4/6 AP English Literature Poetry Essay Example #1
This is a real, anonymized poetry essay written by an AP student and scored 4/6 by our AI grader — one of many AP English Literature essay examples in our library.
The Prompt
In Victor Hernández Cruz’s poem “Two Guitars,” published in 2001, the speaker imagines that two guitars are alive and engaging in conversation about their musical experiences. Read the poem carefully. Then, in a well-written essay, analyze how Hernández Cruz uses literary elements and techniques to convey a complex portrayal of the guitars’ musical world.
The Passage
The Essay
In Two Guitars by Victor Hernández Cruz, the poet uses vivid descriptions and unconventional settings to show the rich history of the guitars’ musical worlds, which emphasizes how music is extremely powerful through its ability to unite people. Throughout the poem, Cruz uses vivid descriptions to show the memories of the guitars. When the two guitars are alone, they discuss their histories, with the first saying that their owner “has no heart.” This is not because he is cruel or abusive but because his heart has “[left] out of his mouth” and “[melted] out of his eyes.” This vivid description of the man when he plays his guitar shows him singing and crying with deep passion that is expressed through music. He has given his entire heart, the soul, to music. The guitar is immersed into this passion, which shows the rich, unique world which this one guitar lives in - immersed into the man’s heart. This emphasizes how music is extremely powerful through being a medium for emotions that is universally understood and can cause even a guitar to have “strings [that] are tight and full of tears.” Another example of vivid descriptions is when the other guitar is describing their history in an up and coming Mexican band. They say that they experienced the band’s “throats gardenia gardens an airport for dreams,” with gardenia being a type of plant known for its striking appearance. This description shows how the guitar witnessed the growth of this band and their usage of beautiful music as an “airport” for their dreams of success and making a name for themselves. This is particularly true with the context of this Mexican band being started in New York in a time where immigrants were often discriminated against. Music had to overcome this xenophobic barrier to truly unite people. By emphasizing how music is the lens through which marginalized people can unite to accomplish their far-away goals like becoming famous musicians, it is shown that music is extremely powerful. Additionally, Cruz employs unconventional settings to show the rich history of the guitars’ musical worlds. When the second guitar describes the places that they had been played at, they recall oddities like “an apartment on 102nd street” and “after a baptism” where the musicians were offered “[chicken] soup.” The oddly specific memories that the guitar has of an apartment specifically on 102nd street and chicken soup after baptism shows the unconventional places which this Mexican band had traveled. These trinkets of memory show the rich history of the guitars’ musical worlds. They remember not just the music or their player but also the unique experiences they had. These settings emphasize how music has the ability to connect and relate people regardless of where they are. Additionally, the mentioning of these unconventional settings shows how music is more than pleasant sounds. Rather, it’s a medium that brings people into places which they never would have been otherwise. In comparison, at present, with the guitars simply left in a room, it feels like those times are gone, like “what is left by [the] last chord of a bolero.” Without being played and being kept in a boring setting unlike what their past had brought, the guitars feel like their rich history is fading away, and that rich history is shown through the fading away of music. They long to be immersed within music’s unconventionality, not in a sterilized environment. Therefore, unconventional settings show the rich history of the guitars’ musical worlds, which emphasize how music is extremely powerful through its ability to unite people.
Score Breakdown
Thesis (1/1)
Evidence & Commentary (3/4)
Sophistication (0/1)
Why This Essay Scored Well
The essay picks a defensible thesis that names techniques and stakes a claim about music's unifying power. The 'unite people' idea, though, is asserted rather than proven later. A strong move comes when the writer anticipates the misreading and corrects it, showing the heart-leaving image means passion, not cruelty. The writer connects the image to meaning rather than just naming it, which is exactly what the rubric rewards. The essay unpacks the 'airport for dreams' metaphor, explaining how music becomes a vehicle for aspiration. An effective contrast sets the vivid past against the silent present and uses the bolero image to capture the loss. This is the most interpretive moment, linking the guitars' silence to music's disappearance. It gestures at the poem's paradox.
For the full point-by-point rubric behind this score, read our AP essay rubric breakdown.
What Could Be Improved
Tighten the 'unconventional settings' paragraph: instead of asserting that odd details like chicken soup and 102nd street 'show the rich history,' explain what those specific images reveal about how music transformed ordinary immigrant life into something worth remembering. Ground the 'unite people' claim in the poem's actual language. The essay repeatedly states music is 'extremely powerful' and 'unites people' without showing where the poem depicts that unity, especially across the two guitars' contrasting voices. Push past naming vivid description toward explaining the poem's central tension: the guitars are alive and talking precisely because they are no longer being played. Explore what that paradox reveals about music's power and its loss.
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