Compare and Contrast Essay (4-5 pages)
For this assignment, you are to compare and contrast two of the poems I have listed below. They are all available on Blackboard. When you choose one of the underlined poems, you must pair it with one of the poems indicated. I have paired them in ways that should place them in conversation with each other. How do the two poems deal with similar problems, address similar themes, and work through similar tensions? How are their forms similar or different, and how do those forms reflect back on poems' different effects and meanings? You may compare tone, diction, point of view, use (or avoidance) of figurative language, rhyme, irony, paradox, image, symbol, rhythm, and other elements of poetry (As in the earlier essays, you do not have to address all these elements-just focus on the one or the few that are relevant). When writing a compare and contrast essay, you must do more than just list similarities and differences: you must have a basis for the comparison and your analysis should reveal something about the two poems and their relationship.
As in previous assignments, your essay should have a thesis that is focused, revealing, and debatable. You must use specific language from the poems to support your thesis. After you choose your poems, you should look at the Questions for Responsive Reading and Writing in the Bedford anthology (pp. 592-593), especially questions 1-19. They should help you consider the right basis for comparison and contrast.
"Since Feeling is First" (E.E. Cummings) and
"Aprhodisia" (Richard Hoffman)
"Language" (Nizar Qabbani)
"Sex Without Love" (Sharon Olds) and
"I Being Born a Woman and Distressed" (Edna St. Vincent Millay)
"may I feel said he" (E.E. Cummings)
"she being Brand" (E.E. Cummings)
"Love Poem" (Dora Malech) and
"Whoever hath her wish, thou hast thy 'Will'" (William Shakespeare)
"Heart to Heart" (Rita Dove) and
"Never Give all the Heart" (W. B. Yeats)
"I am Not Yours" (Sara Teasdale)
"Rime Riche" (Monica Ferrell)
"I Crave Your Mouth, Your Voice, Your Hair" (Pablo Neruda)
"I am Not Yours" (Sara Teasdale)
"I Loved You First" (Christina Rossetti) and "I Am Not Yours" (Sara Teasdale)