Writing a Critique

 

          A critique is a reasoned evaluation of a text or an artifact like a film or musical work, an evaluation based on criteria. Perhaps it is helpful to explain what a critique is not; it is not a summary or restatement of a text or other work; it is not a gut reaction to a work; nor is it a complaint about a work. Instead, it is a comment about the work. A person writing a critique selects criteria (standards) that would identify a good work in the genre and then evaluates the work against these standards. Sometimes the criteria vary according to the type of work to be evaluated. The techniques used in poetry differ somewhat from those used in prose fiction, essays, or film—each genre depending on different methods for its effects.

 

 

Assignment

Writing a Critique of a Poem

 

          In order to decide which criteria you are going to use as a standard by which you will evaluate a poem, you need to study and understand the literary devices often employed by poets. You probably studied some of these when you were analyzing an advertisement or literary work in chapter 3.

 

          Below are some common literary devices (often called literary techniques) used in poetry. Look up any terms you don’t know plus any other terms your teacher suggests. This website has definitions for these terms and many others. Your teacher may ask you to use a source such as https://literarydevices.net to paraphrase the definition and include an example for each of the terms so that you are familiar with the literary devices you may choose from for your critique.

​

​

​​

​​

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

         You are not expected to discuss all of these literary devices in a literary critique, but you do need to select at least three to discuss in detail to show how each contributes to the work's overall theme and purpose. You need to discuss how those techniques led you to understand the meaning of the entire work. For example, through the use of symbolism or character, etc., what characteristics emerge that led you to conclude that the work is commenting on society or lack of freedom, etc.? Your literary critique should be 2 ½ to 3 full pages in length (not including the works cited page), double spaced.

​

1. Reread the poem your teacher has assigned for you to critique. If your teacher has listed several of poems for you to choose from, reread the ones you are drawn to so that you can decided which one you want to critique.

2. After reviewing the list of literary terms in chapter 3, choose at least three literary devices and write a thesis. Remember, introduce the thesis in a sophisticated way, not "What I want to show in this paper is..." or “The thesis of this critique is ….”

3. Highlight at least 7 or 8 lines or phrases from your chosen poem that support your evaluative thesis. Draft three topic sentences for body paragraphs; here's a hint:  include one of the literary devices you are critiquing within each topic sentence. Next, figure out which of your highlighted lines or phrases most adequately support each topic sentence.

4. Within in the introductory paragraph, lead into your thesis statement with only a sentence or two to let the reader know what the poem the poem is about. State how the techniques contribute to the overall theme. Remember to introduce the full name of the author and the title of the text. By the way, all subsequent references to the author should be only to his or her last name.

5. The next paragraph should be a summary of the poem. Please refer to the author's last name and focus on identifying the main points of the text, excluding minor details. Remember to write in present tense and refer to the author's last name and also to place a citation at the end of the paragraph.

6. Analyze and critique the three literary devices you chose in one or two paragraphs each. Make sure that you use the actual literary terms themselves. Analyzing involves more than just listing the aspects or listing examples. Analyzing involves taking apart the item and discussing it and its relevance to the overall theme, and evaluating how well the poet has used the literary devices to portray his or her message can become lengthy. Consequently, you may need more than one paragraph to do this task justice. If you simply summarize the poem, you have missed the purpose of the assignment.

7. Quote words or phrases from the poem to illustrate the literary device and point you’re making in each of the three (at least) paragraphs. Smoothly integrate any quotes into your own sentence so that a quotation is not a complete sentence all by itself.

8. Conclude the essay with an overall evaluation of the text, including the characteristics that led you to this conclusion. Use third person pronouns for the voice of your text; unless you intentionally wish to insert a personal reaction to a work, avoid writing in the first person. It is also usually best to avoid second person voice altogether.

9. Generate a work cited page following the MLA documentation style explained in your handbook.

​

Literary Critique Checklist

 

Check your introduction for the following elements:

• Introductory line grabs reader's attention

• Introduction identifies author and name of text (in quotation marks)

• Brief summary of work’s main points

• Introduction builds to clearly analytical thesis (how the literary techniques enhance the author’s purpose)

Check your summary paragraph for the following elements:

• Follows the same arrangement as the original

• Refers to the author’s last name

• Avoids quotations

• Clearly restructured and reworded lines

• Captures the original ideas and omits extra details

• Contains proper MLA in-text citation at the end of the paragraph

Check your body paragraphs for the following elements:

• Clearly written analytical topic sentence—must use terms

• At least 2 in-text citations (quotes or paraphrases) correctly documented and smoothly integrated into your text (no dumped quotes and no quotes over 39 words)

• Comments on how or why this particular element promotes the author’s purpose

• Clearly written concluding sentences

Check your entire paper for these elements:

• Insightful, analytical comments about the effectiveness of the techniques

• Unified and coherent paragraphs

• Variety in word choice and sentence construction

• Present tense used

• First and second person generally avoided

• Additional comments supported by outside source (optional

Check your concluding paragraph for the following:

• Restatement of thesis in different words

• Interesting comments that make a prediction, draw a conclusion, make a generalization, or make a call to action

Check your Work Cited for the following:

• Correct MLA format and spacing

• Hanging indent

• Alphabetical order (if outside sources are used)

 

Suggested Poems to Critique

• Theodore Roethke.........................................................."My Papa’s Waltz"

• Gerard Manley Hopkins..................................................."God’s Grandeur"

• Gerard Manley Hopkins..................................................."As Kingfishers Catch Fire"

• Dietrich Bonhoeffer........................................................ "Who Am I?"

• E. E. Cummings.............................................................."next to of course god America I"

• Emily Dickenson............................................................."Wild Nights - Wild Nights!"

• Joy Harjo......................................................................."Eagle Poem"

• Galway Kinnell................................................................"St. Francis and the Sow"

• Mary Oliver....................................................................."Morning Poem"

• Mary Oliver....................................................................."The Kingfisher"

• William Shakespeare........................................................Romeo and Juliet, Act I, scene 5, lines 94-113

• Robert Frost...................................................................."The Road Not Taken"

• Walt McDonald................................................................"Faith Is a Radical Master"

• Naomi Shihab Nye..........................................................."Famous”

• Gerard Manley Hopkins...................................................."The Windhover"

• Gerard Manley Hopkins...................................................."Pied Beauty"

• Gerard Manley Hopkins...................................................."As Kingfishers Catch Fire" 

​