POETRY ESSAY INSTRUCTIONS

Guidelines for Developing Your Paper Topic

Title page, 1 page thesis/outline page (develope a clearly-defined thesis statement, prepare an outline) the essay itself followed by a Works Cited/References page of any primary or secondary texts you cite in the essay..

Poem to be addressed in your essay:

? ?Ulysses? by Alfred Lord Tennyson

Consider the following questions for the poem that you have chosen:
? What is or are the themes of the poem?
? Is there a literal setting or situation in the poem? What lines from the poem tell the reader this information? What details does the author include?
? Is the setting symbolic?
? How would you describe the mood of the poem? What elements contribute to this mood?
? Is the title significant to the poem?s content or meaning? How?
? What major literary devices and figures of speech does the poet use to communicate the theme(s)?
? How are rhyme and other metrical devices used in the poem? Do they support the poem?s overall meaning? Why or why not?
? Is the identity of the poem?s narrator clear? How would you describe this person? What information, if any, does the author provide about him or her?
? Does the narrator seem to have a certain opinion of or attitude about the poem?s subject matter? How can you tell?