For your third Individual Project, you will be writing an essay of 1,000 words or more about two additional poems from the assigned reading list. Please select two works from the list of fifteen—excluding the one you already reflected on in Part A of the Phase 3 DB assignment—and answer the questions below. Again, be sure to begin your paper with an engaging introduction and clear thesis statement, develop each point in the body of your paper using examples and quotes from the poems, and conclude your paper with a restatement of your thesis and closing remarks. Also, make sure you maintain your credibility by including in-text citations and a reference list correctly formatted in APA style.
Imagery: What visual images can you identify in both poems? Comment on the details you notice about objects, places, people, colors, textures and so forth. Which of your other senses are stimulated by the poets’ descriptions? Figures of Speech: List the specific metaphors, similes, puns and other figures of speech each poet uses and how they contribute to the poem’s overall meaning. (Remember, figurative language is not literal but rather suggestive of something else. For example, the metaphor, “Jack is a pig,” is not a reference to an actual animal with hooves but rather someone named Jack who has pig-like qualities or mannerisms.) Symbolism: Identify the symbols you notice in each poem. What abstract concepts (e.g., love, death, truth) might the concrete objects (e.g., persons, places, things) suggest?
The Essay on Ways to Understand Poems
Billy Collins’ “Introduction to Poetry” is a short poem consisting of seven stanzas but is nonetheless a colorful piece of literary work that is filled with figurative language. Collins explores how poems in general suffer from the hands, in a manner of speaking, from those who attempt to study them, especially students. The narrator tries to guide the students about the proper way of unraveling ...
Language and Word Choice: Every word in a poem has been included (or left out) after much deliberation, as poets choose their words very carefully. Remark on the following in each poem: Does the poet use informal or formal language? Does he or she write in an older dialect or contemporary English? Provide examples. Tone: What tone does each poet take (e.g., sad, humorous, sarcastic, loving, etc.) toward his or her subject matter? Themes: What are the main messages of both poems? Give reasons for your answers. Sound: Read both poems out loud.
What do you notice about their rhythms, rhyme schemes and musicality? How does listening to the sound of a poem differ from merely reading it as words on a page? Final Thoughts: Poetry can enlighten and/or evoke deep emotion in readers. Express the impact each of the two poems you have analyzed for this assignment had on you. What insights did you gain about life or human nature, and what feelings did each piece stir in you? Has your view of poetry changed in any way since reading and analyzing the Phase 3 poems? Explain your answer.
