ENGL 4623/5653: Emily Dickinson
John M. Mercer,
Professor of English
Northeastern State University,
Broken Arrow
Guidelines for Writing a Paraphrase of a Poem
- Type
and double-space the paraphrase in paragraph form. If you wish, you may devote a separate
paragraph to each stanza. Do NOT write
the paraphrase in line-by-line poetic form, devoting one line of the
paraphrase to each line of the poem.
- Write
the paraphrase in your own words.
Do NOT copy the exact words or phrases of the poem. Although it is not possible or necessary
to avoid some of the individual words of the poem, most of the words of
the paraphrase should come from outside the poem.
- Use
the same point of view (first-, second-, or third-person pronouns) and
verb tense as the poem. For example,
if the speaker of the poem uses “I” (first-person point of view) the
paraphrase should also use “I.”
- Present
the ideas in the same order in which they appear in the poem, but
use your own sentence structure.
Do NOT merely insert synonyms into the lines of the poem.
- In
your college dictionary (or, if you prefer, the OED), check the
meaning of every word whose meaning you question. In the paraphrase, explain difficult
words.
- Explain
what the poem actually says.
Do NOT give a highly imaginative or subjective interpretation that
departs from what the poem says.
- This
is NOT intended to be a research assignment. If you do, however, use the ideas or
words of any source, provide parenthetical documentation and a works-cited
page.
- Revise
and edit the sentences of the paraphrase to make them smooth,
logical, and clearer than the poem itself.
- Study
carefully the model paraphrases of four poems on the class Web page.
- Please
staple or paper-clip a clean copy of these guidelines to the back
of your completed paraphrases.