Directions:

• Before doing this assignment, please make sure to reread the lectures on poetry and Writing About Poetry.
• For Essay #3, you will analyze one poem in detail. As you analyze the poem and the use of literary devices, you will focus on explaining how these devices bring out the poem’s theme (message) in your analysis.

Final Draft Due: Sun., 5/11 (Upload to Canvas)

1. Remember not to confuse a poem’s topic or subject matter with its theme. For example, many students have stated to me in the past that the theme of Shakespeare’s poem “Sonnet 116” is “love.” Love would not be the theme; rather, it would be the “topic or subject matter” of the poem. To understand the theme of Shakespeare’s poem, the student would have to answer this question: What is Shakespeare saying about love in “Sonnet 116”? The answer to this question would reveal the theme---the author’s message and world view.
2. No websites, AI (artificial intelligence) or sources that explain the poems may be used to write this essay. Using sources that explain the poem is plagiarism. In addition, do not use or research biographical information about the poet. The essay is not about the poet. You must write your own analysis of the poembased on what you have learned about poetry in this class. Reread the lectures on poetry as well as the assignments you have done to help you do this.
3. You may use scholarly sources, such as encyclopedias, dictionaries, historical websites, etc., to look up words, terms and phrases to understand them better. For example, Hayden uses “Sunday” in his poem. He could have picked any day of the week but did not. What is the significance of Sunday? That is something a student may want to research in an online encyclopedia. However, any sources used to understand terms need to be cited if information is taken from the source. Only use information from the source if it helps with your analysis; otherwise, do not cite the source. Again, sources that explain the poem should not be used.
4. Wikipedia does not qualify as a scholarly source. If you do not know how to choose a scholarly source, please reread lecture 18.3 - “What Makes Good Research?” under Week #8. Please review Writing About Literature, p. 22-25 to understand how to cite secondary sources. You should also use the Purdue OWL Website to review how to correctly do an in-text citation and Works Cited page for your source and poem.

 Please choose one poem to discuss in Essay #3. However, if you are using one of these poems for your Research Essay (Essay #4), you may not use the same poem for Essay #3:

• Hayden - “Those Winter Sundays”
• Lum - “Minority Poem”
• Atwood - “At First I Was Given Centuries”
• Oliver - "When Death Comes"
• Yeats – “The Second Coming”

Include the following components in a comprehensive and cohesive essay that includes a clear and concise thesis at the end of the introduction. You may need to reread the lectures on poetry to refresh your memory on poetic devices:

1. Introduction---make sure to include the following in your introduction:

• Remember to include the name of the poem and the author in the introduction. The title of a poem should be in quotation marks.
• What is the circumstance or dramatic situation in the poem? What is the setting? Who is the speaker of the poem(remember not to confuse the speaker or narrator with the author)? Explain these aspects of the poem in the introduction to provide some background for the reader.

Thesis - What is the message of the poem? This should be stated in your thesis, which is the last sentence 1-2 sentences of your introduction. In addition, include 3 literary poetic elements (see below) that bring out the message in your blueprint.

2. Body---in the body of the essay, you will prove the theme of the poem by discussing the use of figurative language, symbolism,allusion, and/or prosody in the poem(discuss at least 3 different poetic topics(figurative language, symbolism, allusion,or prosody) below in 3 separate paragraphs):

• Body #1 - Figurative Language - Discuss how the writers have conveyed their themes through their use of figurative language. What powerful figurative language do you see in the poem and how does it bring out the theme? Remember that “figurative language” is the use of words outside of their literal or usual meanings, used to add freshness and suggest associations and comparisons that create effective images. This includes figures of speech such as metaphor, personification, simile, hyperbole, irony, and synecdoche. Focus on 2-3and analyze how the author uses them to convey the theme.

• Body #2 - Symbolism - How has the author used symbolism? Remember that a symbol is “something concrete, such as an object, person, place, or event, which stands for or represents something abstract, such as an idea, quality, concept, or condition" (Hirschberg and Hirschberg, 1066). Is the poet using a specific symbol that sheds light on the theme? Focus on and analyze an important symbol or symbols the author uses the most to convey the theme.

• Body #3 - Allusion - How has the poetused allusion? Examine the poem. Remember that allusion is "a brief reference in a literary work to a real or fictional person, place, thing or event that the reader might be expected to recognize" (Hirschberg & Hirschberg1055). If you are unsure about the use of allusion, you should speak to me and let me know what you think is being alluded to in the poem, and I will discuss your ideas with you. If you choose to discuss allusion, I would like you to research the thing being alluded to, to gain a deeper understanding of the poem and to discuss how this adds to the meaning and theme of the poem. I would also like you to cite the research you find in either a quotation or summary in your own words in the

paragraph. Make sure to cite appropriately and to use a reliablescholarly source. Include an in-text citation and this source on the works cited page. Purdue OWL Website

• Body #4 - Prosody - Discuss how the writers have conveyed their themes using prosody. In other words, how does sound contribute to the meaning of the poem? Remember to consider such things as meter, rhythm, rhyme, alliteration, consonance, assonance, end-stopped lines, and enjambment. Again, focus on and analyze the ones that the author uses the most to convey the theme.

3. Conclusion: Sum up your ideas

Guidelines:

• To support your claims, you must refer to ideas and examples from the poems you are analyzing. Use quotations from the poem to enhance your discussion but be careful not to overuse quotes. You need to cite 2 quotations from the poem per body paragraph; however, you also want to strike a balance between the quotes you are using and your own ideas. Remember that the main purpose of citing quotations is to support something you have stated. Remember that most of the essay should be in your own words. Please cite 3 lines or less of poetry and weave it into the text of your discussion. Please cite 4 or more linesof poetry only once if necessary and only once in the entire essay. Please refer to the Canvas lectures for “Citing Poetry Using MLA Format” and the Writing about Literature handbook, pages 20-21.
• In addition, your essay should follow MLA format. When formatting your essay, you should be able to set up your document in Word so that it automatically sets your margins and double-spacing correctly. You should also be able to paginate your essay automatically. MLA format includes one-inch margins on all-sides, and 12-point font in Arial or Times New Roman. You should also have your name, class name, professor’s name, and date in the upper-left hand corner only on the first page. Your last name and page number should be in the header in the

upper-right hand corner. You should also have a centered title and double spacing throughout the document.

• Your essay should follow the academic conventions for literature essays.
• Your essay should have an original title that reflects the essay's content.
• Your essay should have a clear thesis statement at the end of the introduction. Your thesis should also include a blueprint, but the thesis and blueprint should not be more than 2 sentences.
• Your essay should have organized, focused,and developed body paragraphs. You should have no more than 3-4 body paragraphs in addition to the introduction and conclusion, for a total of 5-6 paragraphs.
• Your essay should use cited support in all body paragraphs from the poems following MLA format.
• Your essay should be at least 4-5 well-developed pages.
• Your essay should have a Works Cited page that follows MLA guidelines. Please see the sample on our website.