You must write an argument for the specific meaning of a single poem. You must select this poem from one of the following handouts:
Handout 1 (they feed lion)
A Student Example
The following example was written by a student. The paper explains the poem, “Work,” by Yusef Komunyakaa, and it does many things right.
Some things the paper does well: the author frequently quotes the poem to support the paper’s interpretation, and the writing does not simply summarize what happens in the literature. It discusses the features of poetry when explaining the poem, pointing out similes, metaphors and symbols. The author of this paper explains the poem’s speaker and allusions to other literary works (the reference to a Faulkner character). The basic mechanics of the paper are sound: transitions move readers between paragraphs and clearly through the various parts of the poem; signal phrases usually introduce quotes and citations are used to show which lines are quoted from the poem. Most importantly, lines are explained in support of the thesis about sexual temptation or lust.
Some things it could do better: its topic sentences should more clearly keep the focus of each supporting paragraph on the paper’s thesis. The paper does have a clear thesis (stated at the end of its short introductory paragraph). We might more simply state the writer’s thesis this way: “Komunyakaa’s poem, ‘Work,’ explores a man’s forbidden lust.” The thesis could be more powerful if it were more specific to the time and place of the poem: “Komunyakaa’s poem, ‘Work,’ exposes a postbellum southern culture that is still racially divided by illustrating the forbidden nature of a black man’s lust for a white woman.” The introduction might even pull us into the poem’s relevance by explaining how literature is a powerful tool for confronting persisting social ills: in this case, the resiliency of racism after the US Civil War. The writer eventually makes this very point, and it could have made the paper even stronger if its author had allowed this more specific idea to shape his interpretation of everything in the poem. For instance, with the more specific thesis, the author of the paper would have been able to make more meaning out of the reference to the Faulkner character, who is now only briefly explained as “associated with the South and high society,” but not explained as contributing much to the “forbidden” nature of the speaker’s lust. Another example of a missed opportunity is Johnny Mathis’s presence in the poem. What is the significance that his music is “beside her like a whisper?”
So while there is room for improvement, this is a solid student effort at explaining Komunyakaa’s poem:
Forbidden.pdf
And the poem that is the paper’s subject:
Work by Yusef Komunyakaa.pdf
The Job of an Explication
The notes on this page are intended to help with writing paper one, an explication of a poem. Be sure to also read the essay prompt included in your notes for more specific instructions. First, you must understand that in writing an explication, you adopt the role of a teacher explaining the meaning of the poem to other readers.
Be confident and base this explanation on a careful reading of the poem and on the concepts learned in your book (if you need to return to the notes on annotation and active reading, these will help you more closely examine the poem).
For your first paper, I also expect you to demonstrate the following in your writing:
Ability to write the formal essay (NOT A SUMMARY)
Use of a clear and specific thesis (Focus),
Use of topic sentences to express supporting points in each paragraph throughout the body of your essay (organization and focus),
An overall attention to the logical organization of these supporting points, including transitions that move your readers from one paragraph to another (organization and focus),
Use of effective supporting evidence in the form of direct quotations from the literature, outside research that applies to your critical approach, and your interpretation of these facts (support and development),
An ability to properly integrate quoted material into your supporting paragraphs using signal phrases, correctly formatted MLA in-text citations, and valid research that is documented in a works cited page,
Use of third-person, objective, properly punctuated, and grammatically correct sentences that communicate complete ideas or thoughts (mechanics and style)
This will be a challenging assignment; I expect you to write a thoughtful and effective formal essay if you want to earn at least a “C” for your work. This challenge will demand that you ask good questions of the poem you are going to discuss. See the chapter in your textbook that outlines “writing about poems” for a great set of questions to help you take stock of what a poem is saying (you can also review the poetry reading checklist in the textbook’s introductory chapters on poetry). You should also review and have a firm grasp of the characteristics of poetry as described in your textbook chapters and in the course notes. This understanding must inform your writing if you expect to earn a decent grade on this essay.
Here, I’ll discuss one more way you can conceptualize how to critically think about a poem’s meaning by asking good questions.
Reporters have to do a thorough job of covering a news story, but any writer needs to do the same thing with his or her subject. In this case, you are writing an explication which argues for your interpretation of a poem, and you need to be a sleuth who is ready to thoroughly report on your subject.
Key Tips
#1 Your paper should instruct other readers on how best to read the poem you have chosen (you must choose a poem from the “selected poems” for this assignment). In order to make your writing convincing, you have to make sure that you closely read and gain insight into the literature.
