English 102
Spring 2021
Poetry Essay
On the following pages you will discover two poems. One is a sonnet by Edna St. Vincent Millay and the other poem is written in couplets by Wallace Stevens. We looked at a sonnet of Millay’s as well as a poem constructed in couplets by Wallace Stevens. Therefore, the format of each poem should be familiar too you, as will be the voice of the poet.
Please refer to the voice who speaks the poem as “the speaker,” not the poet or the narrator. Do not refer to the poet by his or her first name. It will be either Millay or Stevens. When you quote, cite the line numbers in an in-text citation.
I am asking that you write an essay of not more than 800 words that analyzes ONE of these poems. You must quote the lines you discuss. In the case of the Italian sonnet, I suggest that you discuss the octave and then the sestet. This will keep your discussed focused. Do not forget a conclusion.
Remember that you need an introduction and a thesis. It may help to consider who the poet is addressing and why. Once you write this, create a transition to the subject matter of the octave and then quote the first four lines of the octave, discuss them and then move on to the second four lines that complete the octave. You might focus on the author’s diction, her punctuation, and her tone. What is she trying to accomplish, and how does she do so?
In the case of Steven’s poem, one way to approach it is to look at the sentences he creates from the lines of the poem. How many are there? What do they say and how do they say it, again looking at diction, punctuation, and tone.
- Submit your essay as a Word Document.
- If you need a 24 hour extension, the request must be made via Blackboard Ultra messages 24 hours in advance. Failure to request an extension, will result in a grade of “0.” If there are exceptional circumstances, reach out to me.
- Begin your essay early. Doing so will result in a stronger product, a more developed analysis, and a more fruitful writing experience.
- Remember that this is one of four essays that will contribute to 60% of your final grade.
- Take advantage of the Journal (on your Content page) to reach out to me with any questions.
Edna St. Vincent Millay: (Use the first line for the poem’s title)
What lips my lips have kissed, and where, and why,
I have forgotten, and what arms have lain
Under my head till morning; but the rain
Is full of ghosts to-night, that tap and sigh
Upon the glass and listen for reply; 5
And in my heart there stirs a quiet pain,
For unremembered lads that not again
Will turn to me at midnight with a cry.
Thus in the winter stands the lonely tree,
Nor knows what birds have vanished one by one, 10
Yet knows its boughs more silent than before:
I cannot say what loves have come and gone;
I only know that summer sang in me
A little while, that in me sings no more.
The Poem that Took the Place of a Mountain
There it was, word for word,
The poem that took the place of a mountain.
He breathed its oxygen,
Even when the book lay turned in the dust of his table.
It reminded him how he had needed 5
A place to go to in his own direction,
How he had recomposed the pines,
Shifted the rocks and picked his way among clouds,
For the outlook that would be right,
Where he would be complete in an unexplained completion: 10
The exact rock where his inexactnesses
Would discover, at last, the view toward which they had edged,
Where he could lie and, gazing down at the sea,
Recognize his unique and solitary home.
