Assignment 3: Draft Analytical Essay about

Poetry The essay assignment for this week

is to compose a paper of at least 750 words
in which you offer your interpretation of a
key theme in one of the assigned poems.
You may choose any poem from the reading

Assignment 3: Draft Analytical Essay about Poetry

The essay assignment for this week is to compose a paper of at least 750 words in which you offer
your interpretation of a key theme in one of the assigned poems. You may choose any poem from the
reading list except for The Chimney Sweeper. If you wish, you may base your paper on the
analysis you began in this weeks discussion question. If you get stuck, read your chosen poem
again with a pen in hand so you can make notes. Do not hesitate to share your initial ideas with your
classmates and the instructor.

You should open your essay with an introductory paragraph that presents your poem
as well as its author. Information about the poet and the social context surrounding the
writing of the poem can be found in your textbook. End your introduction with a thesis
statement that identifies and interprets a key theme of the poem.

Each paragraph following the introduction should present specific aspects of the poem
that help to illustrate and support your thesis. Make sure to quote and analyze specific
lines that support your argument.

Include a concluding paragraph at the end that summarizes the main points of the
paper and explains the significance of the thesis.

You may use this sample student paper as an example. If you need help formulating your thesis,
please contact your instructor.
You do not need to do outside research for this essay. Instead, look at the sample student essay on
The Chimney Sweeper and use your textbook to find other models.

Apply APA rules of style to source citations as well as the overall formatting of your essay. Be sure to
include a title page and a References page.
Use this APA Citation Helper as a convenient reference for properly citing resources.
This handout will help guide you in the details of formatting your essay using APA style.

You may create your essay in this APA-formatted template.

When responding to your peers please answer the following questions:

1. Locate the papers thesis. Is it obvious or unclear? Does it establish an interpretation
of a key theme from the poem? Is the thesis as specific as it needs to be?
2. Is each paragraph organized around one key point? Do topic sentences clearly indicate
the focus of each paragraph?
3. Does the author support each main point with direct quotations from the poem that are
analyzed and explained? Do you have any suggestions for improvement?
4. Where do you disagree with the authors analysis? What aspects of the poem are left
unexplained?
These are the list of poems:

William Blake, "The Chimney Sweeper" (p. 239)

Anne Bradstreet, "To My Dear and Loving Husband" (p. 658)

Countee Cullen, "For a Lady I know" (p. 212)

Emily Dickinson, "Because I Could Not Stop for Death" (p. 593)

Emily Dickinson, "This is My Letter to the World" (p. 591)

John Donne, "Death Be Not Proud" (p. 689)

Robert Frost, Desert Places (p. 380)

Robert Frost, "Mending Wall" (p. 704)Wi

Robert Herrick, "To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time" (p. 721)

Langston Hughes, "Theme for English B" (p. 613)

Christopher Marlowe, "The Passionate Shepherd to His Love" (p. 749)

Wilfred Owen, "Futility" (p. 768)

Ezra Pound, "The River Merchant's Wife: A Letter" (p. 778)

Theodore Roethke, "My Papa's Waltz" (p. 211)

William Carlos Williams, "This is Just to Say" (p. 248)

Williams Wordsworth, "The World is too much with us" (p. 493)

Book: The Literature Collection: An E-Text