Sonnet Comparative Analysis Essay
Choose one of the prompts at the bottom of the page to respond to in tomorrow’s ondemand essay. You must write about the poem that you and your partner presented to
the class. You may select one of the sonnets that have been presented or discussed as
your second text.
Possible poems for your second text:
Sonnet 18 (“Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?) Shakespeare
Sonnet 116 (“Let me not to the marriage of true minds) Shakespeare
“What lips my lips have kissed…” Edna St. Vincent Millay
Sonnet 73 (“That time of year thou mayst in me behold”) Shakespeare
X (“Death be not proud”) John Donne
“The world is too much with us” William Wordsworth
“Mezzo Cammin” Henry Wordsworth Longfellow
“Ozymandias” Percy Bysshe Shelley
“In an Artist’s Studio” Christina Rossetti
“America” Claude McKay
“Anthem for a Doomed Youth” Wilfred Owen
“Into My Own” Robert Frost
XIII (from 21 Love Poems) Adrienne Rich
“Sunflower Sonnet Number 2” June Jordan
“Facebook Sonnet” Sherman Alexie
Prompts
1. Choose two poems in which the speaker addresses or critiques an issue of political or
social concern. Then write a well-organized essay in which you compare and contrast
the two poems, analyzing the poetic techniques each writer uses to express and explore
the speaker’s concerns.
2. Choose two poems in which the speaker describes or includes imagery or ideas related
to the natural world. Then write an essay in which you analyze how the poets use these
resources of language to convey different meanings.
3. Choose two poems in which the speaker considers the topics of passing time, aging,
and/or dying. Then write an essay in which you compare and contrast the two poems,
analyzing how each poet uses literary devices to make his/her point.
4. Choose two poems in which the speaker considers the topics of love, friendship, or
intimate relationships. Then write an essay in which you compare and contrast the two
poems, analyzing how each poet uses literary devices to make his/her point.
5. Choose two poems in which the speaker considers the role or purpose of the artist.
Then write an essay in which you compare and contrast the two poems, analyzing how
each poet uses literary devices to make his/her point.