EN 1001 Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: Petrarch, Thesis Statement, Foreplay
Document Summary
Open book, any printed or handwritten course materials. Close interpretive reading of one of the following poems. Clearly articulated in a thesis statement; what you think the poem is doing. Every piece of literature is designed to persuade us about something. Situate the poem on its literary context; a traditional poem or a poem from the modern era. The year in which the poem is written has nothing to do with the quality. Explain how poetic form (rhyme and meter, structure, genre, tone, imagery, symbolism, metaphor) all support your claim. Will not have time to engage in all of these forms; be thoughtful and selective on what you choose to say about the poem. Capture ordinary human experience and human language; bring it down to the ordinary language. He wanted to base his poetry on the language of the ordinary man, but also jack it up to make it more sophisticated.
