1. The Process of Analyzing Poetry
Junior Composition

2. 1. Experience What feelings does the poem evoke?
What sensations, associations, and memories does it give rise to?

3. Tone
Tone is the term we use to refer to the author or speaker’s attitude toward the subject or the audience (or perhaps both).
We detect the tone by paying careful attention to certain choices the writer made.
The most significant is usually the author’s choice of words, or diction.

4. Tone
Other ways the writer controls the tone of the piece include the use of figurative language.
If the writer makes unflattering comparisons, or highly complimentary ones, there is an attitude being expressed.
Writers can also achieve their tone through sentence structures (syntax).
Complicated sentences and simple sentences do not have the same effect on most readers.

5. Tone Exercise
Supply three words that could logically fill the blanks in the passage on the next page.

6. Thomas Paine’s “The Crisis.”
I shall conclude this paper with some miscellaneous remarks on the state of our affairs; and shall begin with asking the following question, Why is it that the enemy have left the New England provinces, and made these middle ones the seat of war? The answer is easy: New England is not _____ (with) Tories, and we are. I have been tender in raising the cry against these men, and used numberless arguments to show them their danger, but it will not do to sacrifice a world either to their folly or their baseness. The period is now arrived, in which either they or we must change our sentiments, or one or both must fall. And what is a Tory? Good God! what is he? I should not be afraid to go with a hundred Whigs against a thousand Tories, were they to attempt to get into arms. Every Tory is a ______; for ______, slavish, self-interested fear is the foundation of Toryism; and a man under such influence, though he may be cruel, never can be brave.

7. “The Crisis” (Thomas Paine)
Possible suggestions:
“full of,” or “populated by,” or “home to.”
The missing word is “infested.”
We use “infested” only with reference to unpleasant, disgusting things, and to apply it to the Tories is to communicate a very strong attitude toward them.

8. Thomas Paine’s “The Crisis.”
I shall conclude this paper with some miscellaneous remarks on the state of our affairs; and shall begin with asking the following question, Why is it that the enemy have left the New England provinces, and made these middle ones the seat of war? The answer is easy: New England is not infested (with) Tories, and we are. I have been tender in raising the cry against these men, and used numberless arguments to show them their danger, but it will not do to sacrifice a world either to their folly or their baseness. The period is now arrived, in which either they or we must change our sentiments, or one or both must fall. And what is a Tory? Good God! what is he? I should not be afraid to go with a hundred Whigs against a thousand Tories, were they to attempt to get into arms. Every Tory is a ______; for ______, slavish, self-interested fear is the foundation of Toryism; and a man under such influence, though he may be cruel, never can be brave.

9. “The Crisis” (Thomas Paine)
Possible suggestions:
The missing word is “coward.”

10. Thomas Paine’s “The Crisis.”
I shall conclude this paper with some miscellaneous remarks on the state of our affairs; and shall begin with asking the following question, Why is it that the enemy have left the New England provinces, and made these middle ones the seat of war? The answer is easy: New England is not infested (with) Tories, and we are. I have been tender in raising the cry against these men, and used numberless arguments to show them their danger, but it will not do to sacrifice a world either to their folly or their baseness. The period is now arrived, in which either they or we must change our sentiments, or one or both must fall. And what is a Tory? Good God! what is he? I should not be afraid to go with a hundred Whigs against a thousand Tories, were they to attempt to get into arms. Every Tory is a coward; for ______, slavish, self-interested fear is the foundation of Toryism; and a man under such influence, though he may be cruel, never can be brave.

11. “The Crisis” (Thomas Paine)
Possible suggestions:
The missing word is “servile.”

12. Thomas Paine’s “The Crisis.”
I shall conclude this paper with some miscellaneous remarks on the state of our affairs; and shall begin with asking the following question, Why is it that the enemy have left the New England provinces, and made these middle ones the seat of war? The answer is easy: New England is not infested (with) Tories, and we are. I have been tender in raising the cry against these men, and used numberless arguments to show them their danger, but it will not do to sacrifice a world either to their folly or their baseness. The period is now arrived, in which either they or we must change our sentiments, or one or both must fall. And what is a Tory? Good God! what is he? I should not be afraid to go with a hundred Whigs against a thousand Tories, were they to attempt to get into arms. Every Tory is a coward; for servile, slavish, self-interested fear is the foundation of Toryism; and a man under such influence, though he may be cruel, never can be brave.

13. “Those Winter Sundays” (pg. 496)
Sundays too my father got up early And put his clothes on in the blueback cold, then with cracked hands that ached from labor in the weekday weather made banked fires blaze. No one ever thanked him. I'd wake and hear the cold splintering, breaking. When the rooms were warm, he'd call, and slowly I would rise and dress, fearing the chronic angers of that house, Speaking indifferently to him, who had driven out the cold and polished my good shoes as well. What did I know, what did I know of love's austere and lonely offices?

