ENG111 -- Introduction to Literature

Prof. Eileen Joy

Spring 2004

IN-CLASS ESSAY EXAM: Monday, April 5th

A S S I G N M E N T

        explicate (verb): to unfold, unroll, unravel in words; to open out and expand what is wrapped up; to enter into explanations

        During the scheduled exam period, you are going to explicate ONE poem of your choosing. This poem can be one of the following: A) a poem from either of our two textbooks that we have NOT read and/or discussed in class, OR: B) a poem or song lyrics of your own choosing (but please run your choice by me first, so that I can help you determine if it will work well for you).

G U I D E L I N E S

        Similar to your first critical essay, I want you to write about a theme (or themes--the deeper meanings) that you perceive in the poem, and since a poem is rather short (compared to say, a story or play), I want you to go through your poem line by line, mainly rephrasing it in your own words, in order to show how the language is working in the poem--what the language is saying/doing, what striking images and ideas it is conjuring up, what pictures it is creating, what unique sounds and rhythms it is creating, etc. You will also want to look at the formal properties of the poem--how it is laid out on the page, how it is punctuated, the shape and beats of the lines, etc., and then think a little bit about whether or not any of these formal properties affect the possible meanings the poem might be trying to express. The ultimate aim of all this is to demonstrate that you can say something about what you think a poem means by pointing out all the ways in which the language and the form of the poetry help to create that meaning (or those meanings).

        As part of your preparation for this explication exam, please spend some time with the following links:

• How to Read a Poem

• Poetry Explications

• Sample Explication of Paul Laurence Dunbar's "We Wear The Mask"

• Paul Laurence Dunbar, "We Wear The Mask"

        In addition, please refer to "Writing About a Poem," pp. 2134-51 in our Literature textbook. You may bring the poem itself, your thesis statement (the main point, or points, you want to argue), and a broad outline of your explication into the exam.