WELCOME TO LUNCH TIME POETRY

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WELCOME TO LUNCH TIME POETRY!

• Thanks for coming.
• Sit anywhere you like.
• Eat while I talk. Eat while you work. Just dont
  eat while you talk.
• Listen carefully, and ask questions!

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Todays Goals

• Brainstorm what to look for when marking up a
  poem.
• Receive a poem Fishing by Kate Scott
• Read the poem silently. Listen while I read the
  poem.
• Mark up the poem, paying special attention to
  our brainstorming list.
• Bring the marked up poem to Fridays meeting in
  Mrs. Wrights room (24)

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THE POETRY THESIS
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TODAYS AGENDA

• Review Thesis
• Write your own thesis for the poem, Fishing by
  Kate Scott

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• Writing about poetry can be one of the most
  demanding tasks that many students face in a
  literature class.
• Poetry, by its very nature, makes demands on a
  writer who attempts to analyze it that other
  forms of literature do not.

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• The goal of the assignment is usually to
• argue a specific thesis about the poem,
• using your analysis of specific elements in
• the poem and how those elements relate to
• each other to support your thesis.

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GOAL of POETIC ANALYSIS

• a paper that you write about a poem or poems is
  an ARGUMENT or CLAIM. Make sure that you have
  something specific that you want to say about the
  poem that you are discussing.
• This specific argument that you want to make
  about the poem will be your THESIS

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You will support this thesis by drawing examples
and evidence from the poem itself.

• In order to make a credible argument about the
  poem, you will want to analyze how the poem
  workswhat genre the poem fits into, what its
  themes are, and what poetic techniques and
  figures of speech are used.

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A STRONG THESIS WILL

• Make a claim
• Contain a unique or interesting
  perspective/interpretation
• Generalize, without being overly broad

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A Good Example

• In John Donnes writing, death loses its powerful
  threat and is portrayed as a metaphorical rest or
  sleep.
• What is the claim?
• What evidence will be provided as proof?

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Another example

• In Dickensons poem, conflict between religious
  devotion and cynicism is illustrated through her
  portrayal of an ironic God.
• What claim is being made?
• How is the author going to prove it?

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What makes a THESIS weak?

• makes no claim
• This paper will examine the similarities and
  differences between two poems.
• Solution Raise specific issues for the essay
  to explore.

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What makes a THESIS weak?

• is obviously true or a statement of fact
• Shakespeare discusses love in his sonnets.
• Solution Find an avenue of inquirya
  question about the fact or an issue raised by
  them. Make an assertion (CLAIM) that the
  reader could disagree with.

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What makes a THESIS weak?

• restates conventional wisdom or a cliché
• Langston Hughes teaches that we shouldnt judge
  others because its the inside that counts.
• Solution Seek to complicate your thesis.
  See more than one point of view on your
  subject. Offer something new to the cliché.

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What makes a THESIS weak?

• makes an overly broad claim
• Limerick shows her knowledge about the West.
• Solution Convert broad, generic categories
  into more specific, complex assertions. Find
  ways to bring out the complexity of your
  subject.

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Tips Tricks

• When you analyze a poem, it is best to use
  present tense rather than past tense for your
  verbs.
• Leave out any first or second person pronouns (I,
  me, my, you, us, we, our).
• If you are stuck, start by writing INTERPRETIVE
  questions. Your THESIS will be an attempted
  answer.
• Your thesis should be the LAST sentence in your
  first paragraph.

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• Can your thesis stand on its own?
• No pronouns
• No need for explanatory sentences
• Does your thesis generalize what your argument
  will be?
• No listing the topics of the body paragraphs
• No oversimplifying the concept lots of things
  "very" "good"
• Does your thesis proclaim your opinion?
• No obvious ideas, common knowledge, clichés, or
  statements of fact
• No overly broad concepts

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RESOURCES

• Special thanks to
• The OWL at Purdue
• The Writing Center at Ohio State University
• The Bedford Introduction to Literature

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TODAYS AGENDA

• PEER REVIEW OF THESIS STATEMENTS
• DISCUSSION OF THE CONTENT OF THE BODY OF YOUR
  ANALYSIS
• TIPS OF THE USE OF EVIDENCE
• REMINDERS ABOUT ORGANZIATION AND TRANSITIONS

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PEER REVIEW OF THESIS STATEMENTS

• SHARE YOUR THESIS STATEMENTS WITH A PARTNER
• IS THE STATEMENT
• CLEARLY WRITTEN?
• ABLE TO STAND ON ITS OWN?
• A GENERAL INDICATION OF YOUR ARGUMENT?
• ARGUABLE?
• ORIGINAL?
• IF YOU ANSWERED NO TO ANY OF THE QUESTIONS
  LISTED ABOVE, TELL YOUR PARTNER!

