In an essay of approximately 750-1,000 words (3-4 full typewritten pages, not 2 ¼), double-spaced, analyze one of the poems from the poetry we read in class. Choose one of the following poems:
1) William Shakespeare’s “Sonnets,” WRITE ABOUT ALL SONNETS ATTACHED BELOW. USE QUOTES AND SET UP PAPER IN MLA FORMAT***
You may choose more than one of the shorter poems to write about or choose to discuss more than one sonnet in your essay since these are shorter poems. You may also select one or more of the parts of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and do not have to include the whole poem.
Topic:
Discuss in your analysis how this poem uses poetic conventions to tell a story, describe a mood, or dramatize a situation.
Please use the poetic terms as discussed in class to build your argument and provide evidence with specific examples from the poem. Some of these poetic conventions include but are not limited to: point of view, physical form or structure, rhythm, rhyming scheme, line length and variation, alliteration, assonance, imagery, symbolism, contradiction or paradox, diction, personification, metaphor, simile, synecdoche, or any other type of figurative language from our list of poetic terms.
Your opening paragraph should include the two definitions of poetry that you shared in your Group Journal Entry where you compared P. B. Shelley’s definition with another poet of your choice.
(From Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822)
A Definition of Poetry (1820)
“Poetry, in a general sense, may be defined to be ‘the expression of the Imagination’: and poetry is connate with the origin of man.”
‘’Writing free verse is like playing tennis with the net down.’’
Robert Frost
In comparing these two interpretations of what poetry is, find that they are somewhat similar and relatable. In Percy’s words, it’s the “expression of imagination.” Well, Imagination is boundless. When you imagine, you are free to imagine whatever you want. Free much like playing tennis with the net down, there are no restrictions.)
Begin your essay with these two definitions, directly quoting the poets and adding your explanation of them and how you compared the two definitions. You might locate definitions of poetry from the website: https://poetsgraves.co.uk/poets_on_poetry.htm. Include the title(s) of the poem and poet’s name and your thesis statement following these definitions in your introduction.
For example, a thesis statement for Coleridge’s poem may be as follows:
Through the use of colorful imagery in Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s poem, “The
Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” the poet relies on the imagination of the reader to
emphasize the dramatic action of the mariner’s fate. The mariner must pay for his sin. Imagery of the mariner’s journey, and his meeting of the wedding guest, conjures up natural and supernatural experiences that describe the emotions of the poetic characters and their physical suffering.
