Questions and Topics We Can Help You To Answer:
Paper Instructions:

4 pages (conclude on page 4)
Write the entire essay in third person.
Write about events in the poem in the present tense and refer to the speaker or
            persona. The speaker says... ; According to the speaker
Give your essay a thoughtful title ("Essay 4" and "Poetry Analysis Essay" are both
            examples of poor titles)
Have a strong, arguable thesis
Have a topic sentence for body paragraphs
Use quotes from the primary text (the poems) to prove your thesis
Use quotes from the secondary sources (2) as well
Incorporate the textual quotes into your sentence; for example; according to...
Provide the necessary background in 3-4 sentences including the poems' titles, poets' names, and any  relevant biographical facts, and a brief summary of the poems' subject or theme.
You need a works cited page for this essay (note: it does not count in the total of 4 pages).
Double-space, 12 pt. font, Times New Roman
MLA format & guidelines (all formatting issues should be resolved by this essay)
Word document or PDF (no Apple Pages please)
See below the topics for how to correctly incorporate quotations from a poem

Primary Source(s)
Choose two poems by two different authors

In your works cited, list the poets you select and the poems you are writing about according to the following examples:

Angelou, Maya. "Still I Rise." Web. ELearning 31 July 2020.

Hughes, Langston. "Mother to Son." Web. ELearning 31 July 2020.

Secondary Sources
Two secondary sources.

In your works cited, list your secondary sources according to the following example:

"Overview: 'Introduction to Poetry'." Poetry for Students, edited by Sara Constantakis, vol. 50, Gale, 2015. Gale Literature Resource Center, Accessed 28 July 2020.

-Important: for your secondary sources this essay, you may use any of the articles or lecture notes posted in D2L in modules 5 & 6. I've posted several good articles to assist with your analysis and from which you can provide quotes and support for your argument (please note that scholarly articles were not available for "The Lanyard," "A Brave and Startling Truth," or "The Portrait"). You may search other databases through the UNG Libraries online feature (Galileo, etc) if you're interested in those poems.

Caution: Please do not use any .com websites; sites such as Schmoop, Sparknotes, or Litcharts, etc. are highly frowned upon.

Poetry Analysis topics (choose one):

1. How do Langston Hughes and Maya Angelou use poetic elements (devices, sound patterns, repetition, imagery, etc.) and poetic style in their poetry to illustrate the significance of dignity, perseverance, and inclusion in the face of oppression and exclusion as major themes in their work. Choose two poems to discuss.

2. How does the poetry of Langston Hughes respond to themes of universal brotherhood and democracy developed in the poetry of Walt Whitman? Choose two poems to discuss.

3. Compare how two of the following poets--Collins, Hayden, Kunitz, Hughes--use poetic elements (sound patterns, figurative language, structure, etc.), symbols, and the theme of memory in their poems--("The Portrait," "Mother to Son," "Those Winter Sundays" and "The Lanyard")--to express the nature of familial relationships. Choose two from the poems in parentheses to discuss.

4. Identify the central themes of two related poems by two different authors and discuss how the poets reveal these themes through an analysis of the literary elements (such as parts of the poem, sound patterns, figurative language, and poetic devices) and any other aspects (symbolism, historical context, structure, etc.) you feel contribute to the overall meaning you wish to discuss. Draw comparisons and contrasts between the two poems where you are able.

You may choose your own topic, but make sure you have a strong thesis that you can prove with textual evidence.

Due date August 4 by 11:59 PM (NO late papers will be accepted after the deadline)
Upload into Assignment Folder on D2L

Short Quotations:

When using short (fewer than three lines of verse) quotations from poetry, mark breaks in verse with a slash, ( / ), at the end of each line of verse (a space should precede and follow the slash). If a stanza break occurs during the quotation, use a double slash ( // ).

Cullen concludes, "Of all the things that happened there / That's all I remember" (11-12).

Long Quotations:

When citing long sections of poetry (four lines of verse or more), keep formatting as close to the original as possible. (Note: Use long quotations very sparingly. I would prefer you break the lines up and analyze in shorter sections).

In his poem "My Papa's Waltz," Theodore Roethke explores his childhood with his father:
The whiskey on your breath
Could make a small boy dizzy;
But I hung on like death:
Such waltzing was not easy.
We Romped until the pans
Slid from the kitchen shelf;
My mother's countenance
Could not unfrown itself. (qtd. in Shrodes, Finestone, Shugrue 202)

*examples are from Purdue Owl