who free for this? poem needs to Maya Angelou Still I Rise

Poetry Research Paper Guidelines

The Goal - The purpose of a poetry analysis is to break down a poem into its literary elements which together create some significant impact on the poem’s meaning. Remember: Do not just explain the meaning of the poem; instead, analyze element(s) of the poem.

The Assignment: Write a research paper of no less than 1200 words (about 4 pages) in which you fully explain a poem from the textbook by an author that we have not covered in class. Your essay must be typed, double spaced, and documented according to MLA format. You must have no fewer than 3 professional outside sources.

Your final draft must be submitted to Blackboard for the Originality Report.

Sources: Use only professional sources; be especially careful with those online.

• No paper mills (sites that sell essays)

• No student essays

• No personal websites

• No websites with advertisements

• No bulletin boards or discussion groups

• No wikis (e.g. Wikipedia)

*Any information found through our library reference section, databases, and books is “safe.”

*Remember any information you borrow must be cited both on the Works Cited page and within the sentence(s) you borrowed, according to MLA format.

Reading the poem and getting a sense of your paper’s direction: Look at the ELEMENTS of POETRY that we have discussed. How do they relate to your poem?

1. Denotation and Connation – Diction

2. Imagery

3. Figurative Language - Similes, Metaphors, Personification, Symbol, Allegory, etc

4. Tone - Diction

5. Musical Devices – Alliteration, Assonance, Rhyme, Rhyme scheme, etc

6. Rhythm – meter, stress, syllables, etc.

7. Setting, Character if it is a narrative poem

8. Form – is a specific form? Narrative, lyric, sonnet, ode, etc

Writing the Paper: ORGANIZATION OF ANALYSIS

Paragraph 1 (5-10 sentences)

1. Provide the necessary background information in 7-10 sentences:

title of poem

poet’s name

type of poem

summarization of poem’s subject or topic

what does the poem mean “literally?”

* This paragraph should contain little or no citations or quoted lines from the poem since you are putting them into your own words

2. Thesis statement (one sentence): literary element(s) to be analyzed and the approach or direction of the analysis.

Example Thesis:

1. Through the use of similes, personification, simplistic language, and description, Wordsworth celebrates the beauty of nature and the importance of viewing nature for inspiration.

2. In "If you Were Coming in the Fall," Emily Dickinson uses simile, diction, and syntax to describe how people wait, hoping to fall in love.

3. Blake enriches this poem about taking granted of others who are dear to a person’s heart by using setting, rhyme, meter, and symbolism.

A formula for the most basic analysis thesis could look something like this:
In (title of poem/novel/play), (author's name) uses (1st literary device), (2nd literary device), and (3rd literary device) to (show/criticize/explain/etc.) (some aspect of human nature).

Paragraph 2 (8-15 sentences)

Discuss aspects of the poet’s life, the historical period/social context in which the poem was written, and/or the social/historical context of the events in the poem itself that relate to the poem and/or its themes. Give a brief biography of your poet – but remember, it must be brief.

Ex. If the poem was written during the Civil War, how does the war relate to

the poem?

Ex. If the poet was an alcoholic, how might that fact relate to the poem?

Paragraph 3 (8-15 sentences)

Discuss the poem’s physical structure

1. How it is organized, division of stanzas,

2. The meter/rhythm/line length

3. Rhyme scheme

4. Particular form (ode, sonnet, narrative, lyric…)

Discuss how each of these three parts of the structure of the poem

contributes to its overall effect

Ex. If it is written in open format, indicate that and explain possible reasons why

the poet chose this form

If the poem is a sonnet, how does the poet use this format to his/her advantage?

If the poem has a pattern change, speculate possible reasons

Paragraphs 4 through 6 (8-12 sentences each)

Introduce, show, and explain no fewer than three separate uses of poetic/literary devices in the poem. Be sure to include quotes containing each device and explain how specifically how each device is used to enhance the poem’s theme, subject, purpose, etc. Do not define the literary devices. You can subdivide these elements (two elements in one paragraph - and three elements in another paragraph).

Paragraph 7 (5-10 sentences)

Provide a personal evaluation of the poem. Does it accomplish its purpose? What makes it especially effective, touching, poignant, powerful, relevant, etc? You may cite other critics’ statements and agree or disagree with them