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Poem Essay

ENC1102 Essay #2 - Literary Analysis (Poetry)

Write a thesis-driven literary analysis of one of the following poems:

“The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” by T.S. Eliot

“Daddy” and/or “Lady Lazarus” by Sylvia Plath

“Marriage” by Gregory Corso

You may select one of the minor readings from class, for example Lewis Carroll’s “Jabberwocky,” so long as you produce a detailed analysis.

Your thesis statement should identify a theme of the work (this is your topic) and present a contestable or debatable argument about the theme (this is your main idea).

Examples of themes include, but are certainly not limited to:

Alienation and Fragmentation in “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”

The Use of WW2 and Holocaust Imagery in “Daddy” and “Lady Lazarus”

The Absurd Rituals of Courtship in “Marriage”

In addition to the poem’s content, you should discuss the form of the poem itself, including sound (the use of rhyme, alliteration, the musicality of the language), image (especially symbolic qualities), and arrangement (how the poem looks on the page, and why this is significant).

In the body of the paper, you should support your argument with quotations and specific examples from the poem. Remember that when quoting from a poem, a slash (/) indicates a line break. For example, “In the room the women come and go / Talking of Michelangelo” (Eliot).

Provide MLA in-text citations and a Works Cited page. Give your essay a creative title, and use MLA format throughout. This essay should be 4 pages long (1000 words).

Due Dates

Rough Draft – Wednesday, June 5th (bring digital copy for review in computer lab)

Final Draft – Friday, June 7th (digital submission via Blackboard, not a hard copy)