Read “I Have a Dream,” “Spring,” “Tomorrow and Tomorrow.”
Check out these helpful links on “I Have a Dream” and Martin Luther King, Jr.
“I Have a Dream” Video
Analysis
Write a 5-7 sentence FATt paragraph (or two) on only ONE of the topics listed below.
Make sure you have an arguable thesis statement, three-four body sentences that support your thesis (contain examples, details, and quotes from the text corroborating your statements), and a concluding sentence that ties up any loose ends.
Be mindful of spelling, punctuation, mechanics, and grammar. Underline your thesis statement. Use academic language, and do not use the pronouns “I” or “you.” State your opinions objectively. Format the paper in MLA style and use MLA-style parenthetical notes to document your references to the text: (Smith 167).
Be sure to introduce a quote, “quote verbatim,” then cite (King 126). You are writing a mini-essay, so use academic language, a formal tone, analysis, and proper MLA citations.
See Sample FATt Paragraph MLK speech-1.docx Download Sample FATt Paragraph MLK speech-1.docx
“I Have a Dream” PDFLinks to an external site.
1. Write an essay analyzing the use of metaphors in this speech. Comment on their effectiveness, bearing in mind the audience for whom the speech was intended.
2. Write an essay analyzing the oral style of this speech. Point out specific techniques of phrasing, sentence construction, paragraphing, choice and repetition of words that identify this composition as a speech. Suggest how a writer might have phrased some passages if this work had been written to be read rather than heard.
3. In his Letter from Birmingham Jail, April 16, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. wrote: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” Write an essay demonstrating how the theme of this quote is embedded in his “I Have a Dream” speech. Use examples from the text to show that King’s speech contains a similar message.
“Spring” and “Tomorrow and Tomorrow”
“Spring”Links to an external site.
“Tomorrow and Tomorrow”Links to an external site.
Modernized version: Tomorrow, and tomorrow.docxDownload Tomorrow, and tomorrow.docx
4. Write an essay agreeing with or refuting Millay’s comment that “Life in itself/Is nothing…” Why is it “not enough” to experience a beautiful spring? Explain why Millay stresses the beautiful aspects of spring when her tone at the end of the poem is sad, bitter, and disappointed. Analyze the speaker’s state of mind and the philosophical reasons behind her claims.
5. What is the theme of this poem? Through close reading, explicate the poem drawing attention to specific words, the use of metaphors, similes, and other poetic devices. What is the poet’s tone about spring? What does spring represent?
6. Compare/contrast “Spring” to Macbeth’s “Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow” speech.
7. Are there any similarities and/or differences in theme and in tone in the poem “Spring” and the poem below, also written by Edna St. Vincent Millay? Analyze both poems, drawing attention to mood, diction, tone, style, connotation, imagery, punctuation, and figurative language. Formulate a clear thesis, pointing out the similarities and/or differences between the two poems. Use appropriate lines/quotes from the poem(s) to support your point of view.
“First Fig”
My candle burns at both ends;
It will not last the night;
But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends—
It gives a lovely light!
—from “A Few Figs From Thistles”
