Directions: This worksheet has two parts. Identification and Composition.
Below are two passages from readings of the two poems we have read so far (an excerpt from “Howl” and Sonnet 129 “Th’ expense of spirit in a waste of shame”). Identify 3 literary devices in each passage. This is the identification part. For the composition part, introduce a prevalent theme within the poem that struck you or that you have a strong opinion about, choose two literary devices from each of the poems that you have identified in the passages below, and explain how the literary devices are working to highlight the overarching message within the poem. This part should be one and a half to two pages long.
Part 1: Identification
For each passage, briefly identify and explain in your own words 3 literary devices seen in the passages below.
Passage 1:
who were expelled from the academies for crazy & publishing obscene odes on the windows of the skull,
who cowered in unshaven rooms in underwear, burning their money in wastebaskets and listening to the Terror through the wall,
who got busted in their pubic beards returning through Laredo with a belt of marijuana for New
York,
who ate fire in paint hotels or drank turpentine in Paradise Alley, death, or purgatoried their torsos night after night
with dreams, with drugs, with waking nightmares, alcohol and cock and endless balls,
incomparable blind streets of shuddering cloud and lightning in the mind leaping toward poles of
Canada & Paterson, illuminating all the motionless world of Time between,
Peyote solidities of halls, backyard green tree cemetery dawns, wine drunkenness over the rooftops, storefront boroughs of teahead joyride neon blinking traffic light, sun and moon and tree vibrations in the roaring winter dusks of Brooklyn, ashcan rantings and kind king light of mind,
who chained themselves to subways for the endless ride from Battery to holy Bronx on Benzedrine until the noise of wheels and children brought them down shuddering mouth-wracked and battered bleak of brain all drained of brilliance in the drear light of Zoo,
Literary Device 1: _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Literary Device 2:
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Literary Device 3:
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Passage 2:
Th’ expense of spirit in a waste of shame
Is lust in action; and till action, lust
Is perjured, murd’rous, bloody, full of blame,
Savage, extreme, rude, cruel, not to trust,
Enjoyed no sooner but despisèd straight,
Past reason hunted; and, no sooner had
Past reason hated as a swallowed bait
On purpose laid to make the taker mad;
Mad in pursuit and in possession so,
Had, having, and in quest to have, extreme;
A bliss in proof and proved, a very woe;
Before, a joy proposed; behind, a dream.
All this the world well knows; yet none knows well
To shun the heaven that leads men to this hell.
Literary Device 1:
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Literary Device 2:
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Literary Device 3:
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Part II: Composition
Now that you have identified at least 6 literary devices, 3 from each poem or passage, it is time to apply what you have discerned into a written explication. Write one and a half to two pages detailing how two (2) literary devices help the authors of the poems establish their main purpose so that it is hard-hitting and impactful to the reader. Basically, how are these literary devices working to highlight the messages of the poems? This is a chance to demonstrate your critical thinking and reading comprehension skills. You must choose two separate literary devices from each of the poems. For example, you can write about symbolism in regards to “Howl” and anaphora in regards to “Th’ expense of spirit in a waste of shame.” But you cannot write about both symbolism and anaphora for “Howl” or write about juxtaposition for both “Howl” and “Th’ expense of spirit in a waste of shame.” I want to see you talking about both poems and two separate literary devices.