Many of the Harlem Renaissance made extensive use of the sonnet form; module 2 contains examples such as Countee Cullen’s “From the Dark Tower,” Helene Johnson’s “Sonnet to a Negro in Harlem,” and Claude McKay’s “If We Must Die. “Write an essay in which you compare some of the sonnets written during the Harlem Renaissance. How do different approaches to the sonnet form signal different thematic concerns?

M4: Essay #2 Requirements

1. Fully address the prompt within 500 – 800 words.
2. Essays must have the proper structure. This includes an introduction paragraph, several body paragraphs, and a concluding paragraph. The introduction must include page number, heading and a title in MLA format. The introduction must also begin with a hook/attention grabber, proceed with general background information on the topic, and the ONE SENTENCE thesis is the LAST sentence in the introduction.
3. Use your own ideas and quotations from the literature to support your thesis. When using quotations, remember to introduce the quote with a signal phrase and follow each quote with an interpretation in your words (review the quote sandwich).
4. Use MLA parenthetical citations immediately following each quotation and/or paraphrase. Purdue OWL’s website is an excellent free source.