14. “Those Winter Sundays” (pg. 496)
Sundays too my father got up early And put his clothes on in the blueback cold, then with cracked hands that ached from labor in the weekday weather made banked fires blaze. No one ever thanked him. I'd wake and hear the cold splintering, breaking. When the rooms were warm, he'd call, and slowly I would rise and dress, fearing the chronic angers of that house, Speaking indifferently to him, who had driven out the cold and polished my good shoes as well. What did I know, what did I know of love's austere and lonely offices?

15. “Those Winter Sundays” (pg. 496)
Sundays too my father got up early And put his clothes on in the blueback cold, then with cracked hands that ached from labor in the weekday weather made banked fires blaze. No one ever thanked him. I'd wake and hear the cold splintering, breaking. When the rooms were warm, he'd call, and slowly I would rise and dress, fearing the chronic angers of that house, Speaking indifferently to him, who had driven out the cold and polished my good shoes as well. What did I know, what did I know of love's austere and lonely offices?

16. Inferences To conclude by reasoning from something known or assumed.
Example: A person’s having dark circles under their eyes leads one to infer that the person did not sleep much.
Example: A person’s having body odor leads one to conclude that the person did not bathe.

17. “Those Winter Sundays” (pg. 496)
Sundays too my father got up early And put his clothes on in the blueback cold, then with cracked hands that ached from labor in the weekday weather made banked fires blaze. No one ever thanked him. I'd wake and hear the cold splintering, breaking. When the rooms were warm, he'd call, and slowly I would rise and dress, fearing the chronic angers of that house, Speaking indifferently to him, who had driven out the cold and polished my good shoes as well. What did I know, what did I know of love's austere and lonely offices?

18. “Those Winter Sundays” (pg. 496)
Sundays too my father got up early And put his clothes on in the blueback cold, then with cracked hands that ached from labor in the weekday weather made banked fires blaze. No one ever thanked him. I'd wake and hear the cold splintering, breaking. When the rooms were warm, he'd call, and slowly I would rise and dress, fearing the chronic angers of that house, Speaking indifferently to him, who had driven out the cold and polished my good shoes as well. What did I know, what did I know of love's austere and lonely offices?

19. “Fire and Ice” (pg.683)
Some say the world will end in fire, Some say in ice. From what I've tasted of desire I hold with those who favor fire. But if it had to perish twice, I think I know enough of hate To say that for destruction ice Is also great And would suffice.

20. “Fire and Ice” (pg.683)
Some say the world will end in fire, Some say in ice. From what I've tasted of desire I hold with those who favor fire. But if it had to perish twice, I think I know enough of hate To say that for destruction ice Is also great And would suffice.

21. Experience- Interpretation of Poetry
Identify some key words, phrases, and images (diction, syntax, & figurative language).
Connect the identified key terms.
Make an inference concerning the poem’s tone.

22. Interpretation of Poetry
What ideas does the poem express, either directly or indirectly?
Involves 4 processes:
Observing: Details of description and action, of language and form. Key words, phrases, and images
Connecting: Details and begin to establish a sense of the poem’s coherence.
Inferring: Significance of the connected details of the poem.
Concluding: A provisional conclusion about the poem’s meaning based on our observations, connections, and inferences.

23. Analysis
The method of examining parts of the whole, such as examining one aspect of literature, in order to arrive at a fuller meaning of the whole.
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24. Analysis
Analysis questions will always have two tasks, and a successful response will address both of those tasks satisfactorily.
The two parts of an analysis question are:
What did the author do?
How did the author do it?
Of course, the question will never be worded in quite that way, but those will be the two tasks the writer has to accomplish.

25. Analysis Please read Stephen Crane’s “War is Kind.”
Then, in a well-organized essay, analyze how the speaker uses diction and the varied imagery of the poem to reveal his attitude toward the nature of war.

26. “War Is Kind” (pg. 511) Do not weep, maiden, for war is kind.
Because your lover threw wild hands toward the sky
And the affrighted steed ran on alone,
Do not weep.
War is kind.
Hoarse, booming drums of the regiment, Little souls who thirst for fight, These men were born to drill and die. The unexplained glory flies above them, Great is the battle-god, great, and his kingdom A field where a thousand corpses lie.
Do not weep, babe, for war is kind.
Because your father tumbled in the yellow trenches,
Raged at his breast, gulped and died,
Swift blazing flag of the regiment,
Eagle with crest of red and gold,
These men were born to drill and die.
Point for them the virtue of slaughter,
Make plain to them the excellence of killing
And a field where a thousand corpses lie.
Mother whose heart hung humble as a button
On the bright splendid shroud of your son,
“War Is Kind” (pg. 511)

27. Analysis What did the author do and how did the author do it?
What is the speaker’s attitude toward the nature of war (that is what the author did—he expressed, in the persona of the poem’s speaker, an attitude toward the nature of love), and he did it (among other ways, certainly), through using diction and varied imagery.
A satisfactory essay will focus on those two general observations—what is the speaker’s attitude, and how does the diction and imagery reveal it.

