7th Grade Literary Analysis Paper
Prompt: Use what you have learned from reading “The Highwayman” by Alfred Noyes and “The Charge
of the Light Brigade” by Alfred Lord Tennyson to write an essay that provides an analysis of how each
poet writes about honor and sacrifice.
As a starting point, you may want to consider how each poet exemplifies sacrifice through their
characters’ circumstances, what is emphasized or different in the two texts, and how specific language
choices support each poet’s thoughts.
Develop your essay by providing textual evidence from both texts. Be sure to follow the conventions of
Standard English.
1. Introductory paragraph: Introduce topic, framework for paper, thesis statement
2. Body paragraph: Explain how “The Highwayman” includes sacrifice and exemplifies honor
3. Body paragraph: Explain the same ides in “Light Brigade” while noting the differences with “The
Highwayman”
4. Body paragraph: Explain how both authors use repetition in their poems. For what purpose
does each poet include this element?
5. Body paragraph: How does Noyes’s use of many poetic elements and Tennyson’s focus on just a
few effects each poem?
6. Closing
The above outline is suggested but not required. If you would like to organize your essay in a different
format, feel free to do so. Be sure to include text evidence in each of the body paragraphs.
Sample Introductory Paragraph
1.
Alfred Noyes’s “The Highwayman” and Alfred Lord Tennyson’s “The Charge of the Light Brigade”
both include characters willing to sacrifice themselves for a higher purpose. In “the Highwayman”
sacrifice is motivated by love while in “Light Brigade,” the motivation is duty to one’s country. Both
poems use repetition to emphasize their story and ideas though Noyes employs other poetic elements
as well.
2. In “The Highwayman,” Bess sacrifices herself to save the one she loves.
3. The characters immortalized in “The Charge of the Light Brigade” risked their lives for different
reasons and under different circumstances.
4. Both Noyes and Tennyson repeat words and phrases in their poems to create suspense and
emphasize ideas.
5. While Tennyson’s main element is repetition, Noyes also uses imagery and figurative language to
great effect.
Organize Your Text Evidence
Text that proves the author feels Bess’s death is honorable:
Text that proves the author feels the Light Brigade’s death was honorable:
Text that shows an effective use of repetition in “The Highwayman”:
Text that shows an effective use of repetition in “Light Brigade”:
Text that shows Noyes’s effective use of imagery or figurative language:
Alternate quotes you may want to use in other places in your paper: