Poetry analysis “bitch” by Carolyn kizer

The Poetry Analysis Essay: Suggestions and Common Errors
>
> ok and the poem is “bitch” by Carolyn kizer
>
> 1.      *Review *”Major Stages in Thinking and Writing About Literature”
> beginning on page 19 in the text as well as the elements of poetry in “Part
> III, Reading and Writing About Poetry.”  Note, with my exceptions, “Writing
> a Research Essay  on Poetry,” page 1222.
>
>  2.      *Length:* three pages.  This is the suggested amount of
> development, not the number of pages to be filled.
>
> * 3.      **Choices: *You must write about the work of a poet who is listed
> on the course schedule, but you should *not*analyze a poem that we have
> already analyzed in class or one that we may at some point analyze in
> class.
>
>  Hint: papers by students who have spent little time researching the work
> of the writer they’ve selected are apparent to good readers within the
> first paragraph most of the time.  Ethos begins low, and the grade on the
> paper will be below average.   If you choose the most conveniently accessed
> poem, you’re only making your life more difficult.
>
>  4.      *Analysis is not a paraphrase or summary of the poem’s argument,
> circumstance or plot*.  Summaries neither lend insight nor illuminate
> possible inferences, two purposes of analysis.  For example, to say, “Bart
> Edelman’s poem ‘Chemistry Experiment’ is about a chemistry experiment that
> goes wrong for some college students.  He talks about the smoke, describing
> it as a ‘black rope of smoke.'”  Such regurgitation does not serve the
> reader.
>
>  This is not to say that you cannot paraphrase the poem to call the reader
> to the moments or ideas you wish to analyze.  This is only to say that a
> paper which only paraphrases or summarizes is not fulfilling the assignment
> or the purpose of the assignment, to train you to think critically about
> text and learn to articulate clearly your critical thoughts.
>
>  5.      *Analysis is not a reader reaction*.  Reader reactions are just
> that: a reader’s emotional, casually considered reaction to a work.  Such
> reactions range from, “This poem was weird,” or, “This poet’s an idiot.  He
> makes no sense,” to, “Edelman writes a wonderful poem about some college
> students who almost blow themselves up in chemistry class.  The line, ‘With
> the hazardous waste crew,’ shows how serious the accident was.”
>
>  None of the previous comments lend the reader a compelling interpretation
> of the poem.  Relevant interpretations, which when supported with evidence
> are analysis, offer insight into how the poem is working, why it is
> significant beyond what we see on the surface, or reveal the instructional
> value of the poem, the wisdom we might take from it.
>
> A good draft of an analysis of this poem might begin, “Bart Edelman’s poem
> ‘Chemistry Experiment’ illustrates just that, a chemistry experiment in a
> college classroom, to symbolize the seeming trauma of becoming an adult,
> especially in matters of romance.”
>
>  6.      The poem you are analyzing will not organize your paper for you.
> Very often, novice writers will commit what we will refer to in this class
> as the *Quote and Comment* method, which is when the writer quotes or
> paraphrases a line from the poem being “analyzed,” comments on it, then
> quotes the next line and comments on it, and so on.  It’s nearly impossible
> to organize a paper into useful paragraphs using this method, and most
> writers who do employ it don’t even bother to organize.  The method is easy
> on the writer and hard on the reader.  Other than someone who’s being paid
> to grade the paper, few readers would endure more than the two paragraphs
> of this sort of essay.
>
>  7.      A draft of a clear, focused, organized analysis is significantly
> more difficult to write when you have not already*brainstormed* general
> ideas and, afterward, drafted a rough *outline* of the ideas that might
> work.  The more time you spend refining your outline, the more manageable
> your paper will be during the drafting process.  You want to have a sense
> of how your paper should be organized and what your supporting details will
> be before you begin writing.  Otherwise, you will find yourself frustrated
> and lost in your own paper.
>
>  8.      Research is not required for this first paper, but it is
> encouraged and it will be rewarded.  Any consulted sources used in the
> paper must be cited in MLA format.  See the text and Diana Hacker’s website
> for MLA citations in *The Bedford Guide* on line.
>
>  9.      Just as poetry creates poets and novels breed novelists, the best
> way to develop an understanding of a good analysis is to spend time
> reading *good
> models*.  Included here are the authors whose works are the subject of good