You will have been taking many notes on the poem you have chosen to explicate. After each assigned chapter you will apply the end of the chapter checklist to the poem you have chosen. By the time you

Paragraph 1 and 2: Introduce the author, the poem and the background for the poem. You might have to do a little research. For example, there is a story behind the William Carlos Williams poem, “The Red Wheelbarrow” that you might use in your introduction. Or you might look at the cultural or poetic background behind the author and their works. Or you might ignore all this background and go straight into your analysis.

You might also want to include your thesis at the end of these paragraphs. This thesis is what you want the reader to get out of the poem. In my poem, after I have run through all the checklist, I realized that what I wanted the reader to understand is that the poet is exploring “power” on many levels. I will use what I discovered in my checklists to prove my point: this poem is ultimately about the power of poetry itself

Checklists: You will use your checklists to convey what you think the poem intends generally but also specifically. For example, my analysis of the railroad engine’s power comes from the checklist on symbols. You won’t use all the checklists. I would be happy if you used three or four of the most meaningful ones. This is the body of the paper , perhaps paragraphs three to eight.

Other information: you can do some research as to what others have said about the poem, but it is not required.

Conclusion: A paragraph or two to sum up what you have already said about the poem, to restate your thesis, and to even suggest anything else that didn’t quite fit in your paper but that you think is important.

Citation: Please use MLA citation in your Works Cited page.

Other resources:

https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/poetry-explications/

https://courses.lumenlearning.com/englishcomp2kscopex92x2/chapter/poetry-explication/

https://sites.google.com/a/ccpsnet.net/mrs-curran-s-english-12/home/essay-assignments/poetry-explication-paper