Look closely at such matters as diction (word choice), repetition, figures of speech (metaphor, simile, and so on), imagery, voice, persona, turns of phrase, allusion—the linguistic bag of tricks that skillful poets have at their disposal. Dig deeper on these elements and discuss how the poet uses the tools.
Compare how different poets use different tricks to convey a similar theme or message.
Write about three or four related poems for more consistency and coherence
• Whitman, “Song of Myself”
• Frost, “Birches”
• Williams, “By the Road to the Contagious Hospital”
• Moore, “The Fish”
• Auden, “In Praise of Limestone”
• Roethke, “The Waking”
• Wilbur, “The Beautiful Changes”