Moorpark College Explication of The Widows Laments Essay
Question Description
USING OUTSIDE SOURCES WILL LOWER YOUR GRADE
Choose one of the poems weve read this semester (except “Richard Cory” and “My Papa’s Waltz”) and write a thorough explication of it. My advice is to choose one of the shorter poems (under 30 lines). However, if you choose a long poem to explicate, focus on one specific section of the poem, explain it in detail, and relate the meaning of this particular section to the poem’s overall meaning.
What is an explication?
As Professor Ann Charters explains, When you explicate a text, you unfold its meaning in an essay, proceeding carefully to interpret it passage by passage, sometimes even line by line or word by word. A good explication concentrates on details, quoting the text of the [poem] to bring the details to the attention of a reader.”
To give you an idea of the kind of essay I’d like to write, please read “An Analysis of E.A. Robinson’s ‘Richard Cory.'” You’ll find it in next week’s module.
As demonstrated in the example above, the purpose of explication is to teach your reader what the poem means and how the poet achieves that meaning. It requires very close reading of the text, identifying and explaining its many nuances and ambiguities.
Only discuss those formal elements that contribute to the meaning of the poem. In other words, you don’t have to mention that the poem contains five quatrains, for example, if this information doesn’t illuminate the meaning of the poem.
Details
Your explication should be 2-3 pages in length, typed double-space, with normal 1″ margins and size 12 font. When you quote from the poem, refer to the line number in parentheses. Use block quotes very sparingly! Instead of quoting full stanzas, quote lines, phrases, and words.
This is a short essay. To do well, you’ll need to write with precision, presenting clear and logical arguments, and supporting your interpretations with compelling textual evidence. Avoid extraneous digressions, careless redundancies, and vague generalizations. if you insist on using outside sources, directly or indirectly, you must document your research correctly according to MLA guidelines (8th ed.). Using outside sources will lower your grade.
One exception: You may refer to dictionary definitions of words. When quoting directly from a dictionary, put quotation marks around the definition and cite the word in parentheses. If you use a dictionary, include a Works Cited page at the end of your essay. If you refer only to the poem itself, you do not need to include a Works Cited page.
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45536/ode-i…
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45134/ode-t…
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45470/cross…
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