Major Assignment : Poetry
Subject
Writing
Question Description
Choose two poems we’ve read that have a common theme (love, faith, relationships, suffering, etc.). Then write a 1,000-word essay in which you discuss how the poems present that theme and argue which poem makes its point more effectively. A few possible themes and poems that could be paired:
humor -- "A Martian Sends a Postcard Home" and "The Flea"
suffering -- "Musée des Beaux Arts" and "My Papa's Waltz"
connectedness with family -- "Digging" and "My Papa's Waltz"
the difficulties of being a parent -- "Ballad of Birmingham" and "Musée des Beaux Arts”
alternate views of everyday life -- "The Flea" and "A Martian Sends a Postcard Home"
the beauty of art -- "Ode on a Grecian Urn" and "Musée des Beaux Arts”
the danger of committing hubris -- "Ozymandias" and "Musée des Beaux Arts”
the impermanence of human achievements -- "Ozymandias" and "Ode on a Grecian Urn"
the importance of history to the present -- "Ballad of Birmingham" and "Ozymandias"
memory -- "My Papa's Waltz" and "Ballad of Birmingham"
the rewards of hard work -- "Digging" and "Ozymandias"