28. Analysis
Please read Wilfred Owens’ “Dulce et Decorum Est” (on page 834).
Then, in a well-organized essay, analyze how the speaker uses the varied imagery of the poem to reveal his attitude toward the nature of war.
For Monday, please pre-write for the above essay.
For Tuesday, please write an essay answering the above question.
Your essay should be turned in to Turnitin.com

29. Analysis Poem Analysis Essay (Due Fri.- 12/16)
In a well-organized essay, analyze how the speaker uses the poetic elements of the poem to reveal his attitude toward the subject of his poem.
The essay will be submitted on Turnitin.com

30. Quotations 1. Embedded Within One Sentence
Introduction/lead to quotation, the quotation, discussion/explanation of quotation
Example: Stafford argues that we are intimately related to nature, for when he says “I stood there and thought hard for us all,” he makes the man just another one of the animals, no more important than any other living thing in the surrounding forest.

31. Quotations 2. Broken Into More Than One Sentence
Introduction/lead to quotation. The quotation, discussion/explanation of quotation
Example: Stafford argues that we are intimately related to nature. When he says, for example, “I stood there and thought hard for us all,” he makes the man just another one of the animals, no more important than any other living thing in the surrounding forest.

32. Quotations 2. Broken Into More Than One Sentence
Introduction/lead to quotation, the quotation. Discussion/explanation of quotation.
Example: Stafford argues that we are intimately related to nature when he says “I stood there and thought hard for us all.” These words make him just another one of the animals, no more important than any other living thing in the surrounding forest.

33. Process of Analysis
Develop an impression through reading and/or observation.
Verify the accuracy of the impression (inference) by checking specifics. If the impression is not verified, the writer must either refine, revise, or change the impression.
Collect the data once the impression has been verified.
Formulate the thesis statement and organize the data to support it.
Write the rough draft of the analysis

34. Interpretation of Poetry
“When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer” by Walt Whitman
WHEN I heard the learn’d astronomer; 
When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me; 
When I was shown the charts and the diagrams, to add, divide, and measure them; 
When I, sitting, heard the astronomer, where he lectured with much applause in the lecture-room,
How soon, unaccountable, I became tired and sick;  
Till rising and gliding out, I wander’d off by myself, 
In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time, 
Look’d up in perfect silence at the stars.

35. Interpretation of Poetry
Where is the speaker in the beginning of the poem?
To what other setting does the speaker appear to move?
Why begin the first 4 lines the same way?
Are these lines the same length?

36. 3. Evaluation What view of the world does the poet present?
What do you think of the poet’s view of the world?

37. “We Wear the Mask” (Outside Source)
We wear the mask that grins and lies,     It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes,—     This debt we pay to human guile;     With torn and bleeding hearts we smile,     And mouth with myriad subtleties.
    Why should the world be over-wise,     In counting all our tears and sighs?     Nay, let them only see us, while             We wear the mask.
  We smile, but, O great Christ, our cries     To thee from tortured souls arise.     We sing, but oh the clay is vile     Beneath our feet, and long the mile;     But let the world dream otherwise,             We wear the mask!
-Paul Laurence Dunbar

38. “l(a” by: e e cummings
l(a le af fa ll s)
one l
iness

39. “Ozymandias” I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: "Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown
And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed.
And on the pedestal these words appear:
`My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings:
Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!‘
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare,
The lone and level sands stretch far away".
-Percy Bysshe Shelley

40. “Not marble nor the gilded monuments” or Sonnet 55
Of princes shall outlive this powerful rhyme;
But you shall shine more bright in these contents
Than unswept stone, besmear'd with sluttish time.
When wasteful war shall statues overturn,
And broils root out the work of masonry,
Nor Mars his sword nor war's quick fire shall burn
The living record of your memory.
'Gainst death and all-oblivious enmity
Shall you pace forth; your praise shall still find room,
Even in the eyes of all posterity
That wear this world out to the ending doom.
So, till the judgment that yourself arise,
You live in this, and dwell in lovers' eyes.
-William Shakespeare

41. “The Road Not Taken” Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
“The Road Not Taken”
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I–
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

42. Poem Analysis
Complete handout
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43. Literary Analysis
In character analysis, we know characters by what the author tells us about them.
Methods of Characterization
We must also go beyond what the author says and make inferences based on observing similarities, differences, and causes and their effects.