Answer each of the following questions in at least 100 words:
- After viewing Angelou’s reading of “Still I Rise,” how did your interpretation of the poem, tone, or meaning change, if at all?
- Select two or three poems from the list below and discuss how the authors define, or redefine, what poetry is or is not? You may also reflect on your own understanding of poetry in light of their definitions.
- Select two or three different poems from the list below and discuss how the author uses images and symbols to convey their ideas. Do you find their methods effective? Why or why not?
HOWARD NEMEROV
Because You Asked about the Line between Prose and Poetry
ARCHIBALD MACLEISH
Ars Poetica
ELIZABETH ALEXANDER
Ars Poetica #100: I Believe
MARIANNE MOORE
Poetry
JULIA ALVAREZ
“Poetry Makes Nothing Happen”?
BILLY COLLINS
Introduction to Poetry
OCTAVIO PAZ
Proem
read “And of Clay We Are Created” and your choice of three poems. Then, identify what you believe would be the thesis statement (main argument) for each piece. This may be either a single-sentence quote from the piece OR a statement you write, but it should summarize the argument the author presents. If you quote or paraphrase from the text, be sure to cite in text and via a Works Cited page.
