Rick Reads The Life's Work of an English Teacher

Writing Assignments

Best Bets for Poetry Explication

A list of poems in Perrine's Literature that work well for an explication, with advice on choosing one.

By Rick Reed

Poetry Explication Reading list

Literature and Composition

Essay - Best Bets for Poetry Explication.

Mr. Reed

You may select any poem in Perrine’s Literature: Structure, Sound, and Sense on which to write your explication. Before you select a poem, read “Writing About Literature” in the appendix of that book. Be sure that you study A Sample Explication, which is Part IX of the appendix. You need to select a poem on which you can write an essay as much like the example as possible. In most cases that means selecting a poem that is at least the length of a sonnet.

You also need to read the poem several times. If you select a poem from the fifteen chapters dedicated to the study of poetry, make sure you can answer the study questions that follow it: they can provide great help in working up your explication. You also have the freedom to consult literary criticism in print or online. However, I caution you that I expect the work to be your own. If you must quote or paraphrase a source, document your borrowing.

You may select the same poem someone else selects so long as you each submit clearly different essays. To make your selection a little easier, I have listed poems that offer the most “meat” for the demands of an explication. You may consult the index in the textbook to locate the poems.

This project is on a time line. Do not come in each day with a new idea. Put in the time necessary to select an appropriate poem. Do some initial writing before you make your final selection: try answering the study questions, divide the poem into distinct units of thought or plot, identify the devices of sound and sense and be prepared to explain how each contributes to developing the meaning.