Choose one of the following prompts and write a response paper that builds a psychological interpretation of a poem we read this week. To support your main line of reasoning, be sure you to ground your reading in specific evidence from the poem–that is to say, you still want to think in Formalist terms, just put them in a psychological context. Cite your evidence by author name and line number, as you make supporting claims that point to the ways poetic form–through the techniques we have studied (e.g. speaker, audience, situation, tone, imagery, metaphor, symbol, rhyme, rhythm)–contributes to the psychological meaning you make of the poem when you read it. Possible Topics 1) Reporting Back to the Boss: You are the Count of Tyrol’s emissary to the Duke of Ferrara. After visiting the Duke, seeing his art collection and hearing him speak of his last duchess (in Robert Browning′s dramatic monologue ″My Last Duchess″) what conclusions can you draw about him and his last marriage? Do you recommend or not recommend that the Count proceed with his daughter’s marriage to the Duke to become the next Duchess of Ferrara? Write a note to your boss providing counsel in this important decision. 2) Digging into Home Ground: In what ways can poetry be a means of self-discovery by forming lines of connection to parents or ancestors? Discuss how Seamus Heaney′s ″Digging,″ his account of putting shovels to the ground, serves as an anthem to manual work but also a kind of psychological excavation. What does the poet learn about himself by delving into his family history? 3) Sonnet Study: Pick one of the sonnets by Edna St. Vincent Millay or William Shakespeare and explore how the poet is able to examine a vast psychological concept through the rigid constraints of this fourteen-line poem. Pay special attention to how certain formal features (how the poem says) serve to complement or contradict the content (what the poem says) as the poet builds big meaning in a small space. 4) Discuss any poem on the syllabus for this week with an emphasis on how it explores issues or questions of human psychology, including such areas as intellectual growth, emotional development, or individual identity.
