Please write an essay about one or more idea(s)/concept(s) or feeling(s) found in the poems you have read. As we know, all literature is written by humans to connect with other humans about being human. What does that mean to us (readers) and them (poets)? Your task is to gather poems, analyze these poems (as thoroughly as you can, know what they say and how they say it), and write an essay about these poems and what they express. The thesis could simply express a commonality you found within several poems, or a theme of perhaps one or two poems.
Discover a common thread, a shared metaphoric aspect or imagery in the poetry you’ve read and support your thesis with several examples.
Gather poems with a common theme/symbolism/images or metaphors. Create a thesis regarding this theme or commonality.
Discuss poetry as a source of connection with humankind, with politics, with conditions we live in, with emotions, or relationships (needs, wants, loneliness, children).
Discuss poets as guides or shamans. As Alice Walker says, the poet is the voice of a people, a generation, or a commonality across generations.
Think of poetry as a connection builder. It is the expression of our emotions when we are unable to formulate the feelings into words. It surprises us and gives word to emotions that lay dormant or unattended to. Poetry is useful for conversations with ourselves and with each other. The human condition does have a collective well. Many people believe humans have a collective conscience or consciousness. This creates a mutual reliance on each other and a kind of solidarity. We need to be open to that. When reading poetry keep an open mind.
Can I use all these bullet points? Yes. Can I focus on one? Yes. Can I blend two together a bit? Yes.
My advice: begin with poetry. Read and reread poems you can look at here in class or poems found on the websites at the bottom of this page. These websites are the only sites I will allow you to use to find poetry. I do not want you to analyze random poetry off the web. Pick a poem and begin to analyze it. Make connections between the poem and the world we live in. What is the subject matter and how do you relate to it? Is the poem or poems culturally significant? What human behavior is addressed? What human relationships are addressed? Think universally as in “the human experience” and “everyone has needs and emotions,” “everyone has experienced love and loss.” Begin to brainstorm the possibilities of meaning and how the poet got to these meanings. Begin to formulate a paragraph around it. Keep doing this with other poems and see what happens. Trust your instincts when choosing the right poems for you and your essay.
Can I just focus on the poems put forth in the Canvas classroom? Of course, and please do!
Be sure to make emotional and figurative connections with poetry and the poems you choose. Do not simply point out the technical or literal truths of three poems.
Try to always think conceptually for TOPIC SENTENCES. They are UMBRELLA statements, meaning, everything within the paragraph should fit nicely and neatly underneath it.
You may incorporate yourself (feelings and experiences) since you are the writer, BUT you should not be the main focus. Topic sentences should not be about you. This is your essay, and you may use the pronoun “I,” but it is still an academic essay. You are a college student, not a professional writer. Casually discussing poetry and its meaning with me in your document will not bode well for your grade. Take this seriously and stay organized. Make wise decisions about your body paragraphs.
Helpful hint: Using “we” and “us” and “our” in your essay is a good idea. That way, you are talking about all of us crazy humans; our entire world or culture. Careful to be consistent in this. I say this because often writers get tangled up in using “one” and then can’t get out of it, or they continually use “you” and after a while, the reader disagrees. The reader thinks, “You as in me? No, that’s not me.” We use YOU casually when we talk for hypotheticals, but it does not work in formal documents.
From one of my favorite poets: Billy Collins: “How to Analyze Poetry: 10 Steps to Analyzing a Poem”
POETS.ORG
POETRY FOUNDATION
REQUIREMENTS OR RUBRIC:
Use MLA formatting (in particular, the visual of the front page, intext reference accuracy, and a Works Cited page).
Use poetry (poems in class or at one of the websites) as a reference and focus.
Use 1200- 1500+ words.
Use at least 5 quotes. This should be easy as you will refer to the poem(s) content again and again. See # 12. Facts = content = quotes
Thesis Statement: Have a thesis statement in the opening paragraph.
Thesis Statement: When creating a thesis statement, try to focus on the topic of your essay rather than on yourself or your exerted efforts to write the essay.
When creating your thesis statement, don’t have the words “essay,” “you,” or “I” in your thesis.
Have an introduction, three or more body paragraphs, and a conclusion.
Have a unique conclusion that doesn’t just repeat the content of your essay.
Share a strong bit of analysis or interpretation for the closing (conclusion) paragraph.
I would prefer that you NOT dwell on your personal life. Extend the meaning to a universal view using we/us/our.
Don’t hesitate to turn one sentence into three if you see there needs to be more clarity. Don’t rush over IMPORTANT information, details, or astute analysis.
Keep a fortified balance of FACT and INFERENCE. Have a balance of what you literally see and share about the text with your interpretation and analysis of the text.
Add copies of all poetry that isn’t in the course. If you have sought poetry from outside sources, please add copies of those poems after your Works Cited page.
Poems read in class:
“The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin.
Charlotte Perkins Gilman, “Why I Wrote “The Yellow Wallpaper”
“Everyday Use” by Alice Walker
“Cathedral” by Raymond Carver
Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates
“The Swimmer” by John Cheever
Introduction to Poetry BY BILLY COLLINS
Ars Poetica BY ARCHIBALD MACLEISH
When I Am Asked BY LISEL MUELLER
Poetry BY PABLO NERUDA
The Opposites Game
for Patricia Maisch
by Brendan Constantine
Adequate Love by Jerry Roscoe
No Map by Stephen Dobyns
Want by Carrie Fountain
From Blossoms by Li-Young Lee
Gate C22 by Ellen Bass
Why So This Quiet by Carl Phillips
Folding My Clothes by Julia Alvarez
The Arm by Stephen Dunn
Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night by Dylan Thomas
She Was Fed Turtle Soup by Lois Red Elk
Perhaps the World Ends Here by Joy Harjo
A Modified Villanelle for My Childhood by Suzi F. Garcia
Ballad of Orange and Grape BY MURIEL RUKEYSER
“Nude Descending a Staircase” by Marcel Duchamp
“The Starry Night” by Vincent Van Gogh
Mrs. Midas by Carol Ann Duffy
The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell