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WHAT SHOULD THE FIRST PARAGRAPH INCLUDE?

• An inviting opening that states the title of the
  poem and the authors name
• A gentle introduction to the main idea that you
  will be discussing
• A strong, compelling thesis statement that will
  be placed as the last sentence in your
  introduction

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WHAT SHOULD THE BODY OF YOUR ESSAY INCLUDE?

• REMEMBER, THE GOAL OF YOUR ESSAY IS TO PROVE YOUR
  THESIS
• DEVOTE A PARAGRAPH TO THE DISCUSSION OF EACH OF
  THE FOLLOWING
• POETIC TECHNIQUES
• SYMBOLS
• CONTROLLING METAPHOR
• THEMES AND UNIVERSAL MESSAGES

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THE PATTERN OF A PARAGRAPH

• In EACH paragraph, you must use EVIDENCE to
  support your observations
• Open the paragraph with a topic sentence that
  relates to, and supports, your thesis
• Explain the topic sentence
• Use a quote from the poem to prove the validity
  of the topic sentence (CD concrete detail)
• Explain the quote (CM commentary)
• Create a transition statement that smoothes the
  way to the next paragraph

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PROPER DOCUMENTATION OF A QUOTE

• When using a quote, place the copied material in
  quotation marks, with no punctuation at the end.
• After the closing quotation mark, place the line
  quoted in parentheses. Add a period.
• Doors are not equivocal (12).
• If quoting two lines, place a \ in the quote at
  the line break and in the citation as well
• \... (11\12).

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ALWAYS KEEP FOCUSED ON THE GOAL!

• The goal of the assignment is to
• argue a specific thesis about the poem,
• using your analysis of specific elements in
• the poem and how those elements relate to
• each other to support your thesis.
• Use your conclusion to tie it all together.

26
RESOURCES

• Special thanks to
• The OWL at Purdue
• The Writing Center at Ohio State University
• The Bedford Introduction to Literature

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TODAYS AGENDA

• PEER REVIEW OF THESIS STATEMENTS
• DISCUSSION OF THE CONTENT OF THE BODY OF YOUR
  ANALYSIS
• TIPS OF THE USE OF EVIDENCE
• REMINDERS ABOUT ORGANZIATION AND TRANSITIONS

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PEER REVIEW OF THESIS STATEMENTS

• SHARE YOUR THESIS STATEMENTS WITH A PARTNER
• IS THE STATEMENT
• CLEARLY WRITTEN?
• ABLE TO STAND ON ITS OWN?
• A GENERAL INDICATION OF YOUR ARGUMENT?
• ARGUABLE?
• ORIGINAL?
• IF YOU ANSWERED NO TO ANY OF THE QUESTIONS
  LISTED ABOVE, TELL YOUR PARTNER!

29
WHAT SHOULD THE FIRST PARAGRAPH INCLUDE?

• An inviting opening that states the title of the
  poem and the authors name
• A gentle introduction to the main idea that you
  will be discussing
• A strong, compelling thesis statement that will
  be placed as the last sentence in your
  introduction

30
WHAT SHOULD THE BODY OF YOUR ESSAY INCLUDE?

• REMEMBER, THE GOAL OF YOUR ESSAY IS TO PROVE YOUR
  THESIS
• DEVOTE A PARAGRAPH TO THE DISCUSSION OF EACH OF
  THE FOLLOWING
• POETIC TECHNIQUES
• SYMBOLS
• CONTROLLING METAPHOR
• THEMES AND UNIVERSAL MESSAGES

31
THE PATTERN OF A PARAGRAPH

• In EACH paragraph, you must use EVIDENCE to
  support your observations
• Open the paragraph with a topic sentence that
  relates to, and supports, your thesis
• Explain the topic sentence
• Use a quote from the poem to prove the validity
  of the topic sentence (CD concrete detail)
• Explain the quote (CM commentary)
• Create a transition statement that smoothes the
  way to the next paragraph

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PROPER DOCUMENTATION OF A QUOTE

• When using a quote, place the copied material in
  quotation marks, with no punctuation at the end.
• After the closing quotation mark, place the line
  quoted in parentheses. Add a period.
• Doors are not equivocal (12).
• If quoting two lines, place a \ in the quote at
  the line break and in the citation as well
• \... (11\12).

33
ALWAYS KEEP FOCUSED ON THE GOAL!

• The goal of the assignment is to
• argue a specific thesis about the poem,
• using your analysis of specific elements in
• the poem and how those elements relate to
• each other to support your thesis.
• Use your conclusion to tie it all together.