look at some techniques of reading literature, especially poetry, examine how to find the literal meaning of a poem examine how to find the figurative meaning of a poem use "The Road Not Taken" as an example of how to read for literal and figurative meaning in a poem read some poems complete Draft 2A, which asks you to write about the literal and figurative meaning of a poem, examine some ways to write an essay about a poem complete Draft 2B, which asks you to write a paragraph about a poem, submit a draft to SmarThinking for feedback and write Paper 2.BY KIM ADDONIZIO I want a red dress. I want it flimsy and cheap, I want it too tight, I want to wear it until someone tears it off me. I want it sleeveless and backless, this dress, so no one has to guess what’s underneath. I want to walk down the street past Thrifty’s and the hardware store with all those keys glittering in the window, past Mr. and Mrs. Wong selling day-old donuts in their café, past the Guerra brothers slinging pigs from the truck and onto the dolly, hoisting the slick snouts over their shoulders. I want to walk like I’m the only woman on earth and I can have my pick. I want that red dress bad. I want it to confirm your worst fears about me, to show you how little I care about you or anything except what I want. When I find it, I’ll pull that garment from its hanger like I’m choosing a body to carry me into this world, through the birth-cries and the love-cries too, and I’ll wear it like bones, like skin, it’ll be the goddamned dress they bury me in. Draft 2A: Literal and Figurative Meaning of a Poem We have been learning how to get at the literal and figurative meanings of a poem.  Now, it is your turn.  In Draft  2A you are asked to give the literal and figurative meanings of one poem. Literal Meaning Write in paragraph form a paraphrase of the literal meaning you see in a poem such that you put the poem's words in your own words, get at the literal (not figurative or metaphorical or symbolic) meaning, end up with about the same number of words as in the original poem, and write in typical standard English prose.  Figurative Meaning Write in paragraph form the figurative meaning you see in a poem such that you sum up the central figurative idea of the poem, support that interpretation of the figurative idea of the poem with quotations from the poem to support your ideas, use quotation marks and cites the quotation and, if necessary, uses the forward slash between lines of poetry, and write in standard English prose paragraphs. Requirements for Draft 2A 1. You may choose to work with one or two other students in this class to do this assignment.  That is, two or three people may work to produce one assignment. 2. Choose one of the poems listed on the page called "Reading Some Poems" in this unit. 3. Work with the poem, as shown in this unit, to understand and then write the literal meaning.

1. look at some techniques of reading literature, especially poetry,
examine how to find the literal meaning of a poem
examine how to find the figurative meaning of a poem
use "The Road Not Taken" as an example of how to read for
literal and figurative meaning in a poem
read some poems
complete Draft 2A, which asks you to write about the literal and
figurative meaning of a poem,
examine some ways to write an essay about a poem
complete Draft 2B, which asks you to write a paragraph about a
poem,
submit a draft to SmarThinking for feedback
and write Paper 2.BY
KIM ADDONIZIO
I want a red dress.
I want it flimsy and cheap,
I want it too tight, I want to wear it

2. until someone tears it off me.
I want it sleeveless and backless,
this dress, so no one has to guess
what’s underneath. I want to walk down
the street past Thrifty’s and the hardware store
with all those keys glittering in the window,
past Mr. and Mrs. Wong selling day-old
donuts in their café, past the Guerra brothers
slinging pigs from the truck and onto the dolly,
hoisting the slick snouts over their shoulders.
I want to walk like I’m the only
woman on earth and I can have my pick.

3. I want that red dress bad.
I want it to confirm
your worst fears about me,
to show you how little I care about you
or anything except what
I want. When I find it, I’ll pull that garment
from its hanger like I’m choosing a body
to carry me into this world, through
the birth-cries and the love-cries too,
and I’ll wear it like bones, like skin,
it’ll be the goddamned
dress they bury me in.

