Poetry Explication
Essay #2: Poetry Explication Write a 4 to 5-page poetry explication that compares how 2 poems address the same or similar issues. For example, you might choose to examine how 2 poems speak about the same historical moment (i.e. the Vietnam War) or how 2 poems examine a particular social issue (i.e. hunger and poverty). Your poems must be ones that we’ve read for homework or in class. What is explication? Explication is the unraveling of a poem. You will explain the poem word by word, line by line, or stanza by stanza. In unfolding the poem, you should address any literary devices you see: simile and metaphor, allusion, rhyme, rhythm, repetition, onomatopoeia, form (if applicable), and other techniques. How do these all contribute to the overall message of the poem? An explication is a way for you to slow down and focus on the detail. Often, a poem that you find confusing will make sense once you take some time to examine it piece by piece. The first place to begin, always, is the title. What do you expect from the title? Does the poem deliver this? How? If it surprises you, why might the author have chosen this title? Or, is the title ironic, and if so, how does irony change the meaning of the poem? These are just a few questions you might ask yourself. Introduction: Include title (in quotation marks), author, dates, brief background of the author if necessary and relevant, a brief summary of the plot (situation), and your thesis, which will mention two or three techniques the poet uses to convey his/her argument (theme). The thesis will include what you believe to be that argument. Body Paragraphs: Systematically go through the poem showing the techniques stated in your thesis and showing how they relate to the poet’s argument. Brief quotes should be incorporated into your sentences to clarify your point. Do not, under any circumstance, quote the entire poem within the paper. If you quote three or fewer lines, an inline quote, you should integrate the quote, and then quote the section of the poem, indicating line breaks with a “/” and stanza breaks with a “//”. To quote more than three lines, use a block quote. In either case, follow the quote with a parenthetical reference of the line number(s). And then, make sure that you follow the quote with an analysis of the quote.
