Our discussion of poetry has been limited, and many people are apprehensive about the final exam. Most final exams require that you study intensely prior to the test; this final will require a different form of “study,” more akin to divergent, critical thinking than memorizing poetic terms or struggling to analyze obscure metaphors or symbols.
Preparation for your final in English 1102 needs to be done in advance; the writing can either be done in class, the day of the final OR in advance and turned in the day of the final. It must be a hard copy, not emailed. Length required: 2-3 pages for each part.
50 pts. - Part I: What does poetry look like? In The Poetry Toolkit by Mark Polonsky, the author tells a story about watching a football game with his father. After watching Terry Bradshaw’s passing attack on the football field, Polonsky’s father remarked: “That was poetry” (2). Polonsky goes on to say that what his father was doing, though unintentionally, was creating a comparison between what we think of as poetry and the passing ability of Terry Bradshaw, with both exhibiting grace, unpredictability and a kind of beauty.
Find and print an illustration that YOU feel is a metaphoric representation of poetry. It can be a famous (or not) painting, a photograph, or a drawing—again, a drawing or photograph that is well known or one you or a friend may have created. (Do NOT hand in original artwork; make a Xerox copy.) Print, copy, tape or glue your illustration to a cover sheet with the source either below it or on the back of the sheet—you can simply give the URL, if you want to, rather than the full bibliographic citation.
On the next page, write no more than a 2-3 page essay (at least 2 full pages), in MLA format, explaining WHY the illustration defines poetry to YOU. It does not have to define poetry as Polonsky does or as anyone else does, but it does have to be a real and legitimate reflection of your own definition of poetry.
50 pts. - Part II. What’s in a song? Find a contemporary song that has meaningful lyrics to you; you need NOT explain why the lyrics are meaningful. Place the lyrics on its own cover sheet, again with the source or the URL. Take the questions we’ve used in class to analyze poetry, answer those questions in relation to the song, and write a 2-3 page (at least 2 full pages) analysis based on those lyrics. The key to this essay if finding meaningful lyrics, lyrics that express a theme and that lend themselves to scrutiny. You’re looking for a song that SAYS something, that has some DEPTH, that appeals to the prefrontal cortex (the thinking brain), as well as the limbic area of the brain (or the emotional brain).
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