Paper Guidelines

I have been reading, studying, and writing about poetry for a long time. I have learned that sometimes good poets have lots of good things to say to us about poetry. Robert Frost, arguably the most well-known and widely read American poet of the twentieth century, once wrote, "A poem begins as a lump in the throat, a sense of wrong, a homesickness, a lovesickness." It seems to me that he is right, and I often think about this quote when I sit down to read a poem.

The assignment:

Choose any poem (except for "The Road Not Taken," I will blind myself if I read another essay on that poem) that you have been assigned (or that is in our book) and explicate it, demonstrating for your reader the ways the poem fulfills/satisfies Frost's observation. In other words, use Frost's assertion as a springboard into your discussion.

Please do not read or introduce any secondary sources into your paper or do any research online. I want this to be YOUR original reaction and analysis of the poem.

I would recommend that you read the passage "Explication" (pages 876-879 in your text) and perhaps the sample explication (page 884 in your text).

Guidelines:

Essays must

- be between 2-3 pages (this means at least two full pages of text).

- be typed, double spaced, and formatted using MLA format.

- Be written in the third person point of view (no I, you, your)

- use the primary text to support your discussion. This means you must quote relevant passages from the poem that support the points you are making. Make certain you integrate these passages smoothly into your own prose and document them using MLA format.

- include a works cited page.

- be submitted via Blackboard.

Finally:

- Essays that do not meet the minimum guidelines or ignore the assignment are not read and will receive a 50/F.
- Essays will be scored using the Language and Literature Department's Grading Policy.

MLA double space.

Attachment:- Acquainted with the Night.rar