read more carefully, check defin" rel="nofollow">initions, thin" rel="nofollow">ink about the range of meanin" rel="nofollow">ings suggested by a symbol, image, or other poetic device, and to read "between the lin" rel="nofollow">ines." Restatin" rel="nofollow">ing a poem in" rel="nofollow">in different language often makes puzzlin" rel="nofollow">ing parts of the poem clear. The paraphrase, together with an examin" rel="nofollow">ination of the poetic devices, will lead us to an understandin" rel="nofollow">ing of theme. Here are some fin" rel="nofollow">inal questions to ask about the poems you choose to use in" rel="nofollow">in Essay 2 / the Poetry Paper What is the "plain" rel="nofollow">in sense" of the poem? What exactly does the poem say (not what you thin" rel="nofollow">ink it ought to say)? Can you write a paragraph(s) that translates the meanin" rel="nofollow">ing of the poem in" rel="nofollow">into understandable, common English prose? What is the central idea, thesis, or theme of the poem? Is it in" rel="nofollow">individualized or generalized? What observations about nature, life, human nature, or other general topics are made in" rel="nofollow">in the poem? On which levels can a reader respond to the poem: emotional, sensual, imagin" rel="nofollow">inative, in" rel="nofollow">intellectual? THESIS STATEMENT = A ONE-SENTENCE STATEMENT WHICH STATES THE SUBJECT AND FOCUS OF YOUR PAPER. PLEASE INCLUDE A SOLID THESIS STATEMENT IN YOUR INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPH. Skim the student paper models in" rel="nofollow">in Chapters 38 and 39. Any of these models will serve to make sure you are on the right track as far as the content of the paper. Read Chapter 42 on "Writin" rel="nofollow">ing A Research Paper" as well as Chapter 44, “Critical Approaches to Literature,” to help you thin" rel="nofollow">ink through your focus and support your perspectives. Pay close attention to the section on MLA documentation in" rel="nofollow">in Chapter 42. Document your paper accordin" rel="nofollow">ing to MLA guidelin" rel="nofollow">ines. Your paper must in" rel="nofollow">include parenthetical citations and a list of Works Cited for the stories you choose (with your course textbook servin" rel="nofollow">ing as their source.)