Discuss aspects of the poet’s life, the historical period/social context in which the poem was written, and/or the social/historical context of the events in the poem itself that relate to the poem and/or its themes.

Essay must be in 3rd person. Most of the essay (70%-30%) should be your own anaylsis and insights.
Outside sources (20%-30%) should be used throughout your essay ( esspecially in paragraph 3) to support
your thoughts. Use only professional sources(author must be listed) : no .com, no “ask” websites, etc.
Paragraph 1( 5-10 sentences): Introduce the poem and explain its literal meaning. Take the reader through a “chunk” at a time. This paragraph should contain few or no research citations or quoted lines
from the poem since you are putting them in your own words. Close this paragraph with a thesis statement in which you speculate on the primary
theme the poet may be trying to express in the poem.
(The theme is message the poem conveys that applies to the readers, not just the
characters that may appear in the poem, or the poet himself or hersef.)

Paragraph 2 (8-15 sentences)

-Elaborate on the theme(s) and/or purposes mentioned in your thesis statement.
What passages/elements in the poem point to this theme, and how do they reveal
it? What parts of the poem lead you to understand this theme? Quote lines,
words and phrases from the poem as examples. Explain examples fully as to how they
relate to the theme you have stated.

Paragraph 3 (8-15 sentences)

-Discuss aspects of the poet’s life, the historical period/social context in which the poem was written, and/or the social/historical context of the events in the poem itself that relate to the poem and/or its themes.

Ex. If the poem was written during the Civil War, how does the war relate
to the poem?

Ex. If the poet was an alcoholic, how might that fact relate to the poem?

Ex. If the poem deals with the death of Charles I, how does his life/death

affect the poem and its theme?

-Discuss only those aspects of the poet’s life and/or the poem’s historical context

that are directly related to the poem and your thesis.

-Be sure to explain how each piece of biographical and historical information
relates to elements in the poem. This paragraph is where the bulk of your
borrowed information will be used.
Paragraph 4 (8-15 sentences)

-Discuss the poem’s physical structure (1. how it is organized (division of

stanzas) 2. the meter/rhythm/line length, and 3. the rhyme scheme). Discuss separately
how each of these three parts of the structure of the poem contributes to its overall
effect.

Ex. If the poem is a Sonnet, how does the poet use this format to his/her
advantage?

If the poem has a strong and steady rhythm and rhyme, it is said to be lyrical
(song-like). Why do you think this is appropriate for such a poem?

If any part of the poem’s structural pattern changes at any point in the poem,

speculate upon possible reasons for this, and the effect of the change on the
poem.

Paragraph 6 (5-10 sentences)

-Provide an evaluation of the poem. Does it accomplish its purpose?
What makes it especially effective, touching, poignant, powerful, relevant, etc?

You may cite other critics’ statement and agree or disagree with them. Do not
use first person point of view in the paragraph.
Be sure to search for information in several databases, the internet (on a limited basis), and in “the stacks” in libraries.
Do not expect to find lots of outside analysis (research) on individual poems. You will be doing most of the poetic analysis on your own. Look for biography, history, poetic style and common poetic themes information as it relates to your poet and poem.

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