1. Have a clear thesis statement that announces your opinion about the message of the poem (at the end of the Introduction).
In “Gunner,” the poet Randall Jarrell attempts to convey the experience of the war from the point of view of airman who has been wounded in combat.
2. Begin the Body section by discussing the structure of the poem: lines, stanzas, rhyme pattern, sound effects, form (free verse, sonnet, etc.)
3. Organize your analysis of the poem (a) by character, setting, theme or (b) by stanza.
4. Paragraphs should have clear topic sentences, followed by support:
(a) Quote words and phrases from the poem (l. 5).
(b) Identify figures of speech.
(c) Discuss connotations of words.
(d) Discuss patterns of sound.
(e) Explain how these help develop the message of the poem.
5. Use the present tense to discuss people, setting, images in the poem. Use the past tense for background about the poet or about American culture and society of the time.
6. The “voice†in the poem is usually called the speaker of the poem (Not the poet, not the author). You can refer to the poet when you discuss the meaning of the poem.
In the first stanza, the speaker asks, “What happens to a dream deferred?†(l. 1).
In “Gunner,” the poet Randall Jarrell attempts to convey the experience of the war from the point of view of airman has been wounded in combat.
7. The poet is a person. The poem is the work. Poetry is the kind of literary writing (No plural: poetries)
8. Use slashes to show line breaks:
“Hold fast to dreams / For if dreams die / Life is a broken winged bird / That cannot fly†(ll. 1-4)