POETRY RESPONSE ESSAY

Your poem must be fromone of the following websites:

Academy of American PoetsThe Poetry Foundation

  1. Find a poem that you appreciate and like, that you believe is a good poem, a work of art. It should be a poem you have not read before (No Shel Silverstein or E.A.Poe).
  1. Print out a copy of the poem
  1. Read the poem to yourself at least three times, annotating each time. Note your response to the poem, what you like, what you appreciate, don’t understand, etc.
  1. Write a paragraph describing the overall poem: What is the tone and mood and how are they established? Who is the speaker and how do you know? (DON’Tsay it is the poet!) Your thesis can be a one sentence description of the poem.
  1. Write a second paragraph identifying and giving examples of six poetic elements in the poem (At least 4 differentelements).
  • Each elementmust be a specific form of figurative language, imagery or sound element—It CANNOT be connotation, denotation, enjambment, etc.
  • Be specific and quote from the poem to identify each element. Be sure to analyze each element by explain its effectin the poem.
  1. Write a third paragraph describing your reaction to the poem. Conside what you like about the poem, what elements have an effect on you, what you most appreciate, or your emotional or intellectual reactions. Again, be specific and use quotations as support. You should use at least 2 SPA’s: S=identify a response; P=specific example of what ideas, language, etc, evokes the response; A=why it evokes such a response. For this paragraph only you may use first person since you are describing your personal response to the poem.
  1. Write a fourth paragraph in which you end the essay by analyzing the value of the poem. Is it a “good” poem? Explain why or why not. Be specific. Since it is a concluding paragraph, there is no need to use SPA’s.
  1. Read over what you have written and make certain that you have been thorough.
  1. Be sure you have used the proper format in the upper left corner and have given it a title.
  1. Print out the essay. Staple the rubric to the top and the annotated poem to the back.

Name______Mods______

POETRY RESPONSE ESSAY RUBRIC

Paragraph One (Intro): (20 POINTS)______

clear topic sentence with title and author

speaker, mood, tone

Poetry correctly cited, smoothly incorporated

concise description of poem as thesis

Paragraph Two: (30 POINTS)______

clear topic sentence

Identify six specific poetic elements (4 different elements)-S

relevant example for each element-P

effect of element explained-A

closing sentence

Poetry correctly cited, smoothly incorporated

Paragraph Three: (20 POINTS)______

clear topic sentence

Specific personal response with specific support and analysis (at least 2 SPA)

closing sentence

Poetry correctly cited, smoothly incorporated

Paragraph Four (Conclusion): (20 POINTS)______

clear summary of no more than 2 sentences.

specific analysis of poem’s value

final sentence that sounds “finished” and polished

Overall: (10 POINTS)______

Copy of poem is annotated properly

Articulate, clearly worded, strong word choice & sentence structure

-1 point each for errors in spelling, grammar,

tense, formal language--USE PRESENT TENSE

______

(100 points) Total

To preserve the integrity and intent of this assignment, students should be aware that collaboration or research of any sort is not allowed. This means you should not discuss your essay with other students and you should not consult other sources, including the internet. You may use your poem and the “poetic elements” hand-out from class.