Write a 1,000-word analysis of a certain theme that you find in one of the mandatory poems for the course. However, along with providing a thematic analysis of the poem, your essay must also address such areas as meter, rhyme, symbolism, and imagery.

Write a 1,000-word analysis of a certain theme that you find in one of the mandatory
poems for the course. However, along with providing a thematic analysis of the poem, your
essay must also address such areas as meter, rhyme, symbolism, and imagery. These are
some of the ways the authors of poetry provide readers with the meaning they are trying to
convey.
The single poem you select must be substantive enough in length and content to afford you
with the opportunity to write 1,000 words about it.
Namorah Gayle Byrd, Ph.D., Professor, English
Rowan College of South Jersey
2
If you do not think one poem is sufficient, you can choose two short poems and do a
comparative analysis of the two works. Many of the poems are very good candidates for a
comparative analysis. If you choose to compare two poems, consult Kerry Walk, Harvard
Writing Center: “How to Write a Comparative Analysis”
http://writingcenter.fas.harvard.edu/pages/how-write-comparative-analysis
This essay is a research essay, so be sure to follow all of the research guidelines that are
explained in the check list.
Rules for quoting from the poem or poems:
• As you write about the poem, only refer to the line or lines about which you are providing
your insightful analysis work.
• Only write very short directly quoted phrases using quotation marks inside of the text.
• Do not “pad” your essay by writing multiple lines of the poem or poems. This is a short
paper, so do not quote the poem or research sources extensively. 90% of this paper must
be your original analysis words.
Here is an example of the type of quoting you must use as you quote poetry for the
course:
In lines 8 – 14 of Brian Turner’s poem, “The Hurt Locker,” Turner uses
specific instances of incredibly violent and agonizing acts of war to accentuate the
high levels of physical and emotional pain that results from soldiers witnessing,
inflicting, or being the victims of combat. Turner admonishes readers to “[o]pen
the hurt locker” and “see what [lethal danger] there is” inside in order to appreciate
the duty and sacrifice members of the military voluntarily provide and make to the
country and its citizens (15 – 16). The stark horrors and reality of war are laid bare
in the poem; and most people likely hope never to have to face “rough men”
approaching them who are heavily armed and “hunting for souls” (Turner 18).
As you can see, poetry citations are very different from short story
citations.
Your Paper must use all MLA 8
th Edition Style writing guidelines and have a
MLA 8th Edition Works Cited page. I have provided MLA 8
th Edition Style
resources for you to consult. You can also consult Purdue University’s “Online
Writing Lab” website: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/
✓ You must use written secondary source materials from experts in the fields of African
American Studies, Asian American Studies, Criminal Justice, English, Gender Studies,
History, Law, Literary Studies, Middle East Studies, Native American Studies, Political
Science, Psychology, Religion, Sociology, or Women’s Studies. You need two direct
quotes from the two different academic sources I have provided in addition to and
not counting the source for the poem. Do not paraphrase the sources. The sources and
direct quotes can be from within the same academic field, but they must be gleaned from
Namorah Gayle Byrd, Ph.D., Professor, English
Rowan College of South Jersey
3
two different authors. This is the research component and is a mandatory and major
part of the essay assignment.
✓ Do not summarize the poem as part of your essay analysis submission. Literary analysis
work explains the hidden meaning of the themes in the poem and how the author uses
writing devices and a writing style to construct the meaning in the text. Your essay must
explain the meaning behind the obvious plot line of the poem and detail what poetic
literary devices the author uses to derive the meaning. Summarizing a poem is not the
same activity as analyzing a poem. Your grade is derived from the quality of your
analysis and research work.
Consult the OWL at Purdue: “Writing About Poetry”
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/575/1/
You need to use these terms and perspectives as part of your analysis writing.
✓ Do not personalize your literary analysis writing by using terms like “I think, I believe, in
my opinion, in my analysis of, us, we, our, my, mine” or any other personal references to
yourself or yourself inside of a group (we, us, our). Readers already know that your essay
is your personal observations, feelings, thoughts, and opinion about a piece of literature.
How do readers know this? Answer: Readers know this because you wrote an essay
telling them your opinion. Your essay is your opinion. There is no need to remind readers
of that fact. This type of writing will lower the grade.
✓ Do not use the second person references by using the terms “You, your, you’re, yourself,
or yourselves” in the course’s literary analysis essays. Literary analysis writers do not
directly tell readers what to think about pieces of literature. This type of writing will
lower the grade.
✓ Literary analysis researchers and writers present readers with powerful arguments for the
meaning inside of the texts by using the evidence that researchers see and then write
about. The results of researchers’ writings are called Essays. Well-constructed, wellargued, and well-researched essays are the only way writers can convince readers of their
perspectives and opinions.
✓ This is not a biography of the writer. Limit your background information about the writer to a few
lines, at most.
✓ Do not make the authors the subjects of their fictional poems. These poems are not true life
autobiographical texts. The characters in the stories are imaginary. For example: Do not make
William Ernest Henley the central character in “Invictus.” Researchers know Henley suffered
greatly with tuberculosis, which undoubtedly provided him with inspiration and insight into the
fighting spirit attitude present in the poem. However, the “I” character is not named “William
Ernest Henley” so analyze the poem as having an unnamed narrator. This caveat of not making
authors the imaginary character in their poems applies to all of the authors and poems in this
course. These poems and the characters in them are pure fiction, so you must write about the
characters as such.
Your Paper must be 1,000 words (minimum) and meet all MLA 8
th Edition Style writing, citation, and
documentation guidelines. There are MLA writing and citation style guidelines reminder power points
and videos posted in eLearning. Your textbook is an excellent resource for studying and understanding
literary forms and how to write a literary analysis paper about a poem.

“Annabel Lee” by Edgar Allan Poe:
“Because I Could Not Stop for Death” by Emily Dickinson:
“Bitch” by Carolyn Kizer:
“The Chimney Sweeper” by William Blake:
“Hate Poem” by Julie Sheehan:
“The Hurt Locker” by Brian Turner:
“If We Must Die” by Claude McKay:
“Imagine” by John Lennon:

“Invictus” by William Ernest Henley:

“Mother to Son” by Langston Hughes:

“Phenomenal Woman” by Maya Angelou:

“Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day” by William Shakespeare:
“The Raven” by Edgar Allan Poe:
“The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost:
“Still I Rise” by Maya Angelou
“The Times They Are A-Changin'” by Bob Dylan:

“We Real Cool” by Gwendolyn Brooks:
“We Wear the Mask” by Paul Laurence Dunbar:

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