An Explication is a complete and detailed analysis of a work of literature, often proceeding word-by-word or line-by-line through the work. For this paper, you will be writing an explication of a poem. You may choose any of the poems we have read or a song. You may also choose any poem you like from an anthology. Technical Requirements for Explication: · The paper must be typed and double-spaced, conforming to proper MLA format. · The paper must be at least two full (2) pages. · This is not a research essay; therefore, you will not (and should not) use outside sources. · Be sure to know when the essay is due. No late papers will be accepted. In the Explication you will be presenting your "reading" of the poem you have chosen. Such a reading will require you to understand all aspects of the poem and to have a grasp of the meaning of individual parts of the poem in relation to the entire work. You are not, however, striving to be exhaustive in your "explanation" of the poem, but rather you should strive to be selective in considering only those details that are significant to your own thematic understanding of the poem. Some general questions to consider when writing about Poetry: 1. What does the title contribute to the reader's understanding of the poem? 2. Who is the speaker? Where is the speaker when the poem is happening? 3. Is it possible to determine the speaker's age, sex, sensibilities, level of awareness, and values? 4. What is the situation? What has happened in the past, or what is happening in the present, that has brought about the speech/poem? 5. Is there a specific setting of time and place? 6. Is the speaker addressing anyone in particular? 7. How do you respond to the speaker? Favorably? Negatively? Are there any special circumstances that inform what the speaker says? 8. Does reading the poem aloud help you to understand it better? 9. Does a paraphrase reveal the basic purpose of the poem? 10. What is the theme/meaning of the poem? Is the theme of the poem presented directly or indirectly? What detials make possible the formulation of the main idea? 11. Do any allusions enrich the poem's meaning? What references need explaining? How does an explanation assist in the understanding of the poem? 12. What difficult, special, or unusual words does the poem contain? How does the diction reveal meaning? Are any words repeated? do any carry evocative connotative meanings? Are there any puns or other forms of verbal wit? 13. Are figures of speech used? How does the figurative language contribute to the poem's vividness and meaning? 14. Do any objects, persons, places, events, or actions have allegorical or symbolic meanings? What other details in the poem support your interpretation? 15. Is irony used? Are there any examples of situational irongy, verbal irony, or dramatic irony? Is understatement or paradox used? 16. What is the tone of the poem? Is the tone consistent? 17. Does the poem use onomatopoeia, assonance, consonance, or al.

1. An Explication is a complete and detailed analysis of a work of
literature, often proceeding word-by-word or line-by-line
through the work. For this paper, you will be writing an
explication of a poem. You may choose any of the poems we
have read or a song. You may also choose any poem you like
from an anthology.
Technical Requirements for Explication:
· The paper must be typed and double-spaced, conforming to
proper MLA format.
· The paper must be at least two full (2) pages.
· This is not a research essay; therefore, you will not (and
should not) use outside sources.
· Be sure to know when the essay is due. No late papers will be
accepted.
In the Explication you will be presenting your "reading" of the
poem you have chosen. Such a reading will require you to
understand all aspects of the poem and to have a grasp of the
meaning of individual parts of the poem in relation to the entire
work. You are not, however, striving to be exhaustive in your
"explanation" of the poem, but rather you should strive to be
selective in considering only those details that are significant to
your own thematic understanding of the poem.
Some general questions to consider when writing about Poetry:
1. What does the title contribute to the reader's understanding of
the poem?
2. Who is the speaker? Where is the speaker when the poem is
happening?
3. Is it possible to determine the speaker's age, sex,
sensibilities, level of awareness, and values?
4. What is the situation? What has happened in the past, or what
is happening in the present, that has brought about the
speech/poem?
5. Is there a specific setting of time and place?
6. Is the speaker addressing anyone in particular?

2. 7. How do you respond to the speaker? Favorably? Negatively?
Are there any special circumstances that inform what the
speaker says?
8. Does reading the poem aloud help you to understand it
better?
9. Does a paraphrase reveal the basic purpose of the poem?
10. What is the theme/meaning of the poem? Is the theme of the
poem presented directly or indirectly? What detials make
possible the formulation of the main idea?
11. Do any allusions enrich the poem's meaning? What
references need explaining? How does an explanation assist in
the understanding of the poem?
12. What difficult, special, or unusual words does the poem
contain? How does the diction reveal meaning? Are any words
repeated? do any carry evocative connotative meanings? Are
there any puns or other forms of verbal wit?
13. Are figures of speech used? How does the figurative
language contribute to the poem's vividness and meaning?
14. Do any objects, persons, places, events, or actions have
allegorical or symbolic meanings? What other details in the
poem support your interpretation?
15. Is irony used? Are there any examples of situational irongy,
verbal irony, or dramatic irony? Is understatement or paradox
used?
16. What is the tone of the poem? Is the tone consistent?
17. Does the poem use onomatopoeia, assonance, consonance,
or alliteration? How do these sounds affect you?
18. What sounds are repeated? If there are rhymes, what is their
effect? Do they seem forced or natural? Is there a rhyme
scheme? Do the rhymes contribute to the poem's meaning?
19. Do the lines have a regular meter? What is the predominant
meter? Are there significant variations? Does the rhythm seem
appropriate for the tone of the poem?
20. Does the poem's form--its overall structure--follow an
established pattern? Do you think the form is a suitable vehicle
for the poem's meaning and effects?

