You will perform a 3-page close reading of a poem(s) from the first 6 weeks of our course. You will use a theme common in one of our “critical lenses” (Marxism, feminism, etc.). For example, if you analyze a poem by Wordsworth, you might explicate the poem in terms of alienation, class struggle, or exploitation (a Marxist lense). If you analyze a poem by Audre Lorde, you might explicate the poem in terms of patriarchy, sexism, gender oppression, women’s liberation, or sexual repression/liberation.
The paper with be 3+ full pages long PLUS a works cited page.
It will be in MLA format with proper in-text citation.
It will include an introductory paragraph with a clear thesis statement at the end of it.
It will include several body paragraphs with topic sentences, quotes, and analysis that further your close reading argument.
It will include a conclusion that summarizes your main points.
It will make some use of a “critical lense” to aid the explication.
Choose a poem (or two) by a single author whom we’ve read in the first six weeks of class. You can choose poems by either Louise Gluck, William Shakespeare, Claude McKay, Audre Lord, or T.S. Eliot. You can choose either a poem we’ve read, a new poem by one of these authors, or both.
Choose a theme/critical lense (like Marxist criticism or feminist criticism) to aid the analysis.
Review your quote sheet and lecture notes for the reading.
Go back through the reading, highlighting interesting passages, and brainstorming possible interpretations of both what the author is trying to say and how the author conveys his/her ideas.
Begin a paper outline, pairing interesting quotations together in order to build an analysis.
Begin analyzing your quotations, identifying the ideas the author is attempting to convey.
Develop a tentative thesis statement that helps your close reading hang together.
Continue building body paragraphs.
Finalize your thesis statement.
Write an introduction that introduces the reader to your selection and your argument.
Write a conclusion that summarized your main points.
