In 1,000-1,250 words, explain from your point of view how a selected poem/song creates effect/affect for the specific type of reader or listener that you represent. Questions to consider: Analytic Questions How does the poem/song make a specific type of reader or listener “see”, feel, and think? Does the poem/song present an explicit or implicit argument? What is the lasting impression of the poem/song? How do literary techniques work together with details to generate a response in the short and/or long term? For example, a song may tell a story by presenting two intertwined monologues, each utilizing metaphorical language to describe a common experience related to racism.
Relevance Questions What is important to consider about the poem/song? Is the depth/breadth/duration/intensity/severity of influence, indirect impact, symbolic importance, and/or scale important to consider? How and/or why is the relevant aspect important? Most often, to build an argument about relevance, two different types of relevance are connected.
For example, what is the depth of impact on society of a song that sells over a million copies or is streamed over a million times a day or has a video that is viewed on YouTube over 100,000,000 times? Treat the poem/song like a machine that performs a function. Do not focus on authorial intent. Instead, focus on explaining the experience of reading or listening. What happens over the course of reading or listening?
What happens after reading or listening? In your explanation, consider point of view, tone, imagery, pronouns, symbolism, structure, verb tense, included and excluded details, direct or indirect statements, etc. Refer and/or quote lines or lyrics to illustrate your explanation and incorporate borrowed material from two sources, possibly in your discussion of biographical and/or historical context. Three sources total should be utilized, including the poem/song. Include in-text citation where appropriate and a Works Cited page formatted according to MLA guidelines. First drafts and revisions should be submitted via Canvas. Your essay should include a focused and clear analytic thesis and statement of relevance.
