October 10 – AP Lit – Poetry Agenda: Thesis Work Make a decision Gathering (and citing) evidence Create your outline Homework: Type your outline and bring in TWO copies You will need: Now: Your six theses A pen/pencil A highlighter Later: Notebook Poems Poetry Journals

BOOYAH - VOCAB QUIZ!!!!! Take out your poetry vocab section of your notebook Put everything else off to the side Complete the quiz to the best of your ability Remain SILENT until all of the quizzes are complete and picked up

What should the thesis do? Prompt: Choose a poem from the following list and write an essay in which you complete an in-depth analysis of the poem’s literary elements (poetic and literary devices and figurative language) in order to interpret the meaning of the poem. Answer the question: What is the poem saying, and what literary elements does the author use to demonstrate this message?

Thesis Work Trade your theses with a partner Read through the other person’s theses HIGHLIGHT the message of each poem CIRCLE the devices (poetic and literary) that were set forth in the thesis Make a suggestion to that person based on which thesis responds to the prompt in the most effective way

Contents of the essay: Anything necessary to understand the poem contextually: Background information about the poet Contextual information about the poem The meat of the essay: Analysis of the literary and poetic devices at use and explanation of their effect This means you need concrete details from the poem Duh: A thesis responding to the prompt Conclusions drawn from analysis: Interpretation and explanation of the meaning (intended and/or otherwise) of the poem Deeper Meaning: Conclusions based on analysis, personal/ cultural/ historical connections, etc.

Creating an Outline Number of paragraphs will depend on the scope of your essay Contents of the essay (in possible order) Introduction (1 paragraph) Background/Contextual information (1 paragraph or part of introduction) Discussion/explanation of devices (Depends on number of devices/message being explored) Deeper/other connections (1 or more paragraphs or part of conclusion) Conclusion (1 paragraph) Your outline… Should include thesis, clear paragraph divisions, paragraph topics, concrete details, main points Does NOT need to be in complete sentences

Make a Decision! Which poem will you be writing about?

Gathering/Citing Evidence Find a partner (or you may work by yourself if you wish) who will be writing about the same poem as you Gather evidence from the poem that can be used to support your thesis Use this time to begin your outline Reminder: You must include concrete details from the poem SHOW how devices convey the message Refer to the “Quoting Poetry” MLA guidelines