4. Draft 2A: Literal and Figurative Meaning of a Poem
We have been learning how to get at the literal and figurative
meanings of a poem. Now, it is your turn. In Draft 2A you are
asked to give the literal and figurative meanings of one poem.
Literal Meaning
Write in paragraph form a paraphrase of the literal meaning you
see in a poem such that you
put the poem's words in your own words,
get at the literal (not figurative or metaphorical or symbolic)
meaning,
end up with about the same number of words as in the original
poem, and
write in typical standard English prose.
Figurative Meaning
Write in paragraph form the figurative meaning you see in a
poem such that you
sum up the central figurative idea of the poem,
support that interpretation of the figurative idea of the poem
with quotations from the poem to support your ideas,
use quotation marks and cites the quotation and, if necessary,
uses the forward slash between lines of poetry, and

5. write in standard English prose paragraphs.
Requirements for Draft 2A
1. You may choose to work with one or two other students in
this class to do this assignment. That is, two or three people
may work to produce one assignment.
2. Choose one of the poems listed on the page called "Reading
Some Poems" in this unit.
3. Work with the poem, as shown in this unit, to understand and
then write the literal meaning of the poem.
4. Work with the poem, as shown in this unit, to understand and
then write the figurative meaning of the poem.
5. Write at least one paragraph of the literal meaning of the
poem and at least one paragraph of the figurative meaning of
the poem.
6. Separate out the literal and figurative meanings of the poem,
as demonstrated in the example below.
7. Give the author and title of the poem, as demonstrated in the
example above.
8. Use quotations to support your ideas (quotation marks,
citation of lines, forward slashes when needed).
9. When you are ready to put your work into word processing,
construct a document (file) of the literal and figurative meaning
of the poem. Work with the file, editing and proofreading and
revising as necessary.

6. Example of Assignment
Literal Meaning of Frost's "The Road Not Taken"
Two roads split apart in a yellow forest. I was sorry that I
couldn’t travel both roads. Since I am only one traveler, not
two, I had to choose one of the roads. Before choosing, I stood
for a long time and looked down one road. I looked down that
road as far as I could, down to where it curved out of sight in
the underbrush. After I looked down the first road, I took the
second road because the second road looked just as fair as the
first one. And perhaps the second road had a better claim since
the second one was grassy and not worn. But other travelers had
really worn them about the same. That morning, as I traveled,
roads equally had leaves on them that were not blackened. I
took the second path, and saved the first road for another day.
However, I know that one path leads on to other paths, and
since that is true, I doubt I will ever get back to the first path
again. Somewhere, ages and ages from now, I will be telling
this whole story again, and will tell it with a sigh: two roads
diverged in a wood and I took the one less traveled by. That has
made all the difference.
Figurative Meaning of Frost's "The Road Not Taken"
The poem "The Road Not Taken" is about the journeys we take
in life and the choices me make on those journeys. The speaker
stands in a forest and sees that the road he is walking forks in
front of him. He must make a choice. Like all people, the
speaker is anxious about the choice in front of him. He may
take one road that is well traveled or, as he says, "trodden
black" (line 12) where the forest's leaves have been trampled
under the many feet of all those who have taken this road before
him. Or, he may take the other road. He leaves the first, the
well-traveled road, for "another day" (line 11) when he may

7. return to the first road. Even though he cannot see the end
destination of his choice (the second road) because it turns
ahead of him and because it is obscured by the "undergrowth"
(line 5), still he takes it knowing he will never come back to
this place, this choice, again. He take the road less traveled by
and that makes the difference for him in his life. In other
words, the choice he makes in taking the road less traveled by
leads him to places and events in his life that he could never
know before-hand. Like the traveler, many of us, knows now
that the choices he makes in life cannot be undone and that they
lead on to other choices that lead us to a destination that we
could not have foreseen when we first made the choice.
All this takes place in the fall of year since the leaves of the
forest lead the speaker to call this forest a "yellow wood" (line
1). This waning season of the year suggests that the speaker is
in the waning years of his life (that is, when he is older) and so
suggests that he makes his choice when he is of middle age or
older. Like the speaker, even those who are older--not just the
young at high school graduations--must constantly make choices
that change the outcome of their lives.
Paper 2 Requirements
1. Paper 2 focuses on your interpretation of the meaning of one
poem. Choose one of the poems found in this unit on the page
called "Reading Some Poems."
2. The paper has a short introduction paragraph, which includes
a lead-in line to get the paper started [don't start the first line of
the paper with the thesis]; this is just a general statement of the
topic of the paper,

