Choose two poems we’ve read that have a common theme.

Choose two poems we’ve read that have a common theme. Then write a 1,000-word essay in which you discuss how the poems present that theme and argue which poem makes its point more effectively. A few possible themes and poems that could be paired:

humor — “A Martian Sends a Postcard Home” and “The Flea”

suffering — “Musée des Beaux Arts” and “My Papa’s Waltz”

connectedness with family — “Digging” and “My Papa’s Waltz”

the difficulties of being a parent — “Ballad of Birmingham” and “Musée des Beaux Arts”

the beauty of art — “Ode on a Grecian Urn” and “Musée des Beaux Arts”

the danger of committing hubris — “Ozymandias” and “Musée des Beaux Arts”

the importance of history to the present — “Ballad of Birmingham” and “Ozymandias”

memory — “My Papa’s Waltz” and “Ballad of Birmingham”

the rewards of hard work — “Digging” and “Ozymandias

MAKE SURE TO INCLUDE QUOTES