ELIT 11, Intro to Poetry
J. Quigley, Winter 2015
100 Possible Points
Analytical Response: Rumi, The Ancient Modernist, A Case Study
For this assignment you will select 1 (or 2) Rumi poems from Coleman Barks’
The Everyday Rumi and provide a critical and literary analysis of the poem. Your
response will look closely at the details of the poem (consider literary terms like:
poetic voice, diction, tone, persona, metaphor, allegory, theme) and then explore
larger historical, critical, and/or thematic contexts. Although your response doesn’t
need to have an introduction and thesis statement—like a longer literary analysis
would require—you should type the poem at the top of your page, briefly introduce
the poet, and then provide a controlling focus of your interpretation of the message
or meaning or significance of the poem. You can present this “thesis” or controlling
idea at the beginning or the end of your analysis. The most important thing about
poetry analysis is to look closely at the details of the poem (and directly reference
these details in your analysis) in connection to your larger ideas and claims.
Effective literary analysis is the intersection of the poem, your personal insights, and
literary/historical contexts. In poetry analysis it’s not about finding the “right”
answer, but instead proving an idea that you have about the poem. Remember, all
good analysis begins with re-reading and brainstorming, and all good writing is
created from revision. Even though Rumi’s poems are often short, they are very
dense and pack a lot of punch. Think about your poem(s) deeply.
Writing Requirements:
1. MLA formatting (1 inch margins, size 12 font, times new roman font, double
spaced, name, date, assignment, title, header with page number)
2. 1-2 pages
3. An overall controlling idea about the poem
4. Detailed textual engagement with application of at least 2 literary terms
5. Necessary historical or biographical context to situate your interpretation of
the poem and introduce the poet
6. Analytically developed ideas—expanded and explored thinking; no summary.
Due Date: Monday 1/12/15