Description
Choose one of the Poetry Selections from this Unit – you can certainly choose a poem you have already posted about in one of the Unit 2 forums, but you don’t have to. Be sure to consider what you learned from (LO 4) Unit 2.1 Discussion – Poem Hypertexts and Semiotics when making this decision. You will closely read (and reread) your chosen poem, considering its structural elements, patterns of figurative language, and other literary elements. Bear in mind that, much as we discovered about ads in the advertisement analysis forum, poems are carefully and purposefully crafted–consider that every choice in terms of structure, rhyme (or lack thereof), wording, and tone are deliberate and work to leave an intentional impression on the reader. Use the page Starting Your Poetry Analysis to help guide your consideration of how and why the elements of a poem come together to create effect and meaning. Carefully read the example pages that use Frost’s poem “The Road Not Taken” as an example for explication (Close Reading, Sample Analysis and Key Elements).Use this page as a framework for creating an analytical outline. Your finished outline should look something like this. Include the following elements:
First, an introductory paragraph that offers focused, key background information on the poem and what you are focusing on about it.
At the end of the Introduction section, compose a well-crafted thesis statement: one or two sentences that explain what you want to say overall about the poem. Ideally, this thesis should focus on the “how” and “why” of the effect of some of these choices. Consult this page about thesis statements.Next, include topic sentences that could be used for body paragraphs that focus on specific ideas and elements from the poem that provide evidence and support for your overall idea about the poem (thesis). Under these topic sentences, include relevant, brief quotations from the poem, indicating the line numbers in parentheses.Finally, include a brief conclusion that sums up what these ideas all add up to.
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Student 1
Nick Jonas
Professor X
English 1102
1 January 2024
Sample Outline:
An Analytical Outline of “Baptism by Dirt” by Frank X Walker
I. Introduction
A. Background: In the poem “Baptism by Dirt” (2020) by Frank X Walker, a family of
three, consisting of the speaker, their wife, and their two-year-old child, are going about
their day tending to one of their three raised-bed gardens. As the speaker of the poem
watches their wife working in the garden, they remember how their mother used to do the
same—pondering on what it is women know about nurturing a seed. The poem comes to
an end as the speaker comments on coming back inside from the garden feeling tired and
sore while being caked in dirt, yet their wife comes back as the complete opposite.
B. Thesis: The pervasive theme of Frank X Walker’s “Baptism by Dirt” is the idea of
dealing with and subsequently letting go of one’s burdens to look to the future. This
theme is especially evident in the poem’s reinterpretation of religious ritual and the
symbolism of planting seeds.
II. First Body Paragraph
A. The poem’s title, “Baptism by Dirt,” inverts the Christian religious rite of baptism,
suggesting that the groundedness of planting and digging in the dirt offer a unique
opportunity for spiritual and emotional growth.
1. Key quote: “All believers know about the power of water / though not enough
recognize the power of dirt” (Walker 1-2).
III. Second Body Paragraph
A. The ritual of gardening in the pandemic offers a similar, baptism-like “unburdening”
of troubles and worries for women specifically.
1. Key quote: “She floats back into the house somehow cleaner / almost
burdenless, / as if she spent the weekend / burying all her heavy things, / as if she
Student 2
whispered to something sacred / and it whispered something back” (Walker
18-23).
IV. Third Body Paragraph
A. The seeds the speaker and their family plant in the garden are more than just fruit
seeds, but a symbol of their hope for the future.
1. Key quote: “What is it that women know / about nurturing a seed into a piece
of fruit, / about believing in the power of dirt / and suns and water?” (Walker
12-15).
V. Conclusion
A. In Walker’s “Baptism by Dirt,” the idea of getting through the hardships and burdens
of life for a better future is ever-present throughout. From its religious iconography to the
circumstances in which Walker penned the poem, the thematic patterns of laying one’s
burdens down and moving forward provide a hopeful tone, despite the circumstances
being faced.
Student 3
Poem, for reference
(You do not need to attach an entire poem to your own outline–this is for reference only. Please
be sure to choose one of the poetry selections included in the course materials for your own
outline.)
“Baptism by Dirt” (2020)
By Frank X Walker
for Shauna
All believers know about the power of water
though not enough recognize the power of dirt.
My mama used to walk barefooted
in our vegetable garden,
get down on her hands and knees
and almost pray in the dirt.
My wife and I and our two-year old
built and planted three raised-bed gardens.
Watching her dip her fingers into the dirt
to coddle what will feed us
reminds me of mama and then.
What is it that women know
about nurturing a seed into a piece of fruit,
about believing in the power of dirt
and suns and water?
I return from our labor with sore knees
and back, fingernails and hands caked with dirt.
She floats back into the house somehow cleaner
almost burdenless,
as if she spent the weekend
burying all her heavy things,
as if she whispered to something sacred
and it whispered something back.
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