Choose ONE of the following topics:

1.) Discuss two poems that you like (one may be song lyrics), and that qualify as "good poetry" according to at least three criteria that you could apply to any poetry. First establish what those criteria are, and then show how the two poems that you discuss exemplify those criteria. Be sure to cite specific lines from the poems (or song lyrics) that support your argument.

For example, if I chose two of Shakespeare's sonnets, my criteria could be the attention the poet pays to "form" (such as his structure, rhyme scheme, imagery); the depths of emotion he is willing to explore; and the "story" that the sonnets tell.

You do not have to choose two poems by the same poet.

2.) Imagine you have just been assigned to write a poem. What ideas do you wish to convey? What will the tone be? What images (metaphors, similes) or analogies might you use in your poem to create vivid "pictures" that help your reader understand your ideas. What symbols might you use? What other poetic "tools" will you use to help the poem have an engaging form and sound? Then, write the poem. Ha! Yes, that is the assignment. Use those preliminary notes as your "commentary" about the poem. (I would begin by deciding on a particular theme I had strong memories, emotions, or opinions about, and then free-write as many ideas as I can. After a day's rest, I would return to the free-writing sample and look through that passage for words, phrases, sentences that still sounded strong to me, and use them as the basis for creating the poem. Where would a better word work? Which phrases have a lasting effect on me? Which lines don't work at all? I would also have my first draft for the prose commentary about the poem, and would edit that free-writing sample for coherence and clarity, spelling, and grammar.)