3. 21. Is the language of the poem intense and concentrated? Do
you think it warrants more than one or two close readings?
22. Did you enjoy the poem? What, specifically, pleased or
displeased you about what was expressed and how it was
expressed?
23. How might biographical information aobut the author help
to dtermine the central concerns of the poem?
24. How might historical information about the poem provide a
useful context for interpretation?
25. To what extent do your own experiences, values, beliefs,
and assumptions inform your interpretation?
26. What kinds of evidence from the poem are you focusing on
to support your interpretation? does you interpretation leave out
any important elements that might undercut or qualify your
interpretation?
Some thoughts on organizing your paper:
An explication demonstrates your ability to (1) follow the
essential details of the poem, (2) understand the issues and the
meaning the poem reveals, (3) explain some of the relationships
of content and technique, and (4) note and discuss especially
important or unique aspects of the poem.
· In your introduction, use your thesis or central idea to express
a general view of the poem, which your essay will fill out with
specific details.
· In the body of your essay, first explain the poem's content--not
with a paraphrase, but with a description of the poem's major
organizing elements. So, if the speaker of the poems is "inside"
the poem as a first-person involved "I," you do not need to
reproduce this voice yourself in your description.
Instead, describe the poem in your own words, with whatever
brief introductory phrases you find necessary.
· Next, explicate the poem in relation to your central idea. You
choose your own order of discussion, depending on your topics.
You must, however, keep stressing your central idea with each
new topic. Thus, you may wish to follow your description by
discussing the poem's meaning, or even by presenting two or

4. more possible interpretations. You might also wish to refer to
significant techniques. In other words, discuss those aspects of
the meaning and technique that bear on your thesis/analysis.
· In your conclusion, you should repeat your main idea to
reinforce your essay's thematic structure. Since you've been
working on a general explication (not an exhaustive one), there
will be parts of the poem that you will not have disucssed. You
might then mention what could be gained from an exhautive
examination of various parts of the poem (you should not by
any means begin such a task yourself in your concluding
paragraph). Finally, leave the reader with a lasting impression
of your "reading" of the poem. This is your chance to turn poet
for a moment; as with a poem, occasionally the final image of
an essay can have the greatest impact on a reader.
RACISM
Your response should have an appropriate and interesting
introduction with a strong thesis regarding what you are trying
to prove in the essay; body paragraphs, each with a clear main
point that relates to and helps support your thesis; and a
conclusion that effectively and powerfully wraps up the essay.
You should draw upon sources in writing your response. These
include the articles, essays, stories, books, and poems we have
read for class and any additional research that you may conduct.
Provide in-text citations and a Works Cited page in MLA
format.
In a cohesive, thoughtful essay, choose what you believe to be
the most significant theme that has emerged this semester. In
supporting your choice of theme provide evidence from at least
five of our readings AND discuss the importance of your
specific theme to the United States. In other words, why may
American writers have often wrote about this theme? You
should draw from (and directly quote and cite) your chosen
literary texts.

5. make sure your voice and ideas are the clear focus. DO NOT
plagiarize. Any plagiarism—from one sentence to the whole
essay, intentional or unintentional—will result in a “0” and an
“F” for the course.
Page length: 5 full pages minimum
Pts. Possible: 200 pts.
Essay Grading Rubric
Clarity
[10]
Does the essay use proper and varied sentence structure,
punctuation, etc.? Does it avoid grammatical errors: fragments,
run-ons, spelling mistakes, etc.?
Did the essay meet the assignment criteria in purpose and
appearance?
Correct MLA formatting? Proper citations?
Coherence/ Structure [10]
Does the essay have a strong, clear, well-structured thesis?
Does the essay employ tight, polished paragraphs in the correct
format or are ideas just thrown together? Does each body
paragraph include one main idea/topic sentence that points the
reader back to the thesis?

6. Does the essay contain a strong backbone/ structure? Does it
use the intro. well? The conclusion? Does every IP present a
unified argument? (Does it “flow” well?) Are there effective
transitions?
Critical Thinking [30]
How advanced is the essay’s content? Does it explore new
ideas that challenge both the writer and reader or simply
regurgitate class discussions or popular thought? Does it meet
the page length?
Does the paper make a logical connection between the thesis,
topic sentences, and examples/proof? (i.e., Does it “connect-
the-dots” between claims made in the thesis and examples for
that claim?)
Does the paper provide adequate “proof”? (Quotations or
paraphrase, research, expert opinions, statistics, examples,
details, etc?)
Comments:
Total Pts.
/50
X

7. =
Grade
ESSAY #2: Poetry/Song
For your next essay, pick from the following topics:
1. In this essay, you will select a whole poem (traditional poem)
or passage of a poem (about 15-20 lines from a longer poem)
and do an explication (close reading) of that poem. The passage
should deal in some way with the thematic content of the poem
(related to love in some form or fashion), even if it is only one
allusion. You will pay close attention to the language and
structure of the passage in order to generate a thesis that makes
an argument about the relationship between the parts of the
passage (its diction, syntax, poetic effects, and structure) and
the whole selection. In other words, your essay will discuss
specific details and patterns in order to make a generalization
about its overall issue, idea, message, or effect. Your analysis
should attend to the way in which your chosen theme works in
the passage. Your Gardner book talks about the nature of
explications so read over that and ask me or the writing center
(by appointment only) if you have any questions.
2. Similar to the first choice, this option involves selecting a
song of your choice (do not pick something too
simplistic/literal) that deals with love and do an explication
(close reading). While I don’t suggest you turn to a music lyric

8. If you want to get extra credit, you can analyze how the video
(official video) for that song adds another layer of meaning that
backs up the theme to the song. So, you must look at both the
lyrics of the song and the visual/cinematic elements that help
create a greater meaning/theme. You MUST use the appropriate
film terminology (shot types, P-O-V, camera angles, visual
look—like sepia tone, etc.). You are not allowed to use “Hello”.
I must be provided with a working link to the lyrics and the
video you have selected in proper MLA formatting. The video
discussion needs to be a well-developed paragraph, not just a
few sentences.
See your Gardner text for additional information on writing
explications or [email protected]