Emily Dickson, English homework help

Analysis of a Poem Assignment

ENG 250 – American Literature

Graded out of 50

Review the details for this paper assignment. Once you have completed the paper and saved as a Word

document, you must submit the paper to your instructor via Turnitin (see Analysis of a Poem –

Submission in the Assignments for Week 6.)

Assignment Instructions:

For this assignment, choose one of the following American poets and one of their poems for study and

analysis:

• Emily Dickinson (pp. 627-665)

• Robert Frost (pp. 666-699)

• Langston Hughes (pp. 700-735)

After reading the background information on your chosen poet, choose the poem you want to analyze

within the poet’s section in DiYanni and write a 2-3 page essay that answers ONE of the following

prompts:

1. Discuss the values exemplified in the poem. Consider, that is, the cultural, moral, social, or ethical

norms that either appear explicitly in the poem or are implied by it. Identify those values, relate them

to your own, and comment on their significance. See Chapter 10 (pages 501-504) of Literature by

DiYanni for more information.

2. Analyze the elements (imagery, diction, symbolism, rhyme, etc.) of the poem. How do these poetic

elements create and convey the poem’s theme (or themes)? In other words, what is the point of the

poem, and how does the author utilize the various poetic elements to get his point across? Be specific.

See Chapter 12 of Literature by DiYanni for more information about the elements of poetry.

3. Consider the historical and social context of the poem. How did the poet work within and/or against

the prevailing social attitudes, moral beliefs, or cultural dispositions of his or her time? See Chapter

31 (pages 1565-1567) of Literature by DiYanni for more information.

See Chapters 10-13 of Literature by DiYanni for more information on reading and writing about poetry.

Grading:

Write a structured, organized essay with a clear thesis statement; paragraphs with unity,

development, and coherence; an engaging introduction; and an effective conclusion that reiterates

your main points. In other words, write a strong, detailed essay about the poem you choose to discuss.

Revise and edit your paper thoroughly before turning it in.

Remember, also, to use quotes and otherwise reference your poem, and be sure to cite any outside

sources that you reference with both in-text citations and reference page citations. Failure to cite

properly is considered plagiarism, a serious academic offense with severe penalties (as discussed in the

© Hondros College

Hondros Catalog). Be sure to follow standard APA formatting, and remember the 2-3 page length

requirement.

The rubric below details the breakdown of points for this assignment.

Analysis of a Poem Rubric Possible

Points

Points

Earned

Essay indicates a controlling idea: A clear thesis statement

indicates the essay’s argument, which answers the question about

the analyzed poem.

5

Essay develops a controlling idea: This thesis statement is

developed throughout the paper, without digressions, into a

thoughtful, careful, precise analysis. This includes specific, cited

quotations and paraphrases from the poem and any relevant outside

sources, as well as a discussion of critical theory, literary elements,

and/or biographical and historical information.

15

Essay develops a strong and logical structure: The essay as a

whole has a unified, coherent, and developed point of view, with a

thesis statement, introduction that contextualizes the discussion,

properly ordered body paragraphs, and a conclusion that ties

together the main points of the essay. Transitions connect sentences

and paragraphs throughout the essay.

5

Essay paragraphs are unified, coherent, and developed:

Paragraphs make one single, coherent point that fits within the

structure of the essay. Topic sentences and concluding sentences

are used appropriately.

5

Essay is edited and revised properly: The essay is written with

clear, interesting, sound sentences; appropriate tone; a lack of

grammatical, mechanical, typographical, and punctuation errors.

8

Essay meets APA formatting guidelines: The essay has an APAstyle

title page, uses Times New Roman 12 font, has appropriate

margins, offers a correctly formatted References Page and in-text

citations, and otherwise acceptably meets APA standards.

7

Essay meets length guidelines: The essay should be about 2-3

pages in length

5

TOTAL: 50

 

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