Archive for ‘Poetry’

Evaluating Song Lyrics

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by   |  02.10.10  |  Evaluation and Critique, In-Class Writing Assignments, Poetry

Group Assignment:

  • Compare the lyrics from U2’s song “All I Want is You” on the handout to the lyrics from one of the three songs in Etheridge’s essay “Music as a Safe Haven” (525-31).
  • Of the two songs, which lyrics represent better poetry—which has a more effective argument, and how do you know?
  • Post a paragraph or a list in response to the questions above as a comment to this blog post. Be sure to introduce the songs you selected by title and note the names of the people in your group.

Other Resource:

Sharon L. Williams Andrews provides the following “Song-Analysis Questions” for her Introduction to Poetry course at Louisiana State University. Before posting your group’s response, consider Andrew’s questions below to generate possible criteria for your evaluation:

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Group Exercise on Poetry Analysis

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by   |  01.25.10  |  In-Class Writing Assignments, Interpretation and Purpose, Poetry

As a group, choose one of the poems in the reader from pages 297-309 and write a response to the following:

  1. Name or describe the identity of the speaker and the title of your selected poem.
  2. Provide evidence from the poem that supports your claim about the speaker’s identity.
  3. Describe the occasion of the poem (the event or situation that is taking place in time).
  4. Describe the rhetorical purpose of the poem (or the human experience of the poem).
  5. Describe the tone of the language used in the poem.
  6. Describe how the tone of the language contributes to the meaning/purpose of the poem.
  7. Provide evidence of language from the poem that creates the tone defined in #5.
  8. Write the names of the writers in your group.

Poetry Analysis

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0 Commentsby   |  01.24.10  |  Announcements, Interpretation and Purpose, Poetry, Rhetorical Analyses

Part of the reading assignment for Monday includes poetry.  Poetry analysis may be new to most undergraduates, so to help you become more comfortable when writing about poetry, please read this Two Page Handout on Poetry Analysis.