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CRIT (Critical Analysis of Poetry) Instructions

IF YOU WILL READ THESE INSTRUCTIONS SLOWLY AND THOROUGHLY,

you can develop an understanding of the requirements.

Part 1: Read the following necessary background information, pay attention to the discussions in class regarding NAP (New American Poetry), and keep whatever notes you feel are important to keep. Background information is as follows:

  • pg. 530 Walt Whitman bio info
  • pg. 546 Emily Dickinson bio info
  • pgs. 520-521 Brilliant Mavericks: Whitman and Dickinson
  • pgs. 528-529 Form and Content in Poetry; Form and Function; Poetic Form in Action


Part 2: Read the following six poems:

  • Whitman’s “I Hear America Singing” (pg. 532)
  • Whitman’s Part 1 of “Song of Myself” (pg. 534)
  • Whitman’s “A Noiseless, Patient Spider” (pg. 538)
  • Dickinson’s “Because I could not stop for Death—” (pg. 548)
  • Dickinson’s “Much Madness is divinest Sense—” (pg. 551)
  • Dickinson’s “The Soul selects her own Society—” (pg. 552)

Part 3: Constructing your CRIT

  • There are five steps to follow when we CRIT a poem. These are: paraphrase, observe, contextualize, analyze, and argue. On the following pages, each of these steps is explained. Complete the steps in the order that they are assigned. This is the only way to successfully complete the entire process.

Important things to note:

  • No step will be accepted out of order. If you complete a step out of order, you will be reassigned another poem, and you will have to start the whole process over from Step 1. Please note: Completing steps out of order (i.e. not following directions) and being reassigned a new poem does not push forward any due dates. Original due dates will still apply to you.
  • Steps 1-4 are not going to be graded. However, you will be permitted to turn in Steps 1-4, in order, and on their posted due dates for teacher review. As this work is not graded, there will be NO EXTENSION OF DUE DATES FOR TEACHER REVIEW.If you do not take advantage of teacher review on the assigned due dates, and your Step 5 earns a failing grade, you will be reassigned a different poem, and you will be required to report to however many tutorials it takes to successfully complete Steps 1-5 again, in order, with your newly assigned poem.
  • You may have teacher review of any and/or all of Steps 1-4. However, for example, if you are submitting Step 3 only for review, you will still be asked to present Steps 1 and 2 with Step 3 to be sure that you are completing everything in order.
  • No due dates will be pushed forward as a result of you not following the requirements of this assignment.

1. Paraphrase-In 4-6 sentences, clearly and directly state the basic content of the poem. What situation is being described? What action(s) take place? Who/What performs these actions? Does the poem say why they perform these actions? If so, write it down.

Tip: Write a basic summary of the poem’s content. Don’t analyze the poem. Now is not the time to analyze. Don’t try to figure out what the poem means in this step. Also, don’t critique the poem (critique means to say whether it’s good or bad). All you’re doing in this step is writing down what is actually happening in the poem.

2. Observe-Read through the poem again and identify features or qualities of the poem’s language. Your list may include any kind of elements that capture your attention, even if you can’t explain why they capture your attention. Indicate which line(s) you’re referring to.

Tip: Look at the poetic and rhetorical devices the author has used. What is the rhyme scheme? Is there any repetition? Did the author use personification? onomatopoeia? metaphor? alliteration? etc.? Is there any unusual punctuation? How many stanzas are there? These questions and others of their kind are what you answer in this step.

3. Contextualize-Think about the poem in its historical context. Using what you know about the time period and the poet who wrote it, list some facts that you think might possibly be relevant to understanding the poem.

Tip: Think about what is happening in America (and possibly the world?) in an around the time this poem was written. Do you possibly see these events or thoughts/feelings about these events showing through in the poem? What are some things that you know about the author and his/her beliefs that may be showing through in the poem?

4. Analyze-Choose information from steps 2 and 3, and state how you think those details contribute to the overall meaning or effect of the poem.

Tip: Ask yourself how the facts you’ve written in Step 3 may have caused the author to choose the poetic and rhetorical devices you observed in Step 2. In this step, you are speculating (educated guess) about the impact the author’s life and times had on his/her poetry. A way to think about this step is as an equation: Facts in Step 3 + Observations in Step 2 = Analysis

5. Argue-Use the information you’ve come up with in steps 1-4 to formulate a thesis statement that conveys your own interpretation of the meaning of the poem. Remember that an effective thesis statement for this activity is one that must be defended. After you have developed a thesis statement, defend it with examples from the poem and your CRIT.

Tip for thesis statement: A thesis is a general, overall claim you make about the poem you’ve analyzed in Steps 1-4. A good thesis statement is one that has to be defended. This means that somebody might argue with what you claim about the poem. The fact that somebody might argue with what you’ve said forces you to be able to defend your claim by providing examples from the poem in support of your claim.