Poetry Essay
Poetry Essay
and its corresponding performance as the subject of your analysis: Miracle Workers by Taylor Mali, What I Will by Suheir Hammad, or Money by Poetri. (Complete poems and links to performances are found on Ms. Toners website.) In a cohesive essay with a central thesis, respond to at least five of the following questions: What is the focus or conflict described in the poem? What is the speakers attitude or opinion about the subject or conflict? What do you know about the speaker based on what he or she reveals in the poem? (Treat the narrator as a character in the poem. Do not refer to the poet.) What are the cultural, moral, social, or ethical norms explored in the poem? Comment on their significance. Analyze the diction (word choice), commenting on denotations and connotations of specific words or phrases. Describe the imagery and how that is conveyed (refer to poetic devices like similes, metaphors, apostrophe, and personification). Discuss how the imagery contributes to the poems meaning or mood. Does the poem have a narrative element? If so, how does the story element help convey the speakers message? Comment on the poems structure. Does the poem use enjambment or does it have a rhyme scheme? Describe the rhythm and organization of ideas. Look for patterns of ideas, rhyme or end words, sound (assonance, alliteration, cacophony, euphony, and onomatopoeia), and images. How does reading the poem yourself compare to hearing and seeing the poem performed? Does the poem have the same impact when you read it yourself? Do you prefer being a spectator of the performance or a reader of the words and why?
Organizing the essay: First paragraph: Discuss the main idea/conflict, the speaker, and the poems tone. Middle paragraphs: Point out poetic devices and patterns (either line by line or stanza by stanza). Final paragraph: Compare watching the performance to reading the poem. Rubric: Clear thesis or main idea: ___ out of 30 points Responds to a minimum of five questions specified in assignment: ___ out of 30 points Organization (paragraphs, transitions, introduction, conclusion): ___ out of 30 points Spelling and mechanics: ___ out of 10 points
Due Dates: 3rd and 4th periods: rough draft due October 18; final draft due October 24 5th and 8th periods: rough draft due October 19; final draft due October 25