Reading journal (text analysis)

You are to select one of the following poems, read and analyze it, and write a reading journal entry (length: 350–450 words) on the poem of your choice to support your reading experience. It should be 100% original. As you read, make notes that question the text, the author, or even the characters. Consider rhythm, characterization, point of view, theme, motifs, allusions, and literary devices. How do these things contribute to your reading of the text?

●   If you find a particular quote that strikes a chord, write it out. Comment on its meaning, significance, and / or impact on you as a reader. How does its language (imagery, rhythm, diction, syntax) generate meaning?

●   Note details that seem important and that make you look again (for instance, if you see particular words that are repeated throughout the poem, you can comment on them).

●   Your journal can also include graphic, historical or context information, your observations on intertextual and intercultural connections.

●  After you have gone through the poem for yourself, noticing things and making notes, ask yourself “What is the total effect of all the little things I’ve been noticing?” What do the parts of the poem cooperate to mean?