The second major essay will be written over T.S. Elliot’s “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.” The first step in writing this paper is to
ASSIGNMENT SHEET FOR PAPER TWO
The second major essay will be written over T.S. Elliot’s “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.”
The first step in writing this paper is to read the poem in its entirety, then read it again, then
again. Make notes of what you notice: meaning, poetic devices, allusions, language choices,
questions. Eventually, you will need to form a central idea of something you want to say about
this poem. You’ll need to turn this idea into a specific and focused, one-sentence thesis
statement that will be your guide for your analysis.
Your introduction should introduce the poem and its author, should discuss the significance of
the poem (particularly what your paper will bring attention to), and what the poem is generally
expressing. It should end with your thesis statement, which should include what analytical
argument you are making, what focus the paper will take, and how the poem expresses your
interpretation (what poetic devices best bring light your interpretation).
The body paragraphs should develop what you have claimed in your thesis statement. At all
times, the focus of the paper must not stray from developing your thesis statement. Your
interpretation must be shown through analyzing poetic devices and language in the poem, NOT
PARAPHRASING THE POEM.
An explication is a line-by-line reading and explanation of a poem. While explicating a line of
poetry, a writer might look at symbolism, metaphor, imagery, sound and order of words, meter
or rhythm, allusions, or other poetic devices, in addition to meaning.
This paper will be an analytical paper over the poem, not an explication of the poem. However,
as you are developing your analytical argument in the paper, you should choose a few lines
throughout the poem (6-15) to explicate. These lines should be ones that demonstrate or
expose your focus.
Your conclusion will provide an overview of the points that you made and show connections
that you have been making. It will restate the claim and ideas expressed in the thesis
statement and will end by giving the essay a feeling of completeness.
You are required to find two critical and reliable sources to support your analysis. BE CAREFUL!
The interpretation and analysis should be YOURS, not what you find in research. Your sources
should be used to support YOUR analysis, not do the work for you. One of these sources must
be from the NPC’s library databases or from an academic journal elsewhere (see handout on
using the NPC library’s databases).
Your paper must be a minimum of 3 1/2 full pages (or at least 1250 words), not including a
works cited page (which is required and must include a citation for the poem and your sources).
The paper must use proper MLA formatting.
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