Sign In
Not register? Register Now!
Essay Available:
Pages:
2 pages/≈550 words
Sources:
2 Sources
Style:
APA
Subject:
Literature & Language
Type:
Essay
Language:
English (U.S.)
Document:
MS Word
Date:
Total cost:
$ 7.2
Topic:

Illustrating a Theme in a Poem: I, Too - By Langston Hughes

Essay Instructions:

Re-read carefully the following three (3) poems on the subject of “America.”
Next, choose one (1) to explore further in a pre-writing exercise. You will apply questions you select
from the list of questions in the “How to Read a Poem” article section titled “Talking Back to a Poem.”   
Prepare for your graded writing assignment for this module.
Whitman, Walt,  “I Hear America Singing” at http://www(dot)poetryfoundation(dot)org/poem/175779
Hughes, Langston, “I, Too,”  at  http://www(dot)poets(dot)org/poetsorg/poem/i-too
Hughes, Langston,  “Let America Be America Again” at http://www(dot)poets(dot)org/poetsorg/poem/let-america-be-america-again
Writing Activity
For this activity, you will select three (3) poetic terms or elements of a poem and apply them to your one
(1) selected poem to support and illustrate a theme you see emerging in the poem you selected to
write about. You will use terms you select from the “Glossary of Poetic Terms” and/or “The Elements of
Poetry” to illustrate a specific “theme” that your close reading of your selected poem reveals.   In writing
your essay, you will illustrate your ability to synthesize poetic terms in your analysis of a poem.Begin by
re-reading your poem of choice. Re-read “How to Read a Poem” and the example analysis of “Digging”
along with the “Glossary of Poetic Terms” and “The Elements of Poetry.” Next, decide which poetic
terms to apply.
Then compose no fewer than 500 words analyzing your selected poem to illustrate the theme you see
emerging from the poem. You should make sure to highlight the theme you are illustrating (this is your
thesis) in your first paragraph and show how that theme is developed in the poem.Do not summarize
the poem, but, rather, focus on how the theme you see is revealed in the language of the poem.
Describe at least three (3) poetic elements that contribute to the poem's development of its theme.
Provide no fewer than three (3) quotes from the poem to support and illustrate your main points.
EXAMPLE: Explain how your selected poem reflects/illustrates the theme you see:
Patriotism or Racism or Historical Roots or Hope for the Future (or another theme)
how the poem reveals a speaker's state of mind, and to what end/meaning
how the poem (A) [implies a reader] or (B) engages in a transaction with YOU as reader, discussing what
experiences you bring to your illustration of what you feel the poem reveals to you and analyzing how the language of the poem produces a response in you as a reader, i.e. makes meaning.
"How to read a poem" is at the following link:
https://www(dot)poets(dot)org/poetsorg/text/how-read-poem-0"
Glossary of Poetic terms" is at the following link:
http://highered(dot)mheducation(dot)com/sites/0072405228/student_view0/poetic_glossary.html
"The Elements of Poetry" is at the following link:
http://learn(dot)lexiconic(dot)net/elementsofpoetry.htm

Essay Sample Content Preview:
“I, Too” by Langston Hughes:
Establishing Equality
One of the most important values that Americans maintain is equality among the country’s communities. Langston Hughes, a recognized African American poet, wrote literature works mainly about racial justice (The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica 2017). In his poem, “I, Too” he highlights that his fellow African Americans needed equal rights. This paper will discuss the poem “I, Too” and its theme of equality. Scholars will be able to see equality in this Hughes’ piece through its elements of being a narrative poem with characterization and denouement. Furthermore, through “I, Too” by Langston Hughes, scholars will realize the relevance of the establishment of equality.
In “I, Too”, Hughes presents the theme of equality by creating a narrative. He puts his readers to see the life of a “darker brother”. He uses first person and makes the readers connect to the narrator intimately. A reader could understand through the narrator’s story the feelings of being mistreated and unvalued.
Hughes’ narrative also composes of a beginning, middle, and denouement that emphasizes the call for racial equality. In the initial line, he states “I, too, sing America.” The line introduces the fact that the thoughts and feelings of African Americans were considerably unrecognized. In the third stanza, the poet describes that the narrator will be eating with company. The company would treat him fairly. Readers would therefore feel the determination of the narrator to become an equal. In the last two stanzas, the narrator expresses that his company would realize that he is part of America. The stanzas stress that the narrator desires to be acknowledged in his community and deserves to be treated as an equal.
As mentioned before, “I, Too” establishes equality through it...
Updated on
Get the Whole Paper!
Not exactly what you need?
Do you need a custom essay? Order right now:
Order

You Might Also Like Other Topics Related to poetry analysis:

HIRE A WRITER FROM $11.95 / PAGE
ORDER WITH 15% DISCOUNT!
Order Now