Your third essay is to be an argumentative, analytical, and evaluative. The argument, of course, is what you express in your thesis statement. From that point, you will analyze Ms. Dickinson's poetry to support your thesis. You can hold off your evaluation until the last couple of paragraphs, or you can evaluate the poetry throughout the essay. That is your choice. My point is that you should NOT simply paraphrase what the poem clearly tells us.
For this essay, you should focus on a theme that you find in one poem. Most of the essay should deal with your analysis of that poem to fit your interpretation. Throughout the essay, you may make references to one or two other poems that have similar themes, but the focus should be on the one poem. You should choose a poem that we have not discussed in class. That way you can avoid the temptation of simply restating what we've said about the poem.
In the introduction of your essay, let the reader know what poem you are writing about and who the poet is. Indicate the title of a poem by putting it in quotation marks. Use the first line of Ms. Dickinson's poem as its title; don't use the number. In a sentence or two then, tell the reader about the topic of the work. After these preliminaries, create a thesis that reflects your interpretation of how Ms. Dickinson responds to that topic. Remember that your thesis statement is the most important sentence in the essay. Be sure that it reflects what you believe Ms. Dickinson is saying about the topic you've chosen. However, be careful about writing a thesis that is so obvious that the reader says, "Sure, I know that. Everybody knows that." Look deeply into the poem, and create a thesis that isn't so self-evident that one wonders why you are wasting time explaining the obvious. Whatever you choose, just make sure that you can support your interpretation with evidence from the poem.
For the remainder of the essay, choose key lines and images that support your thesis. If there is a central metaphor in the poem that the meaning hinges on, point out that metaphor, and explain its relevance to the theme you have chosen. Draw our attention to other figurative language--and how it relates to the theme you have chosen. Poetry, of course, requires that readers draw inferences from what appears in the text. Because of their brevity, poems force the reader to draw conclusions from the few lines and images provided. Sometimes the meaning of Dickinson's poetry turns on a paradox. She also teases us with the masks she assumes in her verse--and with her penchant for irony. As a result, you will have to read and re-read the poem until you know it better than she did. Often you will find that one Dickinson poem will reflect a particular attitude toward death or love, while the next poem will reflect a different attitude. Miss Dickinson is like a bead of mercury rolling in the palm of your hand. When you think you've grasped her, she will squirt out from under you, fragmenting in your fingers.
When you have supported your interpretation, then discuss Dickinson's style. Be careful here. I don't want a shopping list of the literary language and figures of speech she uses in the poem. Rather, I want you to relate the style of the poem to the meaning you have derived from it. That is, show how the style actually enhances the meaning.
Don't forget to evaluate Ms. Dickinson's handling of the poem. Let me know what you like about the poem and what you do not like and why. Do not hesitate to say "I think." When you are quoting the lines of a poem, be sure to illustrate the ending of one line and the beginning of another by placing a virgule ( / ) between the two words where the break occurs. Leave a space before and after the slash: "The thought beneath so slight a film-- / Is more distinctly seen" (1-2). At the end of the quotation, put in parenthesis the line numbers you have quoted. If you are quoting up to three lines, run them into the text, and use quotation marks, as the example above illustrates. If you are quoting four or more lines from the text, set your quotation off ten spaces from the left margin only, and do not use quotation marks. In your Bedford Handbook, an example of a long quotation appears at the top of page 394.
Requirements for Writing this Essay
- Express your interpretation in a firm thesis, but do not dwell on the obvious.
- Support that interpretation with evidence from the poem.
- Think creatively.
- Do not merely paraphrase the poem, line-by-line. That approach creates an incredibly boring essay. Rather, draw inferences from the content, language, and tone the poet uses, and show how those inferences relate to your interpretation.
- No more than 15 % of your text should be directly quoted.
- In addition to the in-text citations referring to the numbers of the lines from the poem that you quote, you must include a Works Cited page, indicating the text you are using. Don't forget to include the editor's name in that citation. In your Bedford Handbook, citation number 8 "Book with an author and an editor," on page 535, will give you an example of how to handle this citation.
- DO NOT discuss Ms. Dickinson's biography. We want an analysis of the poetry, not a summary of her life.
- The manuscript should be at least one thousand words. I do not equate quantity with quality, but there may be a close relationship between quantity and development.
- Be thorough in stating and supporting your ideas. Remember that this course is based on the honor code. Any material--ideas, wording, or any other information that you receive from another source--must be documented, both in-text and in the works cited page. Be sure to read my link on plagiarism.
- PROOFREAD YOUR ESSAY THOROUGHLY.
Format of Manuscript and Deadline
- The manuscript must be typed. Double-space everything, and use the normal one-inch margins. Remember my poor eyes, and use a 12 pitch font.
- Create an imaginative title for the essay that ties in with your thesis statement. Don't use the first line of Ms. Dickinson's poem as your title.
- Remember to use the standard MLA format that we discussed in class.
- Check the syllabus for the due date for the essay.
- Good Luck!