Arts Experience Guidelines
For Poetry Reading
Write a thoughtful essay in length, double spaced using 12 point font and 1” margins on all sides.
Your paper should be clearly organized, largely free of grammatical and syntactical errors, and supported by
numerous specific examples from the production you attended. You MUST provide proof of attendance in
the form of a receipt, ticket, program book, pictures of you at the event in the lobby, by the stage, next to
a work of art, getting a performer’s autograph, etc. Paste pictures into the Microsoft Word document
review.
Introduction
Begin by describing the poet and the setting of the reading. How did he or she present him or herself?
What is the poet’s full name, the date of the reading and the location of the reading?
Describe the audience and yourself as a member of the audience. How did the audience respond to the
reading?
Create a thesis and support it using specific examples from the experience.
First Paragraph: Analysis of the Poet’s Voice, Tone and Poems
Poetry is a performance of literature. In your own words, describe the demeanor of the poet. How did he or she
interact with the audience? What did he or she say in between the poems he or she read? What was the
atmosphere of the reading and how did this affect overall impression you had of the poetry? Describe the
audience and yourself as a member of the audience. How did the audience respond to the poems?
Body Paragraphs: In the body paragraphs, discuss the areas below that best fit the play that you see. Choose at
least one from each category.
Category I: Perspective
Focus your paper on ONE of the following five perspectives
the poetry’s social significance
its human or personal significance
its artistic quality
its capacity to entertain.
These five perspectives (social, personal, artistic, theatrical, and entertainment) help us view and judge the
poems.
Category II: Analysis
Now, take some time to consider to deeply at least three of the following elements:
Poet’s voice
Poet’s tone
Setting of the Reading
Interaction with Audience
If there were multiple readers, how the readers were different or alike from one another.
Overall message or theme of the poems
How do these parts impact the perspective you are emphasizing?
Category III: Connections
Connect the style of poetry you heard to any aspect of history and/or the arts during the periods we have
covered in this humanities course. What insight do you gain about a time or movement in history? How does
that explain/connect to human culture? Give specific examples from the text.
Conclusion: Briefly summarize your main ideas and end with a thoughtful insight that pulls the essay together.
