Explicate a Poem

Have you ever come away from a poem wondering why the speaker would write a poem about such a strange topic? Perhaps there's a hidden metaphor or deep allegory that you aren't picking up. Read on to learn how to approach and explicate a poem!

Steps

Using an Explication Chart

  1. Make an explication chart. This tool is a two-columned T-chart with the left side labeled "Literally" and the right side labeled "Figuratively." In the "Literally" column, you will list the words, phrases, and descriptions that catch your eye from a given poem. In the "Figuratively" column, you will pair the literal meanings with connotations and impressions: the subtle allusions that exist behind the words.
  2. Choose a poem. If you already have a poem in mind, feel free to use it. If you aren't sure, do your research. Flip open a book of poetry and find something suitable; ask for a recommendation from a friend or teacher; or visit http://www.poetryfoundation.org/browse/ to look for poems online. This article will explicate Walt Whitman's work "A Noiseless Patient Spider" for the sake of example.[1]
    • Pick something short for your first explication. This is not to say that you can't work through a longer poem – but it will be much quicker if you choose a piece that spans just a few stanzas.
    • Look for a poem that captures your imagination. The process of explication may be more rewarding if you feel strongly about the poem.
  3. Read the poem. Read it aloud, three times through, for full effect.[2] Put emotion into the lines, and try to tap into the natural cadence of the words. In the left-hand column of your explication chart, write down words or phrases that catch your eye.[2]
    • If you're reading Whitman's "A Noiseless Patient Spider," you might notice the words: "noiseless," "patient," "spider," "promontory," "isolated," "vacant vast surrounding," "filament," "tirelessly," "soul," "surrounded," "detached," "measureless oceans of space," "musing, venturing, throwing," "seeking the spheres to connect," "bridge you need," "gossamer thread," "fling catch somewhere."
    • Your grand total of words and phrases may be more or less than the words from the example. There is no "right" or "wrong" answer! It's all about what the poem means to you.
  4. Fill the right-hand column with figurative meanings. Read over the list of words and phrases that you picked out, and look for the deeper meaning behind each of these things. Consider your own connotations and impressions, and try to imagine what the poet may have intended. Think about the emotions or sensations that a word triggers. Search for symbolism, metaphor, and allusion.
    • In "A Noiseless Patient Spider," in order of when they occur in the poem, you might get: "unheard," "waiting," "unwanted," "dangerous place," "bitter," "alone," "open space," "string or fiber," "ongoing," "self," "with someone," "unable to connect," "surrounded yet not alone," "trying," "trying to connect," "in need of a way," "breakable threads," "connect with something."
  5. Try to understand the poem. Use your right-hand column as a figurative compass – as a guide to help you understand what the speaker of the poem is trying to say. Use your deductive reasoning, and proceed with empathy. Put yourself in the shoes of the poet, and try to decide what the speaker is trying to say. Search for a clear and identifiable theme: love, for example, or loss, fear, remorse.
    • In the case of "The Noiseless Patient Spider," for instance, you might get the sense that Walt Whitman identifies with the spider. He portrays his soul as "surrounded, detached, in measureless oceans of space," flinging "gossamer thread" in the hopes that it will catch somewhere. Perhaps the "gossamer thread" is Whitman's poetry, or at least his words; perhaps he saw his words as his way of exploring the world and connecting with people.

