Grammar for Writing: Level Orange — Chapter 8

Through a Poet's Eyes Walt Whitman Imagery, word choice, metaphor, simile. . . . These are among the tools of the poet. Gwendolyn Brooks found her inspiration on the streets of Chicago, while Robert Frost connected with the woodlands and fields of New England. It's time you "connected" with a poet who speaks your language. About the picture: This portrait of Walt Whitman appeared as the frontispiece for the 1855 and 1856 editions of Leaves of Grass. The 1854 engraving is by Samuel Hollyer, after a daguerrotype by Gabriel Harrison. Choose a contemporary poet to investigate. Among the poets you might consider are Maya Angelou, Ogden Nash, Carl Sandburg, Octavio Paz, e. e. cummings, James Wright, Gabriela Mistral, Naomi Shihab Nye, Langston Hughes, Galway Kinnell, or Marge Piercy. Then choose one poem by that poet and write a two-page poetry analysis. Discuss the topic of the poem, its underlying meaning, and how the poet used language in the poem. Explain what this poem might have meant to your poet's life. Do not use a poem you have discussed in class. STEP 1: Initial Search Begin your research with visits to the following Web sites: Poets.org Search for poets or poems using this search engine. Modern American Poetry Search: Specific poets Modern British Poetry Search: Specific poets Search for information about several modern American and English poets. Take notes on the poet, his or her style, personal experiences or sentiments that appear in his or her poetry, and general information about each poet's work. Copy poems and critical information from the sites to refer to in your analysis. Choose the poem that most interests you and focus your analysis on it. Use cluster diagrams to organize the details you have discovered. (See Grammar for Writing, Level Orange, page 11.) STEP 2: Focus Your Search Search the Internet for more information on the poet you chose and/or the specific poem, and explore other resources, such as poetry anthologies, literary journals, and literature textbooks. Collect information about the poet, quotes about his or her work, awards and honors received, and comments about the poem itself. STEP 3: Define Your Audience Make your analysis of the poem interesting to a high school English class. Your audience may know something about the poet you have chosen, but not as much about the particular poem you are analyzing. Write in a lively and informative style. Provide your audience with insights and information about both the poem and the poet. STEP 4: Brainstorm Ideas Read the poem several times. As you read, brainstorm ideas about it. Think about feelings the poem inspires, impressions, what you think the poet is trying to convey, and comments about specific phrases or word choices. Organize these random thoughts into an expanded outline for your poetry analysis. (See Grammar for Writing, Level Orange, page 13.) A poet often phrases his or her ideas in clauses. While you are reading, note the variety and intent of the clauses used in the poem. (See Grammar for Writing, Level Orange, pages 151-160.) In writing a literary analysis, apply an abbreviated form of the 5-W and How? questions, asking who, what, and why. (See Grammar For Writing, Level Orange, page 11.) Occasionally, when and where come into play in literature, particularly if major historical events are the topics of poems, short stories, or novels. STEP 5: Organize Your Ideas and Write Your Rough Draft Review your notes, adjust the content of your outline, and begin writing. Be sure to include quotes from outside sources to support your ideas. Also, you might quote lines from the poem where appropriate. Don't just say "Robert Frost uses images from nature"; include direct examples from the poem to support each claim. Lincoln Memorial, Washington, DC STEP 6: Revise, Edit, and Proofread Your Writing Reread your analysis. Be sure each paragraph has a topic sentence and all sentences in the paragraph support that topic. Add details, anecdotes, or quotations to your paragraphs to help readers better understand the poem. Edit your writing for grammatical errors; then proofread your work carefully for spelling, punctuation, and capitalization errors. STEP 7: Publish Your Work Present your analysis to the class. Compile your essay and others into a class literary journal. About the picture: After Lincoln's death, Walt Whitman poured out his grief in one of his most famous poems, which began: "When lilacs last in the dooryard bloom'd, And the great star early droop'd in the western sky, In the night, I mourned, and yet shall mourn With ever-returning spring." —Memories of President Lincoln, 1865 Copyright ©2007 by William H. Sadlier, Inc. All rights reserved.