Chapter+12

= "Writing About Poetry" =

This chapter, like the last, provided detailed definitions concerning the elements of poetry such as diction and tone, stylistic elements used in poetry, the difference between speaker in the poem and the poet them self, as well as provided examples from other students writing on how to analyze poetry, annotating, and explicating. Once again the chapter provides a check list to help the student take in the poem he or she is writing about.

This checklist incorporates elements that draw the writer in to think about his own thoughts and engage in the text. "What was your response to the poem on the first reading?" (Barnet and Cain 257). Theorist William Covino said in his text "Rhetorical Pedagogy" states "encouraging writing that is not restricted to self-expression or the acontextual generation of syntactic structures or formulaic obedience to rules, but instead keeps in view the skills and contingencies that attend a variety of situations and circumstances" (Covino 37). This checklist helps give balance of both formal and expressive elements that cause the writer to consider what exactly he or she is trying to say: Not only is Rhetorical implied, but includes examples of creative outlets for students to comprehend the poetry they are attempting to analyze. One specifically is to journal. On page 238, it gives an example of a student reading poetry, and then free writing their thoughts about the text to get their thoughts moving in order to write; writing provokes thinking.


 * Note:** This wikispace can be used as a guide to decide whether or not the text //A Short Guide to Writing About Literature// will be effective for your classroom probably at the college level. Throughout the review of this book, several composition theorists and their writings are referenced. Familiarity with these articles and theories will be helpful in accessing this guide and deciding whether or not to use this book as a source. For your convenience, on the Annotated Bibliography page of this wiki an annotated bibliography including extensive summaries of each work references can be found.