Pick two poems we read (by different authors) that are related thematically and compare and contrast them. 

Essay Prompt:

Pick two poems we read (by different authors) that are related thematically and compare and contrast them. You should show how each poem develops the theme in a unique manner. You should aim to capture as much as possible the specificity and complexity of each poem’s treatment of the theme. You do not need to provide a comprehensive analysis that discusses every element of both poems. You can offer an overall frame for understanding the poem before zooming in and focusing on those details and lines that seem most relevant. Ideally, your paper by its conclusion should offer a deeper understanding of each poem and how they are similar and/or different in the treatment of the theme. You must cite at least one academic source to support your argument.

Due to past problems with plagiarism, please do not compare Shakespeare to Marvell, or Donne to Marvell.

Some possible themes (feel free to find others):
Individualism/Conformity: Dickinson, “The Soul Selects Her own Society,” “Much Madness is divinest Sense,” “What Soft Cherubic Creatures”; Whitman, “Song of Myself”; Blake, “The Garden of Love.”

Love/Desire/Sexuality: Shakespeare, “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?,” “My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the Sun”; Donne, “A Valediction”; Keats, “Ode on a Grecian Urn”; Marvell, “To His Coy Mistress”; Whitman, “Song of Myself;” Blake, “The Garden of Love”; Dickinson, “The Soul Selects Her own Society.”

Time: Shakespeare, “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?”; Keats, “Ode on a Grecian Urn”; Marvell, “To His Coy Mistress;” Keats, “Ode on a Grecian Urn;” Whitman, “Song of Myself”; Pound, “A Station in the Metro”; O’Hara, “The Day Lady Died.”

Death: O’Hara, “The Day Lady Died”; Whitman, “Song of Myself.”

Art: Shakespeare, “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?”; Keats, “Ode on a Grecian Urn”; O’Hara, “The Day Lady Died.”

Urbanism/The City: Pound, “A Station in the Metro”; O’Hara, “The Day Lady Died.”

Gender/Representations of Women: Shakespeare, “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?,” “My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the Sun”; Donne, “A Valediction”; Whitman, “Song of Myself”; Dickinson, “The Soul Selects Her own Society,” “Much Madness is divinest Sense,” “What Soft Cherubic Creatures.”

Paper requirements: 

5 pages (not counting the Works Cited page). Double-spaced, 12 point, Times New Roman text. It should contain an MLA style Works Cited with entries for the poem and the academic source. (Introduction, a series of body paragraphs, and a conclusion). The introduction should contain a precise thesis that outlines the argument of the paper.