8. the title of the poem [in quotation marks],
the name of the poet,
the thesis [your opinion about what the poem means or its major
theme or idea].
3. The thesis makes one arguable point about the theme (point,
meaning, your interpretation) of the poem. Your thesis is
arguable; that is, it takes a stand that other people who read the
poem might disagree with but one which you support. The thesis
is your interpretation of a theme, point, or meaning of the poem.
4. The body of your paper contains several paragraphs. In the
body paragraphs, you will want to
thoroughly explain all your ideas,
make every sentence clear and understandable to the reader
not use any contractions,
avoid using first (I, me, mine, our...) or second (you, your, you
are...) person point of view in a formal college essay.
use the literary present tense of verbs to talk about your poem.
For example, the boy
walks
through the house, not "walked"; or the poem
is
about a young boy, not "was."
5. Support your ideas in your body paragraphs with quotations

9. from the poem. Put quotation marks around the quotations.
After the quotation, put the line number in parenthesis. Be sure
to lead into the quotation before giving the quotation. After the
quotation tell what the quotation suggests to you or give your
interpretation of the quotation. Link this interpretation to the
topic sentence of the paragraph and to the thesis of the paper to
show how your interpretation of the quotation supports the topic
sentence of the paragraph or the thesis of the paper.
6. Since this is a paper about a poem, be sure to use the forward
slash between lines of the poem that you quote. When you
quote, quote accurately. Use ellipsis to indicate any omissions
you have made from the original quotation. Use square brackets
to enclose any change you make in the original. If your
quotation from the poem is long (more than 4 lines of the
poem), display the quotation as a long quotation.
7. End the paper with a short conclusion paragraph that echoes
or mirrors the thesis in some way and that wraps up the entire
paper.
8. Type an outline page (with at least A's and B's under each
Roman numeral), the paper itself, and a Work Cited page.
9. Type the words "Paper 2" somewhere on the title page of
your paper.
10. Give your paper a title that is NOT the title of the poem.
Type the title in the center, on the first page of your essay.
11. Assigned length: 500-750 words.
12.
Underline the thesis in your introduction paragraph.
13. Submit your paper using the Assignments dropbox for this

10. online course. (More on that later)
Write a draft of at least four paragraphs for your Paper 2. You
may continue developing your writing on the same poem that
you focused on in Draft 2A. In your draft, include
an introduction paragraph
underline the thesis in your introduction paragraph
at least two body paragraphs
write topic sentences in the two body paragraphs (usually the
first or second sentence of the body paragraphs)
make sure the topic sentences directly and explicity support
your thesis
add quotations from the poem to support your ideas in the body
paragraphs
a conclusion paragraph
make sure the conclusion paragraph wraps up the essay and
brings it to finality.
You may make your Draft 2B longer if you wish.

11. The Process of Composing
Getting Ideas
Using your draft as a starting point,
read the work several times
think about what the work literally says
think about what the work says in terms of
character--the people in fiction
point of view--the position or stance of the work's narrator or
speaker
setting--the time and place of the work
tone--the author's attitude as it comes across in the work
symbols--objects that represent ideas in the work
examine the figurative meaning of your work (connotations of
particular words, images, similes and metaphors, symbols)
Fill in the following line about your work: "This work (poem or
play) is a work about . . . ." where in the blank you would write
an idea.

12. Planning
On some scratch paper, jot down some ideas about what you
will say in the paper.
See pages 10-17 in
The Little, Brown Essential Handbook
(The Writing Process).
As you plan, think about what your main point about the story
will be. This main point will become the thesis. Try to come
up with a thesis sentence that
gives the main point of your paper
gives your interpretation of the meaning of the work, its theme,
or a point that it makes
is a complete sentence
is as clear as possible
is one sentence, not two or more sentences long.
NEVER RETELL THE STORY OR SUMMARIZE THE
EVENTS OF THE WORK
.
Drafting
Some students need to begin a sentence or two on paper. Other
students are ready to go directly to the computer screen to write
their draft. Do what works best for you.

