ENG 102 Forgetting Your Vows of Chastity A Look at Donne and Herrick Essay

Many of the poems we have read thus far can be constructively paired; that is, they address similar themes or ideas, either directly or indirectly, for example, Marlowe’s “The Passionate Shepherd to His Love” and Raleigh’s “The Nymph’s Reply to the Shepherd,” Dickinson’s “Because I could not stop for Death” and Jarrell’s “Death of the Ball Turret Gunner,” or Seaman’s “Pro Patria” and Owen’s “Dulce et Decorum Est.” Other than any of these six poems, select one of the following subjects and compose an essay of 500-600 words analyzing the way *any two other poems* from the Learning Modules (provided in pdf below)address these issues, and what each author is suggesting in his or her work. Note: In addition to the poems listed above, you may not write on the same poem(s) you wrote on for Essay 2.

Art and Poetry

Love and/or Sex

Aging, Death, and/or Mourning

War and Combat

Identity, Race, or Gender

Your analysis should establish a clear connection between the two texts, beyond merely “they both discuss women” or “both refer to war.” Rather, your thesis must make an explicit assertion about the connection between the two, a substantial, significant claim; for example,

Randall Jarrell’s “Death of the Ball Turret Gunner” and Emily Dickinson’s “Because I could not stop for Death” both feature first-person narrators who recount the circumstances of their own deaths; however, while the former poem presents an image of death as violent and pointless, the latter suggests that death may actually be a welcome end to the struggles and obligations of life.

You should address not just content, or what the poem says or is about, but also the poetic elements: allusions, imagery, figurative language, symbols, sound effects (rhyme, rhythm, repetition, long and short vowel sounds, combinations of consonants, onomatopoeia, et cetera) and structure (meter and rhyme scheme, or the lack of them, and stanzaic and line arrangements).

Be sure to focus carefully on the topic: formulate a clear, strong, explicit, assertive, objectively worded thesis (underlined), and avoid plot summary. Remember that these are formal essays: they must have an appropriate, original title; contain an introduction, multiple body paragraphs, and conclusion; avoid use of “I” or “you” throughout; and be grammatically correct, free of errors in mechanics, grammar, usage, spelling, and documentation.

Your essays must contain quotations from or other references to the poems, and remember to incorporate sources correctly: use signal phrases and document with parenthetical citations and a Works Cited reference at the end of the essay. However, these are not research projects: no secondary sources are required, nor should any sources be used other than the stories themselves.

Your essay must be uploaded to both the appropriate folder in Blackboard and to Turnitin on or before 9:00 PM on Wednesday, November 25. Please feel free to communicate any concerns or questions to me before the essays are due; I will be available to meet with any student who needs assistance or additional instruction.