Poetry Essay Prompt
AP Literature Poetry Essay Prompts (1970–2011)
1970 Poem: “Elegy for Jane” (Theodore Roethke)
Prompt: Write an essay in which you describe the speaker's attitude toward his former student, Jane.
1971 Poem: “The Unknown Citizen” (W.H. Auden)
Prompt: In a brief essay, identify at least two of the implications implicit in the society reflected in the poem. Support your statements by specific references to the poem.
1972 NO POEM 1973 (exam not available)
1974 Poem: “I wonder whether one expects...” (No poet given)
Prompt: Write a unified essay in which you relate the imagery of the last stanza to the speaker’s view of himself earlier in the poem and to his view of how others see poets.
1975 NO POEM
1976 Poem: “Poetry of Departures” (Philip Larkin)
Prompt: Write an essay in which you discuss how the poem's diction (choice of words) reveals his attitude toward the two ways of living mentioned in the poem.
1977 Poem: “Piano” [2 poems with the same name] (D. H. Lawrence)
Prompt: Read both poems carefully and then write an essay in which you explain what characteristics of the second poem make it better than the first. Refer specifically to details of both poems.
1978 Poem: “Law Like Love” (W. H. Auden)
Prompt: Read the poem and the write an essay discussing the differences between the conceptions of 'law' in lines 1-34 and those in lines 35-60.
1979 Poems: “Spring And All” (William Carlos Williams) and “For Jane Meyers” (Louise Gluck)
Prompt: Read the two poems carefully. Then write a well-organized essay in which you show how the attitudes towards the coming of spring implied in these two poems differ from each other. Support your statements with specific references to the texts.
1980 Poem: “One Art” (Elizabeth Bishop)
Prompt: Write an essay in which you describe how the speaker's attitude toward loss in lines 16-19 is related to her attitude toward loss in lines 1-15. Using specific references to the text, show how verse form and language contribute to the
1970 Poem: “Elegy for Jane” (Theodore Roethke)
Prompt: Write an essay in which you describe the speaker's attitude toward his former student, Jane.
1971 Poem: “The Unknown Citizen” (W.H. Auden)
Prompt: In a brief essay, identify at least two of the implications implicit in the society reflected in the poem. Support your statements by specific references to the poem.
1972 NO POEM 1973 (exam not available)
1974 Poem: “I wonder whether one expects...” (No poet given)
Prompt: Write a unified essay in which you relate the imagery of the last stanza to the speaker’s view of himself earlier in the poem and to his view of how others see poets.
1975 NO POEM
1976 Poem: “Poetry of Departures” (Philip Larkin)
Prompt: Write an essay in which you discuss how the poem's diction (choice of words) reveals his attitude toward the two ways of living mentioned in the poem.
1977 Poem: “Piano” [2 poems with the same name] (D. H. Lawrence)
Prompt: Read both poems carefully and then write an essay in which you explain what characteristics of the second poem make it better than the first. Refer specifically to details of both poems.
1978 Poem: “Law Like Love” (W. H. Auden)
Prompt: Read the poem and the write an essay discussing the differences between the conceptions of 'law' in lines 1-34 and those in lines 35-60.
1979 Poems: “Spring And All” (William Carlos Williams) and “For Jane Meyers” (Louise Gluck)
Prompt: Read the two poems carefully. Then write a well-organized essay in which you show how the attitudes towards the coming of spring implied in these two poems differ from each other. Support your statements with specific references to the texts.
1980 Poem: “One Art” (Elizabeth Bishop)
Prompt: Write an essay in which you describe how the speaker's attitude toward loss in lines 16-19 is related to her attitude toward loss in lines 1-15. Using specific references to the text, show how verse form and language contribute to the