Poetry Essay

Poetry Essay Tutorial
Poetry Essay
For this assignment you will write a two double-spaced page essay using the techniques taught
in class.
My Papa’s Waltz – Roethke – 667
The poetry essay will not use research. Any evidence of the consultation of outside sources will
result in a failing grade.
You are required to have in-text citation and a Works Cited for the poem.
“The poetry essay will not use research. Any evidence of the consultation of outside sources will
result in a failing grade.
You are required to have in-text citation and a Works Cited for the poem.”
For this assignment you will write a two double-spaced page essay. Analytical essay;essay
must have a central idea (stated in your thesis) that governs its development.
Your essay must be organized so that every part contributes .
Look for…
ideas that connect
significant patterns
relationships between the parts of a work
What purpose does this poetic/literary device serve?
How does the author communicate his or her purpose through this device?
Why do readers have this response to the poetic device?
Your essay must have a central idea (stated in your thesis) that governs its development.
Your essay must be organized so that every part contributes something to the reader’s
understanding of the central idea.
Assume that your reader is NOT familiar with the author or poem.
Tell your reader what the poem is about (not what happens, but what the happenings add up
to).
Write in third person
Essay outline:
Introduction (Background Info and Thesis)
Body Paragraph One (First Poetic Device)
Body Paragraph Two (Second Poetic Device)
Body Paragraph Three (Third Poetic Device)
Conclusion (Review of Main Points and So What? Factor)The poem:
My Papa’s Waltz
BY THEODORE ROETHKE
The whiskey on your breath
Could make a small boy dizzy;
But I hung on like death:
Such waltzing was not easy.
We romped until the pans
Slid from the kitchen shelf;
My mother’s countenance
Could not unfrown itself.
The hand that held my wrist
Was battered on one knuckle;
At every step you missed
My right ear scraped a buckle.
You beat time on my head
With a palm caked hard by dirt,
Then waltzed me off to bed
Still clinging to your shirt.Homa Hakim
Kirk Layton
Eng