Poetry Analysis Research Project English III Step one: Review your data collection sheets 18. Make sure that you have the following sources, by research question: Source #1: How is Stephen Crane’s life/times reflected in his poetry? Source #2: How is Stephen Crane’s life/times reflected in his poetry? Source #3: What was the Battle of Concord? Source #4: How is Ralph Waldo Emerson’s life/times reflected in his poetry? Source #5: How is Ralph Waldo Emerson’s life/times reflected in his poetry? Source #6: selfdeveloped research question (topic: realism and naturalism) Source #7: selfdeveloped research question (topic: romanticism and transcendentalism) Source #8: selfdeveloped research question (topic: romanticism and transcendentalism) Step two: Reread the two poems, “Concord Hymn” and “War is Kind.” Formulate a working thesis in response to the prompts below. Initial Prompt: Do Emerson and Crane have similar attitudes toward war in their respective poems? Answer in a complete sentence here, making sure to reference Emerson before Crane.
Research paper prompt: Write a research paper that analyzes how each poet’s attitude toward war (Ralph Waldo Emerson in “Concord Hymn” and Stephen Crane in “War is Kind”) reflects the poet’s historical, biographical, and literary influences. Answer in a complete sentence here using a semicolon and parallelism, making sure to reference Emerson before Crane.
Step three: Handwrite an introduction that introduces the research topic (name the poems and the poets) and gives background information about the major historical influences during the times in which each poem was written. End with a thesis statement that directly answers the prompt above. Reference at least two of your sources using MLAstyle parenthetical citations. Write your introduction, doublespaced and in ink, on your own paper.
Step four: Write the topic sentence of your first body paragraph (a paragraph analyzing “Concord Hymn”) using the first part of your thesis statement as a guide. Write the sentence below.
Step five: Complete a topic outline below, identifying three poetic devices Emerson uses to convey his attitude toward war, and documenting how this attitude reflects his historical, biographical, and literary influences. Guidelines: • • •
Items must be parallel with any other items at their level under the same heading Items must be aligned using tabs. Every I has a II; every A a B; every 1, a 2: every a, a b.
Example: I. Topic sentence: A. Poetic device 1. Connection (parenthetical citation) 2. Connection B.
Poetic device 1. Connection 2. Connection (parenthetical citation)
C.
Poetic device 1. Connection 2. Connection (parenthetical citation)
Concluding sentence:
I.
Topic sentence: A. 1. 2. B. 1.
C.
2. 1. 2.
Concluding sentence: Step six: Using your outline above, add your first body paragraph to your essay. Step seven: Complete a similar outline for Stephen Crane’s “War is Kind” below, then use it as a guide to add your second body paragraph to your essay. Make sure that your topic sentence refers back to the previous concluding sentence. I.
Topic sentence: A. 1. 2. B. 1. C.
2. 1. 2.
Step eight: Write a conclusion that briefly summarizes the historical, biographical, and literary influences evident in each poet’s work. Add a “so what?” statement that describes what comparing and contrasting these influences suggests about life and the human experience. Add your conclusion to your essay. Step nine: Create a Works Cited page that lists all of the sources you reference in your essay (minimum of five sources). Add the Works Cited page as the last page of your essay. This page may be typed. Add an MLA header and page number (last name 1) to each page of your essay.