Maya Angelou “And Still I Rise” and Paul Lawrence Dunbar “We Wear the Mask”
Selecting any two poems (these can be ones that we have read for this course or not), write an essay that offers detailed analysis of these poems. Consider the way the two poems address a theme of your choosing (for example, both Atwood and Jarrell look at death of a person how are the poems similar or different in the way they deal with this topic?) Your thesis should be an answer to the question you ask about the two poems. You can come up with your own questions, or use one of the following based on the enduring questions framework:
What do these poems say about what it means to be human in the modern world?
What do these poems say about the nature of love, beauty, family, friendship, and a good society?
What values do the poems endorse or critique? How do they accomplish this?
