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Poetry Explication

Remember that explication means to unfold.

Assignment: The pleasure experienced in listening to or reading poetry comes from the interrelationship of all the literary techniques that the poet uses to present the sense, or meaning, of the poem: choice of speaker, sound, imagery, and figurative language.

Write an essay which analyzes the connection between the techniques of your selected poem and its meaning, as you received it.

Title:__________________________________________________________________

 Poet:__________________________________________________________________

Poem form/structure: _______________________

_____narrative, _____ dramatic, or _____ lyric
_____free verse, _____ blank verse, or _____ regular verse

Step #1: Begin by first jotting down your responses to the poem. At this point, concentrate on the poem's emotional effect on you.

 

 

 

Step #2: Now consider the meaning (main idea, message, moral, theme) of the poem.

 

 

Step #3: Who is the speaker (or persona) of the poem? Describe the kind of person who appears to speak in the poem.

 

 

 

Step #4: What is the dramatic situation in the poem? In other words, what is going on in the poem? What is the occasion?

Step #5: What sound devices are used in the poem? These may include rhyme, rhythm, onomatopoeia, alliteration, consonance, assonance, etc.

 

 

Step #6: What are the dominant images, and/or sensory references (i.e. sounds, smells, tastes, etc)? Consider not only which senses are appealed to, but also whether the images can be grouped in some way.

 

 

 

Step #7: What kinds of figurative language appears? This might include metaphor, simile, personification, allusion, and so on.

 

 

 

Step #8: Is there any other specific technique that influences the poem's meaning? Repetition? Line breaks? Heavy use of a particular image? Symbolism?

 

 

Step #9: What is the tone of the poem?

Step #10: Is the title significant? What does the title do to set the tone? The stage? The ultimate feeling about the poem?

Step #11: Complete this plan page:

Introduction: General discussion of the poem's effect on the reader. Last sentence of the first paragraph should be your thesis statement stating the specific techniques used in your poem to convey the meaning of the poem.

Thesis Sentence:

 

Body Paragraphs: Each body paragraph should discuss each one of the points you have noted. You will support your selection by showing specifically how a passage created / revealed meaning. Each body paragraph may include two integrated quotes from the poem.

Body Paragraph #1 (Topic Sentence):

 

Partial quotes to be used:

 

 

 

 

Body Paragraph #2 (Topic Sentence):

 

Partial quotes to be used:

 

 

 

 

Body Paragraph #3 (Topic Sentence):

 

Partial quotes to be used:

 

  AND SO ON, until you have adequately interpreted and explained the poem, according to how you read it. Trust your instincts and your own perceptions/readings of the poem. Use excerpts from the poem to support your interpretations!

 

Conclusion: Your conclusion should include a restatement of your thesis in different words. You should broaden your discussion to include at least one of the following ideas:

· * your opinion of the poem

· * what you learned from reading the poem

· * connecting the poem you discussed to another literary work, for writers influence writers

· * connecting the poem to your own life if it is really important, but do not spend a long time doing so!!! The weight of your work should be on analyzing and interpreting the poem.