never assume that a speaker in a poem is the poet himself or herself. In “Cherrylog Road,” James Dickey creates a first-person speaker who goes to a junkyard to meet Doris Holbrook. Just as Poe did in “The Cask of Amontillado,” Dickey helps us get a clearer idea of the speaker—who is never named in the poem (unlike the Poe story). Most of that “clearer idea of the speaker” in “Cherrylog Road” is about personality and behavior traits, not so much about looks or appearance. Locate several phrases or lines throughout the poem that give the most vivid description of and insight into the first-person speaker (not the poet).

Write an effectively organized paragraph of 6-8 sentences—stay in that range—which does the following: (1) points out those lines/phrases in “Cherrylog Road” mentioned above and (2) comments on the insight or clearer idea they present about the first-person speaker. Your paragraph should have a fairly even balance of actual examples from the poem and your commentary.

When you use a line or phrase from “Cherrylog Road,” put it in quotation marks and cite it by line number. Since the sample paper in our book (1897-1905) focuses on poetry, that’s a good source for how to cite lines of poetry in a paper.

NOTE: This assignment is not really about “interpretation.” You are looking for phrases or lines that follow through with the question and which provide solid evidence for your comments. Yes, you could and should be able to write more than 6-8 sentences. However, the assignment requires you to craft your paragraph so that it says what needs to be said within the stated specifications of 6-8 effective sentences.