Assignment task: Based on your reading of the four poems in this lesson, answer the following questions.
Part A: Why does Edwin Arlington Robinson choose to narrate the poem "Richard Cory" from the perspective of a townsperson?
Part B: Compare the structure of Marianne Moore's poem "Poetry" to that of traditional sonnets and ballads.
Part C: How would the poem "We Wear the Mask" be different if Paul Laurence Dunbar had written it in more informal language or without as much structure?
Part D: Analyze the importance of rhyme scheme and structure in the poem "Anecdote of the Jar" by Wallace Stevens.
Part E: Identify and explain two themes in the poem "Richard Cory" by Edwin Arlington Robinson.
Part F: In the poem "We Wear the Mask," Paul Laurence Dunbar uses a relatively structured rhyme scheme in his depiction of a community putting up a facade and pretending to be something else. Is there a time in which you acted in a way that was contrary to your own feelings? Perhaps you hoped to live up to the way others wanted to see you. Perhaps you did something that you weren't comfortable doing in order to fit in.
Type a poem describing what you did and how you felt. Experiment with the rhyme scheme in your poem, just as modern poets did. After your poem, include a brief explanation of the rhyme scheme, structure, and literary devices that you used.