#2 You don’t have to worry if your interpretation is the same one I would have, but you do have to convince me and other readers that your interpretation is worth considering. In order to do this, the reporter’s questions, adapted to poetry, will serve you well!
#3 Keep in mind that the answers to all of these questions will not necessarily be important in supporting your interpretation of the poem. However, a good prewriting strategy would be to answer each of these questions to ensure you have covered all aspects of the poem that are important in understanding its meaning. This will allow you to use these prewriting answers to help you develop further support for your specific thesis.
#4 Also, you want to ensure that there is not evidence in the poem that contradicts your understanding of it. In the end, your interpretation should make sense of the entire poem. Leave no stone unturned! If, upon closer reading and after close questioning, you arrive at a better understanding of the poem’s meaning, be sure to change your thesis for this paper to reflect this more insightful interpretation! A stronger thesis will help you write a stronger essay, so be sure to write the entire paper with your strongest thesis in mind.
#5 Write your paper objectively and in third person. Sound authoritative and don’t make obvious suggestions that might weaken or soften the power of your interpretation: “poetry is open to interpretation… I think the poem is about…. etc..” Instead, make your interpretation direct and without hesitation: “This poem clearly illuminates… Oliver’s short, lyrical description of a bear helps readers realize that…”
Reporter’s Questions
Who (voice and characters)?
Who is the speaker in the poem? Is there a listener or a particular type of audience implied by the poem? Are there other characters?
Who is the author and what can you find out about his beliefs, values, and life story? (some research, even though not required, may prove very helpful in answering this question and helping you explain the literature effectively).
What?
What happens in the poem? What is the poem’s basic story? What is the trouble or conflict in this poem?
Why?
What is the motivation for the speaker or other characters in the poem? What is the intent or purpose of the speaker or author? Work your way towards a confident answer and remember that you can’t read the author’s mind, so you are better off focusing on what the poem specifically says (the evidence on the page).
When?
During what time period was the poem written? When do the events in the poem take place? Is there anything about this context that is useful in explaining the poem? (some research, even though not required, may prove very helpful in answering this question and helping you explain the literature effectively).
Where?
Where is the poem set? Where was it written? What does this setting say about the poem overall? (some research, even though not required, may prove very helpful in answering this question and helping you explain the literature effectively).
How?
Do you respond to the poem (don’t include this response directly in your paper– rather, use your reaction to the poem to help you relate to its message. A strong emotional or personal reaction to the poem can inform you about the poem’s message and help you purposefully explain its meaning. Don’t unexpectedly switch from the objective, third-person point-of-view to the intimate first person point-of-view. Keep the writing in your essay in third person, but when prewriting and drafting your explanation of the poem, thinking and writing about your personal response can be very helpful).
Does the poet’s word choice contribute to the poem (vocabulary)?
How does the poem use
imagery (details that appeal to the five senses)
figurative language (metaphor, simile, personification, apostrophe, etc)
symbolism
or irony (save this one for the long paper if you need it– or read ahead)?
How is the poem written?
(Remember that poems are written in lines and stanzas and it is appropriate to refer to the parts of a poem in this fashion.)
If you want to get more technical (this will really make you sound like you know what you are talking about), you might discuss
Couplets (two lines set apart)
Tercets (three lines…)
Quatrains (four lines…)
Quintains (five lines…)
Sestets (six lines…)
Septet (seven lines..)
Octaves (eight lines…)
Does it use formal meter? A more detailed discussion of this begins on page 660 of your textbook (the stresses are marked in your book), but I will include some brief notes here. You can discover the meter of a poem by counting the syllables in each line and seeing if they conform to a general pattern. If they do, the poet has written metered poetry as opposed to free verse. Iambic pentameter, for example, has ten syllables in each line. These syllables make five feet (two syllables for each foot). Each foot consists of an “iamb,” or one unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable (see the examples below– if you read them aloud can you hear the different rhythms?). An iamb and trochee are composed of two syllables per foot, whereas the anapest and the datyl are composed of three syllables per foot (bold syllables are stressed syllables).
Two iambic feet (the dark of night)
Two trochaic feet (Flight of eagle’s)
Two anapestic feet (in the troughof this desire…)
Two dactylic feet (Blackened by Fire of his…)
Does it use special sound effects?
Sound patterns: assonance (clue and brood), alliteration (tucked and torn), rhyme (brood and lewd)
Other rhetorical patterns? Is there a repeating image, a refrain of sorts, a climatic ordering of details or events, etc.?
For even more explanation of poetic form, check out these slides
