Name: ______________________________ Ms. Correa
American Literature ____ March 2016
Short Essay Response to Emily Dickinson's Poetry (1 page minimum, 1 ½ page maximum)
Due Date: Tuesday, March 8th
1. Emily Dickinson continually discusses death in her poetry. Do a study of her thoughts on death, based on the perspectives she shares in her various poems.
2. Argue whether a life of solitude helped or harmed Emily Dickinson. Use her poetry to support your claim. Was she shut in too tightly, causing her to become closed in on herself? Or did being alone help her to be a more observant, more imaginative poet?
3. Emily Dickinson is full of surprises and odd metaphors. Choose to discuss some of her images which are surprising or unusual. What makes each image so strange? Why do these strange images "work" for each poem?
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Use at least 2 of Dickinson's poems to support your claims. Be sure to introduce the title of each poem and to cite the line number(s) in parentheses when you quote them.
Practice your detailed writing and elaborating by using descriptive words and explaining at length. Challenge yourself to expand your argument by adding to its length.
Guidelines:
- Use MLA format, with a proper header and heading
- Your paper must be uploaded to Turntin.com
- Quote using the line numbers in parentheses
Poems:
"The Lightning is a Yellow Fork"
"Water, is taught by thirst"
"Because I Could Not Stop for Death"
"I Heard a Fly Buzz When I Died"
"The Soul Selects Her Own Society"
"There's a certain slant of light"
Share with your friends: | 
