Poetry of Intoxication.
First, read the poetry by Sappho (ancient Greece), Li Po (medieval China; Tang Dynasty), Moira Egan (21st-century American feminist) and Kendrick Lamar (21st-century American hip hop).
Think about what each poet is saying about intoxication–what are the points of similarity and difference among the poems?
Think about intoxication in a broad sense; we all experience different forms of intoxication, including but beyond the obvious forms. Consider your experiences with intoxication–this can be anything: what overwhelms you, gives you pleasure and maybe a bit of pain, challenges you, helps you see things from a different perspective, etc. It could be a person, song, film, art work, food, drink…the list goes on.
After you read, inspired by these writers, write a response (275-400) words where you analyze your favorite form of intoxication in relation to the ideas in two of the poems you just read.
Be sure to closely analyze at least one direct quote to support, illuminate and complicate your ideas and claims if you want full credit, using proper MLA citation.
The Readings for the assignment
Li po “Drinking Alone in the Moonlight
https://allpoetry.com/Drinking-Alone-in-the-Moonlight
Sappho poem
https://poets.org/poem/my-eyes-he-matches-gods
Moira Egan “Bar Napkin Sonnet #11”
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/49272/bar-napkin-sonnet-11
Kendrick Lamar “Swimming Pools”
https://genius.com/Kendrick-lamar-swimming-pools-drank-lyrics
