Assignment: Poetry Explication and Analysis Essay
• Format: You are required to use MLA style for all writing assignments. These assignments include the Summary Writing Assignment, the Focused Annotated Bibliography and the Final Researched Essay. Your instructor may also require MLA style for other essay assignments, including the midterm and final exams, and for discussion posts. Therefore, it is important that you understand how to use MLA style correctly. Please refer to the Purdue Online Writing Lab for MLA formatting and style guide
• Length Requirement: 750-1000 words
• All sources must be cited
Your Process:
Choose one of the poems included in the list of "Poetry Selections" in the "Unit 3 Readings and Resources" section of the Advance Organizer.
You will closely read your chosen poem, considering its logic, organization, patterns of figurative language, and other literary elements. Read and reread the poem; by paying attention to the varied features of a poem, you will build an interpretation of the poem's meaning.
Instructions:
Your essay is not a traditional 5 paragraph essay, but rather will be divided into two parts. These parts do not have to be of equal length.
Part 1: Scansion and Analysis
In the first part, which should be labeled with the heading "Part I: Scansion and Analysis," you should make a brief, relevant introduction and then begin discussing the structural elements of the poem---its meter, its rhyme scheme, the punctuation, capitalization, and whatever else adds to the structural aspect of the poem.
In this section, you might consider what is significant among the following:
Stanzas (how many, what shapes, appearances, what breaks, rhyme scheme, are they all the same?)
Lines (lengths, line breaks, enjambment or end-stopped?)
Syntax/Diction (Is the poem grammatical? Does it follow English conventions? Why?)
Meter/Rhyme (free verse or metrical? How many feet? Is it consistent?)
Punctuation (anything unusual? Is it excessive, conventional, or omitted?)
Organization (how does the poem progress in time and space? What does it look like on the page?)
Form/Mode (is it a special type of poem: ode, dramatic, narrative, sonnet, elegy, or a mixture?)
Part 2: Explication
In the second part, titled "Part II: Explication," begin explicating the poem. Move through the poem slowly in a logical manner, pointing out any literary devices or elements of interest. In this second part of the essay, you are helping your reader gain an understanding of the poem in terms of its narrative-what's going on in the poem-and in terms of the poet's use of poetic devices to convey meaning.
NOTE: Do not fall into the paraphrase trap; that is, do not take your reader line by line just to fill your essay with words. The point of explication is not to retell the poem; instead, you are explicating to point out in the poem those elements that need interpreting or those places within the poem where you find something interesting. Although the goal of explicating is to explain as much about a poem as is necessary, you should explicate reservedly and intelligently.
Here are some questions to consider in this section:
What is the poem's main idea?
What larger themes or issues are addressed-- religious, philosophical, political, etc.?
What patterns can you find (recurring imagery, repetition, formal and stylistic features)?
Are there allusions present to other poetic works, myths, historical/religious figures, etc.?
What is the lyric situation? (Why was it written? Who is the speaker/addressee? What is the occasion?)
What poetic devices and figurative language does it use? (metaphor, simile, metonymy, synecdoche, symbol, personification, etc.)
Why does it use the specific words it does? (consider etymologies, denotations, connotations, and homonyms. Use a dictionary/thesaurus to reinterpret or rethink even common words.)
What is its tone? What type of language does it use? (formal informal? Slang? Euphony/cacophony?)
At the end of Part II you should mention the theme(s) of the work as well as what you believe the overall meaning or central message of the poem is.
Format your assignment according to the following formatting requirements:
1. The answer should be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides.
2. The response also include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student's name, the course title, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required page length.
3. Also Include a reference page. The Citations and references should follow APA format. The reference page is not included in the required page length.