Free Choice Essay--e. e. cummings

 

ANNOUNCEMENT:  THIS ESSAY IS OPTIONAL.

If you missed an essay this quarter, you will want to do this essay.  If you haven't missed any essays, you do not need to do this essay.

Whatever you decide, the essay is due on Friday, no exceptions or extentions.

 

Due: Fri., June 6

You may want to look at pages 272-273 in Write for College for more ideas on what you could do for this essay.

This essay is entirely up to you, although some possibilities are listed below.  The requirements are as follows:

  • Your essay must be 3-5 pages typed.
  • You must turn in two copies.
  • Your paper must be on one or more of the e. e. cummings poems we’ve studied.
  • If you do not choose one of the possibilities below, you must get your thesis/idea approved by Ms. Spachman prior to Thursday, June 5.

 

Topic A

Pick one of the four e. e. cummings poems to write a commentary on.

 

Topic B

Write a comparative analysis of two e. e. cummings poems.

 

Topic C

Write a research oriented essay about e. e. cummings and his life as a poet.  Discuss in particular one of the poems we’ve covered and how it fits, or doesn’t fit, into e. e. cummings’s poetic philosophy/style/ life/etc.

 

Topic D

Formally prove the speaker of [here is little Effie’s head] while considering tone, relationship/portrayal of God, what the speaker seems to know, etc.  You will also want to discuss the significance of that choice of speaker in e. e. cummings’s grand scheme of this poem.

 

Topic E

Discuss word play, how it occurs and its effects, in three or four of e. e. cummings poems.

 

Topic F

Discuss form, rhythm, and rhyme in [anyone lived in a pretty how town] or [here is little Effie’s head] and how it affects tone/mood and adds meaning to the poem.