The Norton Introduction to Literature, edited by Kelly J. Mays Shorter 13th Edition
Choose 20 poems written before 1900 and 20 poems written after 1900. All poems must be chosen from our
text. For each poem, write down an important quotation and your reaction to that quote in 3 – 5 sentences.
What is the meaning of this quotation? How does it affect the rest of the poem? What is important about the
LANGUAGE AND METER of the quote? What is important about the TONE and IMAGERY of the quote? State
the poet, title , and year the poem was written (always listed at the end of the poem).
Here is an example:
On My First Son, Ben Johnson, 1616
“Farewell, thou child of my right hand, and joy;
My sin was too much hope of thee, loved boy:
Seven years thou were lent to me, and I thee pay,
Exacted by the fate, on the just day. “
This quote begins a somber elegy to the speaker’s son (Johnson’s son)who died on his seventh birthday. The
poem describes the depth of the father’s grief, and his “sin” in pride that he had “too much hope of thee”. The
poet describes his son as his “best piece of poetry” Due to the regular rhythm and AABBCCDDEEFF rhyme
scheme, the poet’s suffering is dignified and heartfelt due to the elegance of the language.
Sample Solution
