Historical Moment

Essay 3: Poetry

Select ONE of the following prompts:

1) Write an essay comparing and contrasting a contemporary poem (21^st century) with a poem from another century. Your thesis should highlight the point of comparison: why it is interesting or illustrative to look at these two poems together? Be sure to consider the historical and cultural context of both poems.

2) Write an essay examining a historical or current event through the poetry written during, about, or in response to that event. The goal is to consider not only how poets have responded to historical events but also how our reading of poetry might influence our view of history and/or our own historical moment.

Your essay should have a clear organizational scheme with an introduction, body paragraphs focusing on one idea each, and a conclusion. Write a thesis statement making a debatable claim about the poem(s) and support your thesis with quotations and analysis.

Each essay must include at least one reliable secondary source and clearly indicate how it supports, provides context for, or contrasts with your analysis. This requirement also applies to the video essay option. Your source must be from the library or one of the websites posted in Module 3. Provide in-text citations and an MLA Works Cited page.

This paper should be 3-4 pages long. Give your paper an interesting, descriptive title and use MLA formatting throughout.