Exploring Figurative Language

  1. First, consider the literal language of the poem. All of the figurative meaning that you find will lie behind these seemingly-straightforward phrases. Break the lines down into sentences, and define the meaning of each of these sentences. Try to rewrite the poem in prose form: paraphrase the lines plainly and simply, without any semblance of poetic structure.
  2. Study the structure and style of the poem. Identify whether the piece is written in stanzas (grouped sets of lines) or loose free verse. Decide whether the work fits into a classic poetry structure, or whether it transcends structure. Determine whether there is a rhyming pattern.[3]
    • Look for "turns"—often at the end of a stanza, or midway through a piece—when the poem flips upon itself and redefines its meaning.[4] Identify the climax of the poem, where the action or pacing of the narrative reaches its most powerful point.
    • Study various poetry structures. Is the poem written in a classic and structured meter – perhaps an ABAB rhyming pattern? Is it written in loosely-jointed free verse, with little-to-no consistent structure? Is it a haiku, a sonnet, a villanelle, a limerick?
  3. Determine the "rhetorical situation" that the piece describes. Identify the "speaker" of the poem, and who he/she is speaking to. When and why is this "speaker" or narrator saying what he/she is saying? As the reader, consider your relation to the author: perhaps the speaker is addressing you directly, or speaking to someone else, or shouting indiscriminately into the void of existence.[5]
  4. Identify figurative language. Look out for simile, metaphor, and personification. Train yourself to notice when phrases make connections between seemingly-disparate things. These connections can point to the deeper meaning of a poem: perhaps the poet is trying to shed light upon one thing by linking it to something else. Notice vivid imagery, allusion, and symbolism.[6]
    • A simile uses "like" or "as" to compare one thing with another thing: "Your eyes are shining like starlight."
    • A metaphor makes a comparison through direct comparison. It substitutes one thing for another: "Your eyes are shining with starlight."
    • Personification imbues an inanimate object or concept with human qualities: "The stars are winking conspiratorially."
  5. Notice the diction of the work. Think about the sort of language that the poet uses: formal or casual, abstract or concrete, vague or clear, nonsense or slang. Perhaps the poem plays with syntax (word order) to create vivid and memorable expressions; perhaps it experiments with the meaning, structure, and connotation of "regular" words.[7]

Writing an Explication

  1. Write out your analysis. If you are explicating a poem for a class assignment, then you may have already been taught a particular explication structure. If not, never fear: the process is straightforward. The point here is to clearly and concisely explain the meaning of the poem in a way that enlightens the reader. This is not an essay, and you don't need to begin with a formal thesis or introductory paragraph.
  2. Begin with the main idea of the poem. Explain the setting, the speaker, and the broad themes. Name the structure and the meter, if you can, try to place the poem in an academic context for your reader. Use the first paragraph of your explication to convey the big picture.
    • Try starting with the phrase, "This poem dramatizes the conflict between..."[8]
  3. Delve into the details. Use the next few paragraphs to explore various elements of language, syntax, and style. Talk about specific phrases and images; discuss any symbolism that permeates the work; and point out the major "narrative devices" that push the poem toward a powerful conclusion. Explain all of the specific figurative language that shapes the meaning of the poem.

Tips

  • Do your research! If you see a reference to Eden, for example, use it! In Robert Frost's "Nothing Gold Can Stay," the lines "So Eden sank to grief//So dawn goes down to day" can be taken as an allusion to the fall of humankind, and the spiritual "death" that the race suffered.
  • Generally in poetry, words such as "dark(ness)" or "black(ness)" of night connote death or evil, while words such as the breaking of "dawn" and gathering "dusk" or dim "twilight" can connote the beginning or ending of life.
  • When looking at the time of day in a poem, it is common practice to think of "sunrise" as the beginning of life and "sunset" as the end of life. Nature reigns supreme in poetry most often.

Warnings

  • Do not be afraid to sometimes take words at face value (denotation)! Sometimes, a word such as "connect" needs to be taken as the verb connect!

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/174741
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 https://engl.utoledo.edu/english/?page_id=733
  3. ↑ http://www.tnellen.com/cybereng/explcat.html
  4. ↑ http://www.clt.astate.edu/wnarey/Shakespeare%20files/sample_poetry__explication.htm
  5. ↑ http://www.nku.edu/~rkdrury/poetryexplication.html
  6. ↑ http://www.poemofquotes.com/articles/analyzing-poetry-tips.php
  7. ↑ http://rwc.hunter.cuny.edu/reading-writing/on-line/lit-poem.html
  8. ↑ http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/poetry-explications/
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