British Literary Tradition 1, fall 2000 (2101/02)                                                           Paper 2

This paper will focus on the process of analyzing a poem. Please develop an argument about one poem from this week’s or next week’s reading (Donne, Herbert, Herrick, Phillips, Marvell). You should start with a reading of the poem, and from that develop a claim about the relationship between how the poem works and what it means.

Papers should be 3-4 pages, double-spaced, in a standard font, with standard margins, etc. Title pages are not necessary.

The procedure for this paper is similar to the last one: Think about the paper in two parts: first do a close reading of the poem (an explication of both what it says and how it says it), and then develop an argument about it. For the conference (next Monday), you should have a draft of at least the first part (the reading) done. We will then discuss the argument together (come to the conference with ideas about this).

Here is a reminder (from the last assignment) about the procedure for writing these papers:

Your analysis of each poem should begin with a specific claim (the point you want to make about it), and then a discussion of the poem that supports your claim.

Note the order: your analysis should be organized by a point and your discussions should refer back to that point.

But also note that your claim may not be apparent to you until you’ve actually written your account of the poem. Drafts are occasions to work out your understanding of the material. And if you don’t know exactly what your main claim is at the beginning, that’s ok. Start writing about what is happening and you will (really!) arrive at something by the end of your discussion.

It is the work of editing to rearrange your analysis into a reader-friendly format that will allow the reader to see your claim and follow your discussion as an explanation of that point. The points that come first in your final draft are often what you arrive at last in your early draft.

Analytic points (or claims) are these kinds of statements (note that each addresses some "problem" the poem is worrying about):

Chaucer’s "Prologue" presents a tension between social assumptions and a messier reality by presenting the pilgrims in "proper" order but undercutting this in the individual portraits’ details.

The aggressive imagery in Wyatt’s poem shows an ambivalence about the civility its Petrarchan form initially promises.

Sidney’s sonnet addresses the difficulty of saying what you really feel if you must use the same words that other (bad) poets use.

On Monday (10/30) you will each have an individual conference with me about your rough drafts.

Revised, final drafts are due in class on Wednesday (11/1)—please hand in your drafts along with your final paper.