poem essay

Audience: You are writing for an audience of your peers as well as your instructor. You will need to maintain a professional academic persona throughout the essay.

Purpose:  to offer your personal definition of the term “poetry” and show how a poem of your choice fits that definition

You might provide a definition by answering one of the following questions:

What is poetry?

What does (or should) poetry “do”?

Remember, there are no “right” or “wrong” answers to these questions, but the ideas you come up with should be supported by adequate explanation and evidence from the poem itself. Your final version of this essay should be a reader-based rather than a writer-based text.

In other words, use specific examples to show the reader how the poem you have chosen either fits your definition of poetry or “does” what you imagine poetry should do.

Format: Your essay should be typed according to MLA format. You will need to refer to the text of the poem you are analyzing, so be sure to follow MLA conventions in use of quotation, as well. No title page is necessary.

Scope:  2-3 pages

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Suggestions for getting started:

Choose a poem that you enjoy, or that intrigues you—one that you would want to share with others. It is much easier to write about something you care about than something you don't. 

Read the poem several times before starting to write. Read it aloud. Make annotations. Jot down any questions that you have about the poem and attempt to answer them for yourself. Notice the poem’s title and form in addition to its sound and language elements.

Consult Kennedy pgs.1937-1939 for specific prompts and questions to get you started thinking critically about the poem. Pages 1955-1957 “How to Quote a Poem” may also come in handy.