Saturday, April 27, 2013

Poetry Essay Prompt #1

I think that an intro paragraph is sufficient in helping me prepare for the AP Exam.

Prompt: The following two poems are about Helen of Troy. Renowned in the ancient world for her beauty, Helen was the wife of Menelaus, a Greek King. She was carried off to Troy by the Trojan prince Paris, and her abduction was the immediate cause of the Trojan War. Read the two poems carefully. Considering such elements as speaker, diction, imagery, form, and tone, write a well-organized essay in which you contrast the speakers’ views of Helen.


               Both poems have contrasting ideas that portray Helen's beauty in very different manners. It's interesting that though they both use similar literary techniques to describe very different portrayals of Helen and her beauty. "Helen" describes her beauty as a curse, while "To Helen" describes her beauty as physical and spiritually uplifting. Even though the tone and diction are different, they both use these elements. Both authors use tone and diction to help them describe their differing opinions on Helen's beauty.

No comments:

Post a Comment