Essays and Research Papers on Poetry

A 3 page paper which examines the character of Prufrock in T.S. Eliot’s poem “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.” No additional sources cited.

A 5 page paper which examines various elements in “Omeros” by Derek Walcott. The paper discusses aspects of suffering and oppression and imagery. No additional sources cited.

This 3 page paper contrasts and compares the themes and imagery in the poems of Hayden, Silverstein, and Roethke. Bibliography lists 3 sources.

A 3 page essay that explores the theme of wilderness v. civilization as portrayed in the ancient Mesopotamian Epic of Gilgamesh. The writer argues that through the stories of the main characters, the narrative dramatizes the difference between savagery and civilization. Bibliography lists 2 sources.

A 3 page essay that contrasts and compares the way that Emily Dickinson's "The Soul Selects Her Own Society" and Walt Whitman's "Song of Myself" picture the relationship between the self and the outside world. No additional sources cited.

This 4 page paper discusses the theme of time as it is portrayed in John Keats' work, Ode on a Grecian Urn. Quotes cited from text. Annotated Bibliography lists 10 sources.

A 4 page essay that contrasts and compares four poems by William Butler Yeats -- "Running to Paradise," "September 1913," "Lake Isle of Innisfree," and "Sailing to Byzantium." Bibliography lists 7 sources.

This 6 page paper discusses the views and works of Mary Wortley Montagu. Examples given. Bibliography lists 4 sources.

This 3 page paper compares and contrasts the themes and styles of Wordsworth, Blake and Whitman. Examples given. Bibliography lists 1 source.

A 4 page essay that offers an explication of Thomas' "Before I Knocked." The writer argues that this poem paints a surrealistic picture of the experience of a child in the womb prior to birth, and offers a possible meaning. Bibliography lists 3 sources.

This 5 page paper discusses the views of Emily Dickinson and how they opposed the teachings of the church. Bibliography lists 5 sources.

This 4 page paper analyzes the poem by Robert Frost: The Road Not Taken. Quotes cited from the text. Analysis includes use of metaphors, symbols and themes. Bibliography lists 5 sources.

A 5 page essay that analyzes Canto 26 from Dante's Inferno, which recounts Virgil and Dante's encounter with Ulysses, who tells them of his wanderings and death. The writer specifically analyzes why this ancient hero has been relegated to hell in Dante's epic work. No additional sources cited.

A 3 page paper which examines Robert Burns’ “Red, Red Rose” from a simplistic perspective and then examines poetry and its primary elements that make it art. Bibliography lists 2 sources.

A 4 page book review that discusses Jasper Griffin's text Homer on Life and Death (1983). The writer argues that this text provides a fascinating commentary on the Iliad, Homer's epic poem that depicted the Trojan War. While Homer's work has been addressed extensively over the course of the centuries, Griffin gives it new life ...

A 4 page paper which examines the artistic in Robert Frost’s poems “Mending Wall,” “The Road Not Taken,” and “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening.” No additional sources cited.

An 8 page paper which examines how the near-perfect rhyme scheme and lyricism of the poem seduces the reader into listening to the poet’s deeper messages on one’s position in life, decisions, etc. Bibliography lists 7 sources.

A 3 page paper which examines the various elements of “Funeral Blues” by Auden, “Ethics” by Linda Pastan, and “Driving Lessons” by Neal Bowers. Bibliography lists 2 sources.

A 7 page paper which examines the poet’s view of modernity and tradition, especially the relationship between the two, and how the poet’s stylistic innovations determine the nature and meaning of the relationship between modernity and tradition. Bibliography lists 4 sources.

A 6 page paper which examines whether or not Theodore Roethke’s poem “My Papa’s Waltz” is about child abuse. Bibliography lists 3 sources.

A 3 page paper which discusses the works of Sylvia Plath. Bibliography lists 5 sources.

This 15 page paper compares and contrasts the function of love as espoused by Katherine Philips and John Donne. Quotes cited from texts, both primmary and secondary. Bibliography lists 7 sources.

This 4 page paper analyzes the poem, Rite of Passage by Sharon Olds. Metaphor, line by line analysis, quotes from text. Bibliography lists 1 source.

This 3 page paper examines and paraphrases Maura Stanton's poem, Childhood. Quotes cited from text. Bibliography lists 1 source.

This 3 page paper discusses the use of prosody in Langston Hughes' work, Let America be America Again, and Marge Piercy's work, WellFleet Sabbath. Quotes cited from text as examples. Bibliography lists 2 sources.