Final Poetry Analysis Instructions
Day 1: Wednesday, March 23rd
1. Browse the poems from the list. Look for :
 a poem that you at least partially understand (however, you will be able to research the
poem later to get a full understanding)
 a poem that you connect with or that resonates with you. You will have to reflect on it
and react to it personally, so make sure you have something to say about it.
2. Choose a poem from the list and inform Mrs. Belliveau of your choice so she can make you a
copy for tomorrow’s class.
3. Get a start on day 2.
Day 2: Thursday, March 24th
1. Get a copy of your poem from Mrs. Belliveau.
2. Make notes directly on your poem. Ask questions, make comments, define words, paraphrase
lines, identify poetic devices, etc. BE SOMEWHAT NEAT ABOUT IT.
3. Begin your essay (instructions below)
Day 3: Wednesday, March 30th (and possibly March 31st, depending on how well you use your time)
1. Continue your essay.
2. Edit your essay.
3. Begin typing your essay.
 DOUBLE SPACED. SIZE 12. TIMES NEW ROMAN FONT. 1” MARGINS. TITLE PAGE
Essay Format:
Part 1: Introduce the poem and the author and briefly summarize what the poem is about.
Part 2: Explain the poem line by line. Be thorough. Use quotes directly from the poem to prove your
statements. At some point you should identify who the speaker is and explain how you determined that.
(This section will make up the bulk of your essay.)
Part 3: Explain the theme or message that the writer is trying to get across in this poem. Quote lines that
support your interpretation of the theme.
Part 4: Connect with the poem, personally. Make comments, make connections to your own
experiences, quote lines that really resonate with you and explain why, give your opinion, explain if you
agree or disagree with the message, do you relate to the speaker, explain your understanding of the title
and how it relates to the poem, etc.
Other notes:


Essay is due Friday, April 1st (No joke).
Your Independent Reading Assignment #2 is being pushed to the following week (April 8th) to
give you the proper time to devote to this essay.
Poem Choices:
Poem Name
Did I Miss Anything?
Reach Out and Touch
We Grow Accustomed to the Dark
Advice to a Girl
When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer
Porphyria’s Lover
Warning
No Man is an Island
I am a Rock
Ozymandias
The Art of Disappearing
The Logical Song
Is My Team Ploughing
Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day?
Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening
Let Me Not to the Marriage of True Minds
Treasures on Earth
To an Athlete, Dying Young
Author
Tom Wayman
Maxine Tynes
Emily Dickinson
Sara Teasdale
Walt Whitman
Robert Browning
Jenny Joseph
John Donne
Simon and Garfunkel
Percy Bysshe Shelley
Naomi Shihab Nye
Supertramp
A. E. Housman
Shakespeare
Robert Frost
Shakespeare
Alden Nowlan
A. E. Housman
Where to Find It
Textbook: Echoes, Page 5
Textbook: Echoes, Page 10
Textbook: Echoes, Page 73
Textbook: Echoes, Page 76
Handout
Handout
Handout
Handout
Handout
Handout
Handout
Textbook: Inside Poetry, Pg.34
Textbook: Inside Poetry, Pg.70
Textbook: Inside Poetry, Pg.98
Textbook: Inside Poetry, Pg.126
Textbook: Inside Poetry, Pg.128
Textbook: Inside Poetry, Pg.278
Textbook: Inside Poetry, Pg.285
Sample Title Page:
Analysis of “Poem Name Goes Here”
By
Your Name Goes Here
English 112
Mrs. M. Belliveau
Due Date Goes Here