Essay Poetry

Choose a debatable issue related to one or more of the poems we read in Unit Three and Unit Four. In a paper of 400 to 600 words, take a position on an issue the is dealt with in the poetry. The purpose of the your essay is to convince me and other readers that your position is valid. In the essay I want you to use at least two examples from the primary work and two outside sources of information that support your position. These can be Internet sources but they must be respect sources. Be sure to use the college library for additional information as well as the Internet.

Be sure to follow the guidelines below:
• State your thesis clearly in the first paragraph or two.
• When supporting your argument be specific with your evidence.
• Explain positions that differ from yours then explain why these are not arguable.
• Avoid common mistakes in reasoning.
• If you quote from a source or use information from a source that is not common knowledge, cite it with an MLA in-text citation and include the source in a list of works cited at the end of the paper.

Sample Poetry Essay Topics
These are only samples. I have put my “suggested topics” in the form of a thesis statement. Yes, they are examples….but you may use one, modify one or disagree with one of these positions… or best of all select your own topic. You may obviously compare and contrast a short story we have read to a poem we have read.

The Road Not Taken: Robert Frost’s poem and James Baldwin’s short story Sonny’s Blues are both about choices in life. Both of these writers glorify the lesser traveled road as opposed to the more convention life.

6-7 page essay
Option1 from attached file: Using Elizabeth Bishop’s “Quai D’Orleans” and “One Art,” compose an essay that considers

the ways that Bishop explores the nature of loss and memory. Your discussion and conclusion should

must draw on connections between the two poems. Make sure that you discuss the tone of each poem.

Make sure that you include any literary devices (metaphors, alliteration etc.).