* offer your interpretation of a literary element (such as theme, imagery, symbolism, or characterization) in one of the assigned poems
*Tips for the Essay
*1. Open your introduction with an engaging opener, such as a question, quote from the poem, or interesting idea. Then, connect to the poem and mention the title and the author. End your introduction with a thesis statement that interprets one literary element of the poem (such as theme, imagery, symbolism, or characterization).
2.The body paragraphs should support your thesis. Present specific aspects of the poem that help to illustrate your points. Make sure to quote from the poem and analyze specific lines that support your argument. Typically, body paragraphs will contain at least two short quotations each as supporting evidence.
3.Include a strong concluding paragraph that summarizes your main points and explains the significance of the thesis. Finish this paragraph with a strong and satisfying ending.
*Use APA style for formatting the essay and for source citations. Begin with a title page and use proper font and spacing. End with a separate references page
SEE POEM BELOW:
A very large elm tree overshadowed Plaths home in Devon. In this poem, the elm speaks to a human listener.
DADDY
You do not do, you do not do
Any more, black shoe
In which I have lived like a foot1
For thirty years, poor and white,
Barely daring to breathe or Achoo.
Daddy, I have had to kill you.
You died before I had time
Marble-heavy, a bag full of God,
Ghastly statue with one gray toe
Big as a Frisco seal
And a head in the freakish Atlantic
Where it pours bean green over blue
In the waters off beautiful Nauset.2
I used to pray to recover you.
Ach, du.3
In the German tongue, in the Polish town4
Scraped flat by the roller
Of wars, wars, wars.
But the name of the town is common.
My Polack friend
Says there are a dozen or two.
So I never could tell where you
Put your foot, your root,
I never could talk to you.
The tongue stuck in my jaw.
It stuck in a barb wire snare.
Ich, ich, ich, ich,5
I could hardly speak.
