Looking for Essay Ideas - Poetry

[dragonfly411]

Hey all. So I am in ENC1102 right now, and we were given a new essay assignment this morning. The essay is due Nov. 14. We are to pick a poet and analyze a focal point of their poetry using 3-5 poems. We were told we could focus on something that fall into the lines of theme, symbolism, emotion, etc. I need to find a poet! Would any of you have any good recommendations?

Some that were off of the top of my head were:

Robert Frost
Edgar Allen Poe
Walt Whitman
Jewel


Others?

 

[AGSHF]

Both use powerful symbolism in their poetry:

Sylvia Plath
Her much maligned husband, Ted Hughes, former poet laureate of the U.K.


Elizabeth Bishop

Billy Collins -- great whimsy in his poetry

 

[monarch64]

I would choose Emily Dickinson for you, DF. Tons of symbolism in her poems, shouldn't be hard to find a good one and turn it into an essay.

ETA: What about "Iron Horse?"

 

[Gypsy]

Definitely Plath. I like TS Elliot too but his poems are really long.

 

[Pandora II]

I like John Betjeman myself - and his poems are relatively short!

 

[ladypirate]

My first thought was Sylvia Plath as well. What about ee cummings? Or William Carlos Williams?

ETA: A couple more ideas--Maya Angelou, Pablo Neruda, Carl Sandburg, Dylan Thomas

 

[Imdanny]

Hey all. So I am in ENC1102 right now, and we were given a new essay assignment this morning. The essay is due Nov. 14. We are to pick a poet and analyze a focal point of their poetry using 3-5 poems. We were told we could focus on something that fall into the lines of theme, symbolism, emotion, etc. I need to find a poet! Would any of you have any good recommendations?

Some that were off of the top of my head were:

Robert Frost
Edgar Allen Poe
Walt Whitman
Jewel


Others?

Emily Dickinson, 3-5 poems concentrating on the theme of death. It would be interesting, easy, and to the point.

'Because I could not stop for death he kindly stopped for me' would be the first one I'd use. It's famous. It might be her most famous poem. I'd use Thomas H. Johnson's edition. There'd be tons of other choices for 2 and 3, 2, 3, and 4, or 2, 3, 4, and 5.

 

[dragonfly411]

Thank you everyone! I'm going to be reviewing the poets mentioned to see if anything strikes me.

ImDanny - I'd love to be able to do exactly that, but it was the main example used in class, which means 80% of the class will do it, and I refuse to be one of them lol.

 

[Imdanny]

No, I'm not surprised monarch64 and I came up with something they would use as an example. There's a reason Emily Dickinson is such a popular poet for teachers in high school and professors in college to use in teaching. She is among the best poets who ever lived and yet her poems are very conducive to studying literature in general. She is my favorite poet. I've read her complete poems four times. I'm planning to write a book about Emily Dickinson. Um, after I do some remedial research because my BA is actually in social sciences. I could have used her to write my senior thesis and I often wish I had chosen literature as a major. Please keep us updated about yor assignment. It sounds like a lot of fun and I'm interested to hear more about it! Good luck!

 

[monarch64]

Thank you everyone! I'm going to be reviewing the poets mentioned to see if anything strikes me.

ImDanny - I'd love to be able to do exactly that, but it was the main example used in class, which means 80% of the class will do it, and I refuse to be one of them lol.

Or, everyone will have your thought (that 80% will use the example given) and no one else will do Dickinson. If you do a really fabulous essay, though, Dragonfly, it won't matter if a ton of others in your class use the same poet. I'm sure your instructor has read a million essays on Dickinson's poems, so if you are able to offer a fresh perspective you may stand out from the crowd. It's all about who really speaks to you as a poet, though. Whose works have you really enjoyed reading? Is there one poem that has stood out to you? If a particular poet's writings have made you think, "hmm, I can relate to that!" then your choice might be more clear.

You are very family and animal oriented from what I know of you. You might consider using a poet who has written about those topics. Also, I see that you posted Jewel as a poet "off the top of your head." If you really relate to her poetry and feel you have a good understanding of her works, then maybe she's your poet?

 

[dragonfly411]

I just wanted to give a quick updated. I found out after this thread that I had to choose a poet who was in our textbook. So I chose to do Walt Whitman. I'm now working on picking out the four poems to use for the essay.

 

[AGSHF]

From Leaves of Grass:

When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloomed
Song of Myself

 

[dragonfly411]

Those are actually two I am looking at. I will for sure be doing Song of Myself because it is in the textbook. I also chose Carol of Words, which I just really love. I am seriously considering When Lilacs in the Door Yard Bloom'd. I also have a list of some of his other longer poems that I am going through. I'll give you guys a list of them when I finish picking today.