The Wedding Couple by Donald Hall

I have a paper to write about this poem describing if it is love as it is, love as it should be or love as it shouldn't be. I believe it is love as it should be. Any thoughts about how I should go about writing this poem.

Read through the poem slowly and carefully, noting every line or phrase that supports your thesis that this is about love as it should be.

What about the overall trend of the poem makes you believe that? Jot that down too.

Now, look at all of your notes. Which are the strongest pieces of evidence in support of your thesis? Underline those. Which fit together with each other? Use arrows or some other marking system to show the relationships.

These are your supporting arguments. Decide how you will organize them, then make an outline.

Next, choose the very strongest quote in support of your argument. Think about using that in your introduction.

Write a first draft and post it here for comments. You might also want to ask classmates for comments, if the poem has been discussed in class, as they may remember things that the teacher or other students have said that support or rebut your thesis.

Don't forget, too, to define what you mean by "love," as well as what you think the poet means by it, if there is a discrepancy between the two. It will be difficult to argue that the characters in the poem embody love as it should be if you haven't established a clear definition of the term beforehand.

i would analyze the poem line by line