For this assignment, you will choose a single poem to thoroughly explicate, including cited quotations from literary research. (You must choose a poem from Chapter 24 only–see below.) An explication (also called a “close reading”) is “an unfolding” of a poem. There are models of poetry explication (sample essays) throughout the poetry chapters in our textbook–check the table of contents. In explication, your goal is not so much to make an argument about the poem; rather, it is to explain the entire poem in detail, noting and analyzing the different elements of poetry (figures of speech, images, sound devices, etc.) that you encounter. Practice prewriting techniques like annotation and freewriting to generate ideas, organize those ideas, and revise and edit your essay so it all makes sense. Of course, you should have a thesis statement that sums up your explanation of the poem.
To prepare, you should consider the “Questions for Responsive Reading and Writing about Poetry” (Chapter 31, pp. 1114-1116). You may start by simply paraphrasing, for yourself, the meaning of the poem (you can do this line by line or idea by idea; include a brief version of this paraphrase in your essay). Then use a dictionary and make notes on diction, interesting word choices, and words that have alternate meanings or connotations that add dimensions to the poem. Next, you’ll want to identify all the elements of poetry you can and figure out how they contribute to the poem, including imagery, figurative language, allusions, symbols, and the sound patterns or music of the poem. Some of these elements will be obvious; some will be subtle.
Finally, since it is difficult for any single reader to notice everything about a text, you will also need to do some research in order to consider others’ perspectives. If possible, read material from scholarly or academic sources, such as literary journals or library databases (websites like Wikipedia or SparkNotes may be useful as a starting place, but should not be quoted in college-level essays; instead, read the original scholarly sources that they cite and quote from them if applicable). You may also look at biographical dictionaries or biographical articles about your poet, which may contain information that helps you understand the poem (see in Chapter 30, “Critical Strategies for Reading,” the section called “Biographical Strategies,” p. 1073).
You may choose any one of the poems in Chapter 24: A Collection of Poems/Poems for Further Reading (641-675). Alternately, you may write about more than one poem (by the same or different authors), if the poems are brief, and if you can make a worthwhile connection between them. Or you may choose a poem or poems from a source outside our textbook, but only with my approval—consult with me as soon as possible if so.
Grading Criteria:
Clear paraphrase of the poem’s literal meaning, including a thesis that summarizes it.
Clear identifications (using correct terminology) and careful analysis of elements of poetry.
Specific evidence of those elements from the poem (quote specific words, lines, stanzas).
Quotations or paraphrases of additional or supporting ideas from 2 outside sources.
Clear organization and transitions, including integration of quotations.
Accurate and correctly formatted in-text citations and Works Cited page (see the models and instructions in Chapter 32). Cite poems using line numbers rather than page numbers.
Correct grammar, punctuation and spelling.
