Length: 1-3 pages

Formatting: MLA (see section "B" below)

PICK ONE of the following inaugural poems for analysis (click on or copy and paste hyperlinks into a search engine)

Maya Angelou "On the Pulse of the Morning" (Bill Clinton Inauguration, 1993)

HYPERLINK "http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/on-the-pulse-of-morning/" http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/on-the-pulse-of-morning/

Miller Williams "Of History and Hope" (Bill Clinton Inauguration, 1997)

HYPERLINK "http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/176494" http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/176494

Elizabeth Alexander "Praise Song for the Day" (Barack Obama Inauguration, 2009)

HYPERLINK "http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/182812" http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/182812

Blanco "One Today" (Barack Obama Inauguration, 2013)

HYPERLINK "http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/docs/one_today_inaugural_poem_by_richard_blanco_jan._21_2013.pdf" http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/docs/one_today_inaugural_poem_by_richard_blanco_jan._21_2013.pdf

Robert Frost "The Gift Outright" (John F. Kennedy Inauguration 1961)

HYPERLINK "http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/237942" http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/237942

Then compose your SWA 1, using MLA formatting, to include the following

In your first paragraph, reflect on what you know and expect of presidential inaugurations. What is the purpose of an inauguration ceremony, beyond just "swearing in a new president"? How does an inauguration connect to our sense of identity as Americans? What is it an occasion for remembering and reflecting upon?

In your second paragraph analyze and respond to the particular inauguration poem you've chosen in terms of how it "fits" the occasion for which it was written. What elements of the poem (structure, content, imagery, metaphors, theme, symbol, etc.) fit the occasion of a presidential inauguration? If someone from the future knew very little about our U.S. Presidential Inaugurations, what would they learn ABOUT such occasions from what they saw in this poem?

Your paper should follow MLA formatting guidelines (12pt Times New Roman font, double spaced, heading including your name, my name, the course title, and the due date, last name and page number in the top right corner of each page). For citation/formatting guidelines, see the sample paper I posted in d2l, the Little DK Handbook, and the Owl Perdu MLA website)

Be sure to provide your own MLA formatted Works Cited page, with an MLA Works Cited entry documenting the online source for the poem that you chose to work with in this SWA.