Comparison/Contrast Poetry Analysis / Utopia” by Wislawa Szymborska & “Utopian” by Alicia Ostriker

~The last sentence explains the tasks you must complete. 
~You are to  compare and contrast the two poems determine the overall meanings of the two poems (tones, themes, purposes, characterizations) 

ORGANIZING THE COMPARE/CONTRAST ESSAY. 
Compare and contrast essays are popular in academic writing. These essays will follow a specific question (such as compare/contrast two Victorian poets and their poems). The most important thing to remember for this kind of analysis is structure. Many wonderful essays fall victim to disorganization, digression, or lack of consistency, making any ingenuity fall by the wayside. Go over these steps, and then structure your compare/contrast essay in one of the following two formats: 
TYPE 1: 
1. Introduction: Your introduction should open with only the essential context of the poem, and lead 
into the thesis statement by the end of the paragraph. 

2. Topic 1: This next portion of your essay (which may consist of one paragraph or several) should 
cover only the first topic of the comparison and contrast. Compare/Contrast essays take two topics and illustrate how they are similar and dissimilar. Do not mention Poem 2 in this first portion. Use an effective transition between poems 1 & 2. 

3. Topic 2: This next portion of your essay (which may also consist of one or more paragraphs) 
should cover the second of the two topics. Do not discuss Poem 1 in this section. Since you have already gone into great detail about it, you may allude to Poem 1 briefly; however, do not analyze Poem 1 in this section. This portion of the paper is to analyze Poem 2 in great detail.
 
4. Topics 1 & 2 Together (similarities or differences). Now that you have analyzed both Poem 1 
and Poem 2 independently, analyze them together. This section may also be one or several paragraphs for longer essays. Your goal here is to make a point about the significance of similarities or differences in the topics. Dig deep here and analyze. 

5. Conclusion. The conclusion should be a generalization or restatement of the thesis. Express your 
certainty and absolute knowledge of the subject matter. Show how you‘ve proven your thesis. Leave the reader with something significant or interesting to ponder. Answer the question: so what?