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CRIT (Critical Analysis of Poetry) Instructions
Part 1: Read the following necessary background information, pay attention to the discussions in class
regarding NAP (New American Poetry), and keep whatever notes you feel are important to keep. Background
information is as follows:
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pg. 530 Walt Whitman bio info
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pg. 546 Emily Dickinson bio info
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pgs. 520-521 Brilliant Mavericks: Whitman and Dickinson
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pgs. 528-529 Form and Content in Poetry; Form and Function; Poetic Form in Action
Part 2: Read the following six poems:
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Whitman’s “I Hear America Singing” (pg. 532)
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Whitman’s Part 1 of “Song of Myself” (pg. 534)
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Whitman’s “A Noiseless, Patient Spider” (pg. 538)
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Dickinson’s “Because I could not stop for Death—” (pg. 548)
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Dickinson’s “Much Madness is divinest Sense—” (pg. 551)
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Dickinson’s “The Soul selects her own Society—” (pg. 552)
Part 3: Constructing your CRIT
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There are five steps to follow when we CRIT a poem. These are: paraphrase, observe, contextualize,
analyze, and argue. On the following pages, each of these steps is explained. Complete the steps in
the order that they are assigned. This is the only way to successfully complete the entire process.
Important things to note:
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No step will be accepted out of order. If you complete a step out of order, you will be reassigned
another poem, and you will have to start the whole process over from Step 1. Please note:
Completing steps out of order (i.e. not following directions) and being reassigned a new poem does
not push forward any due dates. Original due dates will still apply to you.

Steps 1-4 are not going to be graded. However, you will be permitted to turn in Steps 1-4, in order,
and on their posted due dates for teacher review. As this work is not graded, there will be NO
EXTENSION OF DUE DATES FOR TEACHER REVIEW. If you do not take advantage of teacher
review on the assigned due dates, and your Step 5 earns a failing grade, you will be reassigned a
different poem, and you will be required to report to however many tutorials it takes to successfully
complete Steps 1-5 again, in order, with your newly assigned poem.

You may have teacher review of any and/or all of Steps 1-4. However, for example, if you are
submitting Step 3 only for review, you will still be asked to present Steps 1 and 2 with Step 3 to be
sure that you are completing everything in order.

No due dates will be pushed forward as a result of you not following the requirements of this
assignment.
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1) Paraphrase-In 4-6 sentences, clearly and directly state the basic content of
the poem. What situation is being described? What action(s) take place?
Who/What performs these actions? Does the poem say why they perform
these actions? If so, write it down.
Tip: Write a basic summary of the poem’s content. Don’t analyze the poem.
Now is not the time to analyze. Don’t try to figure out what the poem
means in this step. Also, don’t critique the poem (critique means to say
whether it’s good or bad). All you’re doing in this step is writing down what
is actually happening in the poem.
Write your response in this box.
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2) Observe-Read through the poem again and identify features or qualities of
the poem’s language. Your list may include any kind of elements that
capture your attention, even if you can’t explain why they capture your
attention. Indicate which line(s) you’re referring to.
Tip: Look at the poetic and rhetorical devices the author has used. What is
the rhyme scheme? Is there any repetition? Did the author use
personification? onomatopoeia? metaphor? alliteration? etc.? Is there any
unusual punctuation? How many stanzas are there? These questions and
others of their kind are what you answer in this step.
Write your response in this box.
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3) Contextualize-Think about the poem in its historical context. Using what
you know about the time period and the poet who wrote it, list some facts
that you think might possibly be relevant to understanding the poem.
Tip: Think about what is happening in America (and possibly the world?) in
an around the time this poem was written. Do you possibly see these events
or thoughts/feelings about these events showing through in the poem? What
are some things that you know about the author and his/her beliefs that
may be showing through in the poem?
Write your response in this box.
Four to six facts about the poem’s/author’s time period which may have had an effect on the
content of this poem are:
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Four to six facts about the author’s life/beliefs which may have had an effect on the content of
this poem are:
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4) Analyze
In Step 4, the MINIMUM expectation is that you attempt to “marry together” 6 separate pairings of
information from steps 2 and 3.
A minimum of three of the pairings should be original thought exploring the poet’s possible intended
meaning of the poem: explore things such as (but not limited to) tone, mood, subject matter,
symbolism, etc.
Here is an example of one pairing having to do with possible intended
meaning: The poet lived through the death of two of his wives and one of
his children, and this may be the reason this poem has such a melancholy
tone. This sad tone could be a reflection of his outlook on life.
Minimum of 3 pairings speculating on the author’s intended meaning:
1)
2)
3)
A minimum of three of the pairings should be original thought exploring the choices the poet made
about the physical structure: explore things such as (but not limited to) punctuation, rhyme, stanza
length, repetition, personification, etc.
Here is an example of one pairing having to do with physical structure:
Until he was in his 20s, this poet spoke with a profound stutter, and this
may be the reason he used periods in unusual and unexpected places.
Although he finally was able to overcome this stutter when he spoke out
loud, perhaps he still “stuttered” in his thought processes. Maybe using all
these strange periods was a way to make his audience read his poem with
the same “stutter” with which he still formed his thoughts.
Minimum of 3 pairings speculating on the author’s use of poetic/rhetorical devices:
1)
2)
3)
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5) Argue-Use the information you’ve come up with in steps 1-4 to formulate a
thesis statement that conveys your own interpretation of the meaning of the
poem. Remember that an effective thesis statement for this activity is one
that must be defended. After you have developed a thesis statement, defend
it with examples from the poem and your CRIT.
Tip for thesis statement: A thesis is a general, overall claim you make
about the poem you’ve analyzed in Steps 1-4. A good thesis statement is
one that has to be defended. This means that somebody might argue with
what you claim about the poem. The fact that somebody might argue
with what you’ve said forces you to be able to defend your claim by
providing examples from the poem in support of your claim.
Write your thesis statement and defend it with examples in this box. (A thesis statement should
be only one sentence.) This response should be a fully formed paragraph. This means after you
have written your thesis and defended it with examples, you should have a concluding
sentence.
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Here is an example
thesis statement to
give you ideas:
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Whitman which
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Ex.: “O Captain!
My Captain!” is a
poem by Walt
was written to
parallel the end of
the Civil War and
the death of
Abraham Lincoln.
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Important: A
successful poetry
analysis thesis
statement
contains 4 key
pieces of
information (in
any order you
choose):
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1) author’s full
name
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2) type of piece
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3) title of piece
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4) your ORIGINAL
claim…Please do
not lift ideas from
any source
outside your brain.
Doing so is called
plagiarism, and
you will be given
a zero and an
office referral.
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