The first essay of the semester will be a combo personal AND critical response to a poem, weaving analytical commentary into a discussion of your personal take on and experience of the work.
Your task for this essay will be two-fold. Primarily, this essay will be a response to the work you’ve selected. Your responses may be personal, coming from a place of individual relationship to or appreciation of the poems. Also, your essay must also discuss and analyze two main aspects of the poem:
The imagery of the poem, both the concrete sensory details and any possible symbolism, allusion, or deeper meaning thereof
The sound of the poem when read, based either in the elevated language (diction, syntax, word choice) or the form/structure of the poem