Please remember when writing your thesis that it should make a strong assertion that you can use literary theory to prove. A simple statement of fact or a topic sentence is not a thesis statement.
Assignment:
Look through the reading more poetry section of our book. Pick two poems that have some factor in common (for example, a factor that concerns either ethnicity, race, gender, class, sexuality, formal technique, or topic). Do not pick a poem we have read for this class. After conducting research, put these poems in their historical contexts by focusing on that one specific factor. Construct an original argument that analyzes what these poems reveal about the eras in which they were written. Some questions to consider: Why does this aspect appear in these poems at this time? Do the two poems have the same view of this topic? Are these poems unusual on this topic as compared to dominant perceptions of the eras?
Do not use the general "you" in your paper to refer to the reader. This assumes a common background that can be offensive.