Writing Homework Help

Now that we are moving on to applying literary criticism to poetry, I would like for you to practice filling out one row of our literary criticism chart. This way, there will be plenty of examples for you to look at if you need help and inspirartion.

We will practice using Langston Hughes’ “Let America Be America Again” and Gabriela Mistral’s “God Will’s It.”

Here are the links.

Hughes’s Poem: https://poets.org/poem/let-america-be-america-again (Links to an external site.)

Mistral’s Poem: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/browse?volume=59&issue=3&page=9 (Links to an external site.)

You only have to fill out one row for one of the two poems.

Here is the literary criticism chart:

Methodological Tools

Place in Poem

Literary Criticism

1. Feminist Literary Criticism

a. Is there an unequal balance of power between males and females in the text? b. How are the images of females portrayed? c. How are the images of males portrayed?

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2. New Historicism

a. We can look at a text as a historical document.

b. Here is some important terminology for criticism: traditions, customs, beliefs, prejudices

and taboos.

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The 3. Psychoanalytic Literary Criticism

a. important terminology for criticism:

repression- an individual’s impulses and instinctual desires are blocked from entering one’s conscious.

manifest-display or show (a quality or feeling) by one’s acts or appearance; demonstrate.

latent-existing but not yet developed or manifest; hidden or concealed.

id-passionate part of our personality

ego-part of our personality that we show society

superego-the very, very practical part of our personalities

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pick any poem