The Essential Literary Elements

•Read the two poems carefully. Then, in a well-written essay, compare and contrast the two poems, taking into consideration the poetic techniques Blake uses in each. This is an essay question in the 2005 exam, in this essay you have to compare and contrast the two poems written by William Blake, which should be easy considering  you just have to recognize the differences and similarities between the two versions of “The Chimney Sweeper.” While comparing and contrasting you can also emphasize poetic techniques such as rhythmic patterns, shifts, and alliterations to better describe the connections between the two works.  Literary elements are key to understanding the prompt in this question which you will find for most prompts in this section. Always be clear to note the author’s purpose and the context evidence that supports the poem as a whole.  The literary elements often included in the poems, such as imagery, diction, and figurative language are major in developing poetry and the faster you identify these elements within the poetry, the better you will be for supporting your claims and connecting lines of the poems to your given prompt.  The author’s purpose is also clearly involved in the use of language mechanics, when imagery is used for example, you see the clear ideals the author is trying to get along.  The best constructed essay of this section is written by one who understands the prompts thoroughly, quickly identifiies the usage of literary elements, and is clear on the Author’s purpose and how all these aspects tie together to the significance of the poem as a whole.