Poetry Assignment | Top Universities

Directions: Write an 8 – 10 page paper double spaced (including cover page and works cited)

based on your research of a poet and the explication of at least three of that poet?s works. You are to consult at least three outside sources (meaning sources other than PoetryFoundation.com and FamousPoetsand Poetry.com for your information. Refer to the MLA Guide for correct citation and works cited formatting..

I.      BIOGRAPHY – Provide a biography of the author. Include only the essential and most interesting details about the author?s life. Were there any significant personal issues or conflicts to overcome? Make mention of any peculiar literary convention/period of the time when the poet wrote and how that may have influenced the poet?s writings. Be sure to note any interesting character, family or personality traits, either positive or negative, which help us understand the poet and his/her works. Does the poet have any contemporaries which influenced his/her efforts (i.e. the way many Harlem Renaissance poets shared a common goal). Discuss how the work mirrors the life of the author. Include any famous quotes or passages by the author that are still important today.

II.     EXPERIENCE ? Describe fully the feelings and emotional reactions evoked by each of the poet?s work(s). Make references to particular lines, phrases and literary devices which resulted in those emotions. Those feelings refer to the reader, you and otherwise.

III.     INTERPRETATION ?

a.      What does the title tell us? How does the title help in understanding the poem?

b.      Discuss the diction (word choice) in the works. Comment upon any denotative and/or connotative meanings of significant words. How do they add to the understanding of the work

c.      Discuss which particular senses ? sight, sound, taste, smell, touch ? the significant words appeal to.

d.      Identify any vivid imagery and discuss what those images suggest?

e.      Identify and discuss any symbols.

f.      Tell what the symbols may stand for.

g.      Discuss the poet?s use of tone, the poet?s attitude toward the subject.

h.      Point out any irony, similes, metaphors, or personification.

i.      State the theme of each poem you analyze.

j.      Explain what ideas are carried forth by the use of the figures of speech.

k.      Discuss which ones convey their ideas most clearly and forcefully for you.

l.      Are there any especially powerful lines? Explain why they are used and their effect. This should be done at least 5 times throughout the paper.

m.      Label the rhyme pattern and rhythmic meter of the poems you analyze.

IV.     EVALUATION – What purpose or purposes do the poems serve? Is the purpose stated or suggested? What makes the poem good literature? Or Bad? To whom would its lessons apply? Why does this poet?s work still live? What do you appreciate most about the poet?s life/works/legacy? Get English homework help today