Write an essay discussing the cultural context of a poem and analyzing the poem, using this knowledge as a background.

Assignment:
For this paper, you’ll need to write an essay discussing the cultural context of a poem and analyzing the poem, using this knowledge as a background.
You’ll need to choose one of the sets of poems and articles listed below.
Any papers which are not on the articles and poems listed here will fail.
To begin, read and take notes on the cultural context the article gives you, as well as on the poem. Then, think about which parts of these events the poem focuses on. Which parts does it leave out? What message does this poet want us to have about this particular event?
Papers which use any sources other than the poem and the listed article will fail.
You will need to give a full analysis of the poem. DO NOT simply give a summary of the events of the poem, the cultural context, or just string together quotations. You are using the cultural contexts to help strengthen your interpretation and analysis of the poem.
You should use quotes from the articles listed and the poems, as well as your analysis of them, to help make your point.
Be sure to give MLA-style (parenthetical) citations for any information you get from your sources, even if you put it in your own words.
You will also want to give a full works cited page for your two sources (the poem and the article; you shouldn’t be using any other sources).
Format:
You’ll want to begin with your analysis of the essay first and then bring it back to the poem. There are two ways of doing this:
Use the first half of your paper to analyze the essay and the ideas in it which you will need to know to fully analyze the poem. In the second half of your paper, analyze the poem from this new perspective. How does using this new knowledge help you to better interpret the poem?
OR
In every body paragraph of your paper, discuss one aspect of the cultural context the article gives you and then, in that same paragraph, link in your analysis of how this helps you to better interpret the poem’s meaning. Repeat this method for each body paragraph. (If these body paragraphs get too long, you can always split them into two separate paragraphs, as well.)
Be sure you have a clear introductory paragraph (with a clear thesis as your last sentence of it), separate body paragraphs (with a clear topic sentence at the beginning of each one and only one, clear topic apiece), and a clear conclusion paragraph at the end.
Also remember that you do not have to discuss the poem in order. If it fits into your organization better, feel free to skip between lines and come back to earlier ones later–just so long as your organization is clear.
Requirements:
Paper should be 3 – 5 pages in length.
Paper should follow the format given in the syllabus (see “Papers”).
Paper should be in MLA format.
Direct quotes should be in quotation marks.
Paraphrased information (information from a source which you put in your own words) should not be in quotation marks.
Paraphrased information should not too closely mimic the original phrasing of your source.
Paraphrased information should have correct, MLA-style internal citations.
Research:
No research should be used, except for the articles listed here (poem and article at bottom). Using any sources other than those listed here will lead you to fail.
Remember that your paper needs to be in one of the following four formats: .doc, .docx, .pdf, .rtf. Our system cannot read any other formats, so neither can Dr. Gilbert. If the paper is turned in in a format which can’t be read, it will collect late days until turned in in a readable format.
Analyze Yusef Komunyakaa’s poem, “Facing It,” using the information in Walter Penk and Ralph Robinowitz’s introduction to a series of journal articles, “Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders Among Vietnam Veterans: Introduction.”