13. As soon as you are ready to go to the computer, type a first
draft of your paper in word processing. As you draft, whether
on paper or on the computer screen,
don't stop to think about what is good or bad in the draft, just
type
type as fast as you reasonably can, not stopping. Your goal is
to get words on paper or screen.
be sure to set aside enough time. Tell your roommate, spouse,
or children that you will be busy for a while and need not to be
disturbed
If you get stuck while drafting,
go back and read what you have written already
go back and re-read your cluster, brainstorm, informal outline
or freewrite
stop and do another cluster, brainstorm, informal outline or
freewirte about the topic you are stuck on
take a break and wash the dishes or change the oil in the car.
Come back with a clear mind
If you get interrupted while drafting,
write down a note of what you will do next

14. underline the most important thing that you need to write more
about
put a check mark by the thing to write about next from your
cluster, brainstorm, informal outline or freewrite.
Looking Ahead: Your Aim in the Full Draft
As you are writing your full draft you want to think about
making sure that
the thesis is underlined, clear, argumentative, and focused on
your interpretation of one idea you see in the work.
the organization is reasonable. The thesis statement is the last
sentence of the first paragraph. Each body paragraph has a
topic sentence. Each topic sentence directly supports the
thesis. The thesis is repeated or rephrased as the first sentence
of the last paragraph. The last paragraph brings finality to the
entire paper.
the argument is developed and presents a convincing argument
to the reader. The topic sentences are supported by quotations
from the work. Each quotation is introduced. Each quotation is
interpreted for the reader.
diction, grammar, format, and mechanics have very few errors;
those errors seen are minor.
the work is quoted accurately, and quotation marks are used
correctly. The quotations from the work are integrated into
your sentences and are not left standing as separate sentences
on their own. The quotations are interpreted and explained to

15. the reader and linked back to topic sentences and/or the
thesis. The brackets and ellipsis are used correctly when
needed.
The work is represented correctly in the Works Cited entry.
Revising and Proofreading Your Draft
A First Revision
After you have written a draft of your paper, re-read your paper,
checking to see that you
made several paragraphs in the paper
included the title of the work (in quotation marks) in the
introduction
included the name of the author of the work in the introduction
included a thesis in the introduction and underlined it.
used quotations (in quotation marks) from the work to support
your ideas in the body paragraphs
introduced the quotations to let the reader know the content of
the quotation before he reads it
interpreted the meaning of the quotation after the reader reads
the quotation
added in-text citations in parenthesis after each quotation in
your paper

16. made sure each sentence makes sense
explained all your ideas clearly
did not repeat ideas unnecessarily
organized the paragraphs in a reasonable way
supported all your ideas with explanations, reasons, details, or
examples
gave each paragraph a topic sentence that "previews" the point
of the paragraph for the reader
tied each paragraph back to the thesis in some way, and
"proved" your thesis.
A Second Revision
Here are some ways to notice what needs to be revised in your
paper
read your paper out loud to yourself
read your paper out loud to someone else
ask someone else to read your paper out loud to you as you
listen to him reading
ask someone else to read your paper out loud to you as you read
a copy of your paper as he reads
ask someone else to read your paper, telling him or her to look

17. for a certain thing such as support or topic sentences or clarity
in the paper
talk through your paper to someone else, telling them your main
points and asking them to question you about your support for
the points.
As you read or listen or talk, think about these questions about
your paper
Does the paper make one main point? Can a reader find the
sentence that summarizes that one main point? (This one main
point would be the thesis.)
Does the paper match up with and accomplish the assignment
given?
Does the paper progress in an organized, reasonable, logical
way?
Are there places where the paper needs more details,
explanations, reasons, example?
Are any of the body paragraphs much shorter than all the others
and need more development?
Are the introduction and conclusion paragraphs shorter than the
body paragraphs? (They should be, probably.)
See pages 14-17 in
The Little, Brown Essential Handbook
for information on Revision

18. Proofreading/Editing
Work with your file until you are ready to turn it in. Check
some of the following:
double-space the paper
use present tense of verbs to write about a poem, story, or play
use the spell checker (caution! the spell checker is often
WRONG)
use the grammar checker (caution! the grammar checker is
often WRONG)
look for the mistakes you know are your own common grammar
and punctuation mistakes
indent each new paragraph
have no extra line spacing between paragraphs
check for common proofreading/grammar mistakes
check for common punctuation mistakes
check for source material mistakes