Assignment 2: From Smoke and Steel by Carl Sandburg

General Comments:

Proofread
Have a clear point
Support your ideas with textual evidence
Be precise and succinct

Pearl cobwebs in the windy rain,
in only a flicker of wind,
are caught and lost and never known again.

A pool of moonshine comes and waits,
but never waits long: the wind picks up	5
loose gold like this and is gone.

A bar of steel sleeps and looks slant-eyed
on the pearl cobwebs, the pools of moonshine;
sleeps slant-eyed a million years,
sleeps with a coat of rust, a vest of moths,	10
a shirt of gathering sod and loam.

The wind never bothers...a bar of steel.
The wind picks only...pearl cobwebs...pools of moonshine.

1. (4 points) List the four images that begin each stanza. If there is a metaphor or simile attached to it, give the metaphor or simile.

Comments: You should demonstrate a good grasp of metaphor and simile in your list. Several of you did not show that you understood what metaphor and simile are by giving wrong labels to the images and by writing lengthy descriptions of the images that have no textual support. The links below are to help you review the terms.

A good answer 1) lists the four images, 2) indicates metaphor and simile correctly, 3) is not wordy and sticks to its point, 4) shows understanding of the material and critical and analytical thinking.

Sample answer:

The four images beginning each stanza are

pearl cobwebs; "cobwebs in the windy rain" are pearl (l. 1) is a metaphor: spiders' webs with raindrops caught on them are compared to pearls or a pearl necklace
pool of moonshine; "loose gold like this [pool of moonshine]" (l. 6) is a simile: a yellow circle of moonshine is likened to a stray, unattached gold coin
bar of steel
wind

2. (3 points) Choose a personified image in Sandburg's poem and show what human qualities are given to it.

Comments: Here is your chance to show your basic understanding of personification. This is a lead up to the extended analysis of personification in the next question.

A good answer 1) identifies a correct personification, 2) provides clear human qualities, and 3) gives appropriate supporting illustration from the text of those human qualities

Sample answer:

3. (6 points) How does personification affect the emotion of the poem? Issues you can discuss in your analysis of personification include value(s), nature, industry, time, and blame.

Comments: This is where you bring together several skills and different elements of a poem to see how a particular aspect informs or gives meaning to the whole.

A good answer 1) gives a close reading of the chosen personified image(s), 2) demonstrates good grasp of what personification is, 3) shows ability to do critical reading in analyzing the use of personification in relation to the rest of the poem, 4) discusses how personification creates or enhances tone or emotion in the poem, 5) shows ability to synthesize material learned

Sample answer:

4. (2 points) Did you like this poem? Which part, words, or aspects of it impressed you?

A good answer 1) states your impression of the poem, 2) gives specific examples of the parts or aspects of the poem you like or dislike, 3) discusses why you like or dislike those parts or aspects of the poem, 5) has clear organization and style

Sample answer: