Compare poems: Chose two or more poems that you think can be meaningfully compared. Either they are thematically similar (i.e. Kay Ryan’s Drops in a Bucket,’ and Jorie Graham’s ‘Praver both think about human experience), or, they are different from each other in an interesting way (i.e. Randall Jarrell
200 Kouman ower ten both considered Confessional poets, but they have little in common in their poetry).
A thesis statement might sound like:
“Although on the surface, Philip Levine’s What Work Is’ and Ai’s poem ‘Factory’ seem to share concerns, in reality, their goals as poems could not be more different.”
or,
“Although Ralegh’s reply to Marlowe in ‘The Nymph Replies to the Shepherd’ is more politically satisfying, Marlowe is still the superior poet.”
Please remember the following things:
Your essay should be double-spaced and in a simple (e.g. Times New Roman) 12-point font.
This essay needs to be 4-6 pages long.
Proofread your essay (for errors of spelling, punctuation, grammar) before vou hand it in.
For all matters of style, citation and attribution, please follow MLA Style, summarized in, e.g. Diana Hacker, A Pocket Style Manual or other MLA citation resource.
Your essay will likely be an exercise in close reading and the presentation of supporting evidence via supplemental materials (academic articles, book excerpts, contemporaneous documents).
Your discussion will probably (1) make an assertion, (2) use direct quotation of the piece under consideration, (3) indicate what supplemental materials say that illuminate your point, and (4) conclude by restating your thesis and present your concluding remarks.
