POETRY ASSIGNMENT: DUE Tuesday, November 17, 2009

ENGLISH 2201
Lisa Cupolo

Poetry Explication Essay Assignment
Value: 10%

Due: Tuesday, November 17, 2009, in class

Format: Times New Roman font in 12-point type; 1” margins all around.
Please include a works cited page as well.
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A poetry explication is defined as a relatively short analysis which describes the possible meanings and relationships of the words, images, and other literary devices that make up a poem. Writing an explication is an effective way for a reader to connect a poem's plot and conflicts with its structural features. Select any one (1) of the poems listed below that we have discussed over the course of the semester. In an essay of two to three (2-3) pages, double-spaced, discuss some interesting features of the poem you have chosen; for instance, consider the ways in which vocabulary, syntax and imagery work to develop and reinforce the poem’s tone and discuss the poet’s meter and arrangement and the effect of it.

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The critical component I am looking for is not only an indication that you understand the basics of the poetic devices and how they reveal and/or contribute to the poem’s meaning BUT ALSO your thoughts on what the poet’s intent in writing the poem might be and/or what theme(s) might be present.
Please remember to quote directly from the poem, minimum five references to the poem.

POEMS TO CHOOSE FROM FOR EXPLICATION (all found in your text):

1, UNKNOWN CITIZEN, by W.H. Auden, pg 690
2, BATTER MY HEART, THREE-PERSONED GOD,FOR YOU pg.709
3, PIED BEAUTY, Gerald Manley Hopkins, pg. 750
4, BRIGHT STAR! WOULD I WERE STEADFAST AS THOU ART, John Keats,pg. 754
5, SHALL I COMPARE THEE TO A SUMMER'S DAY? Shakespeare pg. 767
6, RICHARD CORY, by Edwin Arlington Robinson & Paul Simon, compare these two poems, pg, 792
7, COUNTING THE BEATS, BY Robert Graves, pg. 853
8, UNHOLY SONNET, by Mark Jarman, pg 860
9, UPHILL, by Christina Rossetti, pg 902
10, AFTER GREAT PAIN, A FORMAL FEELING COMES, by Emily Dickinson, pg 1017
11, BECAUSE i COULD NOT STOP FOR DEATH, by Emily Dickinson, pg. 1019
12, O CAPTAIN! MY CAPTAIN! by Walt Whitman, pg. 1002