Topic Proposal for Essay #1
1.) 1. I have chosen Hidden Things by Ed Madden.
2. The text's central claim or agrument is that there will always be the good memories. Sadness and unfortunate times exist, but the memory of past happiness will bring us along.
3. The most compelling passage for me is the 6th stanza in the poem. "..what you have done...the ground is rich with history..."
4. Metaphors are used throughout the passage and throughout the entire poem. The perennial herbs refer to the ability of human's to see something that is beautiful through so much tragedy. 5. The last line in the stanza rhymes slightly with itself, making it easier for the line to roll off the reader's tongue.
6. The use of the metaphors and the rhythmic patterns add to the message of the text. The use of these techniques helps add life to the vegetation and the idea of rebirth in the poem.
2.) A developed thesis:
This paper will argue that it is human nature to want to see something that is good in something that has perished, even if it takes a little help from others along the way, by using the metaphors of nature and flowers.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Stephanie, your choice of stanza is good and you seem to have picked out its significant features. However, your thesis central claim is about the whole poem, instead of being focused around that stanza of your choice. Ok, from your topic proposal it is not clear whther the 6th stanza appeals to you for purely aesthetic reasons or whether it adds to / reinforces the main message of the poem.
It might seem to be just the matter of wording, but instead of “This paper will argue that it is human nature…..”, you should have something along the lines of “In this stanza, the metaphors of nature and flowers create …. for the main point that…” Basically, your central claim should be about the role of the passage within the poem.
I am doing the same poem for my close reading and we have some similar ideas. I'm glad that someone else interpreted it in a similar way
Post a Comment