Poetry Explication

Choose ONE of the following topics for the means of writing a TWO page explication. This length does not include the work(s) cited page. Follow proper MLA documentation and cite specific lines of poetry appropriately. Use The Pocket Wadsworth Handbook if you need help citing. Make sure to include an introduction with the thesis stated near the end of the
introduction, a developed body, and a captivating conclusion.
TOPICS
A) Explicate the speaker’s tone in “Suicide Note.”
B) Explicate “Yet Do I Marvel” by Countee Cullen and why the speaker feels the way he does
about being an African American poet.
C) Analyze the figures of speech in “Harlem” by Langston Hughes.
D) Explicate the poem “You fit into me” OR “The secretary chant” and how the speakers feel
about the situation they have encountered. Keep in mind these poems are a metaphor for
something more. What are they a metaphor for? What figurative language devices have been
used to convey the metaphor?
E) Or, choose another literary element to describe for one of the poems you were supposed to
read in this unit. Do not write on “Wind.”

? Your goal with this paper is to be as thorough in your analysis as possible. Use the actual poem to help you; refer to specific lines and tell why and how those particular lines contribute to the poem, how it moves it along, what information can be implied from the poem itself. Refer to the sample essays on D2L if you need help. Use strong verbs to direct your writing and set up your analysis.
? Also, write in present tense when applicable, and use transitions and signal words accordingly when setting up quotations.
? Avoid using contractions and the use of the pronouns you and I. Refer to yourself as “the
reader.”
? One last thing—don’t forget to include the slashes (/) when citing lines of poetry.
Here’s the work cited model you need to use. Be sure to follow the punctuation and italics as
they appear. Fill in the information as it pertains to the poem you choose.

Work Cited
Author’s last name, first name. “Title of poem.” Portable Literature: Reading Reacting Writing.
Eds. Laurie Kirszner and Stephen Mandell. 8th ed. Mason: Cengage Learning, 2012. Page
numbers where the story appears. Print.
So, if you choose “Suicide Note,” your entry would look like this:
Work Cited
Mirikitani, Janice. “Suicide Note.” Portable Literature: Reading Reacting Writing. Eds. Laurie
Kirszner and Stephen Mandell. 8th ed. Mason: Cengage Learning, 2012. 434-435. Print.
*Remember, your last name and page number would appear in the upper right corner of the page

Poetry Explication

Order Description

Choose (3) poems we have read in the past few weeks and write an essay which includes your explication (interpretation) of each poem. To do this, you must find connections or similarities which allow you to link the poems together. The following guidelines will help you plan and envision your essay. Ultimately, this essay will be three pages in length.
The following can serve as a general outline for your explications. You will have to decide what your essay should include or not include. Just be sure your explication is thorough and organized.
I.Introduction
a.(Include such items as what is the poem title, who is the author, and is the theme or subject of the poems.)
II.Body Paragraphs will include:
Type of poem
(Is it a lyric poem? Is it an ode, haiku, sonnet or some other form you can identify?)
Paraphrases of lines/include direct quotes

Traits and examples/explanations
This is where you discuss alliteration, allusion, metaphor, rhythm, rhyme, etc organize this part in a way that best fits your content. For instance, you might want to discuss the sound traits first, then go on to the figurative traits such as personification, symbol, metaphor, etc.)
Exploration of Theme
(Propose what the theme is and support/defend your interpretation. The object is to show that you have reached a reasonable conclusion. What evidence supports your interpretation?)
Evaluation
(Make judgments about the poem. SUGGESTIONS/EXAMPLES: How well did the author do at making his/her point or creating an intended mood or other impact? Which elements were the strongest or weakest and why? Were some images or metaphors particularly interesting or effective and why? Did the rhyme scheme contribute to the poem or distract? Etc., etc., etc.)
III.Conclusion/Personal reactions
(SUGGESTIONS/EXAMPLES: What did you like or not like and why? How did you feel after reading the poem? Did it give you a new perspective or was it trite and why? Did it relate to you, or was it so foreign an idea that it did not seem to pertain to you, and why?)

?Elizabeth Bishop “The Fish”
?Carol Ann Davis, “Tips From My Father”’
Stevie Smith, “Not Waving but Drowning”
?Dylan Thomas, “Do Not Go Gentle…”
?Francis, The Pitcher, Brooks, We Real Cool
?A.E. Housman “To an Athlete Dying Young”
?Bob Dylan “Tangled Up in Blue”

Poetry Explication

Order Description

Choose (3) poems we have read in the past few weeks and write an essay which includes your explication (interpretation) of each poem. To do this, you must find connections or similarities which allow you to link the poems together. The following guidelines will help you plan and envision your essay. Ultimately, this essay will be three pages in length.
The following can serve as a general outline for your explications. You will have to decide what your essay should include or not include. Just be sure your explication is thorough and organized.
I.Introduction
a.(Include such items as what is the poem title, who is the author, and is the theme or subject of the poems.)
II.Body Paragraphs will include:
Type of poem
(Is it a lyric poem? Is it an ode, haiku, sonnet or some other form you can identify?)
Paraphrases of lines/include direct quotes

Traits and examples/explanations
This is where you discuss alliteration, allusion, metaphor, rhythm, rhyme, etc organize this part in a way that best fits your content. For instance, you might want to discuss the sound traits first, then go on to the figurative traits such as personification, symbol, metaphor, etc.)
Exploration of Theme
(Propose what the theme is and support/defend your interpretation. The object is to show that you have reached a reasonable conclusion. What evidence supports your interpretation?)
Evaluation
(Make judgments about the poem. SUGGESTIONS/EXAMPLES: How well did the author do at making his/her point or creating an intended mood or other impact? Which elements were the strongest or weakest and why? Were some images or metaphors particularly interesting or effective and why? Did the rhyme scheme contribute to the poem or distract? Etc., etc., etc.)
III.Conclusion/Personal reactions
(SUGGESTIONS/EXAMPLES: What did you like or not like and why? How did you feel after reading the poem? Did it give you a new perspective or was it trite and why? Did it relate to you, or was it so foreign an idea that it did not seem to pertain to you, and why?)

?Elizabeth Bishop “The Fish”
?Carol Ann Davis, “Tips From My Father”’
Stevie Smith, “Not Waving but Drowning”
?Dylan Thomas, “Do Not Go Gentle…”
?Francis, The Pitcher, Brooks, We Real Cool
?A.E. Housman “To an Athlete Dying Young”
?Bob Dylan “Tangled Up in Blue”