Instructions: 6 essay questions have been provided. Write a brief narrative response to the questions. It is not necessary for you to summarize the poem; please assume I have read the poem. Please be sure to write in complete sentences.
- Some poets such as Gwendolyn Brooks write protest poems. Look at “First Fight. Then Fiddle” . In your opinion and considering other protest poems, why or why not is poetry an effective vehicle for protest?
- Compare and contrast Walt Whitman’s “I Hear America Singing” with Langston Hughes’ “I, Too”
- Write a brief explication of Sylvia Plath’s “Mirror”. In your opinion, in what ways does the mirror reveal the theme of the poem? What is the theme?
- Sylvia Plath, Sharon Olds, and Anne Sexton are considered “confessional poets”. Looking at Olds’ poem “The Victims” , identify the “victims” in the poem. If this is a metaphor for the larger world, who else or what else are victims/victimizers?
- Write a brief explication of “The Twenty-Third Psalm” . Look for similes, metaphors, symbols, identify the speaker and audience, and tone.
6. Read the attached poem by Emily Dickinson. Write your own version of this poem beginning with the line “I’m nobody! Who are you?” (You do not have to duplicate the number of lines and you do not have to utilize precisely the same form).
NOTE: ALL THE POEMS FIND THEM ONLINE.
7. Why poetry?
Write 2 well-considered, evidence-based paragraphs in response to the question. You don’t have to agree that poetry is completely necessary but please try to find a place for it that feels personal and important to you.