SU_ ENG1300_Week 2 Project
Poetry Analysis
By the due date assigned, attach your essay as a
Microsoft Word document to the Project Submission Area.
Compose an essay of 750 words and 5
or more paragraphs in which you offer your interpretation of a
literary element (such as theme, imagery, symbolism, or
characterization) in one of the assigned poems. Choose any poem from our Week 1
or Week 2 poetry reading list.
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and Ideal Grace.
I love thee to the level of every day’s
Most quiet need, by sun and candlelight.
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise;
I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood’s faith;
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints,–I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life!–and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.
Tips for the Essay
Open
your introduction with an engaging opener, such as a question, quotation
from the poem, or interesting idea. Then, connect to the poem and mention
the title and the author. End your introduction with a thesis statement
that interprets one literary element of the poem.
The
body paragraphs should support your thesis. Present specific aspects of
the poem that help to illustrate your points. Make sure to quote from the
poem and analyze specific lines that support your argument. Typically,
body paragraphs will contain at least two short quotations each as
supporting evidence. Do not do any outside research. This should be only
your own interpretation.
Include
a strong concluding paragraph that summarizes your main points and
explains the significance of the thesis. Finish this paragraph with a
strong and satisfying ending.
APA Reminder
Use APA style for formatting the essay and for source
citations. Begin with a title page and use proper font and spacing. End with a
separate references page. Refer to the Week 1 lecture on avoiding plagiarism
for an APA essay template and additional resources.
05/09 due date
Elizabeth
Barrett Browning (1806–1861) is one of the most respected English
poets of the nineteenth century. She was
born at Coxhoe Hall, in Durham,
England, to an extremely wealthy family.
On the estate where she grew up, she enjoyed riding her pony, visiting with friends,
reading, picnicking, and
participating in
theatrical productions with her siblings. In 1826, at the age of twenty, Browning published An
Essay on Mind, With Other Poems. Browning was
particularly respected for her independence and willingness to share her views. She was passionate
about the classics and the Christian faith. Her collection
of love poems, Sonnets
from the Portuguese, written before
her marriage and dedicated to her husband, the poet Robert Browning, is
widely considered
her best work. Critics have often compared Browning’s
use of the Italian sonnet form to Petrarch’s and her imagery to Shakespeare’s.
Reading “How Do I Love Thee?”
The sonnet is
a poetic form that is fourteen lines
long. Although there are many sonnet styles, the two most common are the Italian, or
Petrarchan sonnet, and English, or
Shakespearean sonnet. Browning’s
poem, “How Do I Love Thee” is an Italian sonnet. Its
rhyme scheme is ABBA ABBA CDC DCD. As
you read, consider the way the poem is constructed within this
particular rhyme scheme. Can you see any
connection between the poem’s form
and its content?
Click on
the link below to read this literary
selection. Once the link opens, you may need to scroll down the page to find
the beginning
of the selection.
Quiz: How Do I Love Thee?
Elizabeth Barrett Browning, How
Do I Love Thee?
Analyzing “How Do I Love Thee?”
1. Form. Consider the sonnet
form in this poem. What is the
most important part of the
poem? In what part of the
sonnet is it placed? Why?
2. Simile. Where are there similes, or comparisons
using “like”
or “as” in this poem? How would
you characterize these comparisons? Are they similar?
3. Tone. How would you
describe the tone of this poem? Is it at all religious? What intersections of love and
religion/morality do you
notice in
this poem?
The Poems of Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Citation metadata
Author: Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Date: 1893
From: The Poems of Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Publisher: Public Domain
Document Type: Monograph; Primary source
https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?p=GCCO&u=soc1&id=GALE|VXBUTV230475522&v=2.1&it=r&sid=mindtap-embedView&asid=cb7d1d1d&sPage=65284057
https://ng.cengage.com/static/nb/ui/evo/index.html?deploymentId=5672192389602009849706649654&eISBN=9781305969414&id=1477791893&snapshotId=2921600&