Explication may sound like a fancy word, but it's just a fancy way to say analysis. Using a handout on poetry explications, part of a larger series on specific writing assignments, writers learn how to break down and analyze a poem. The handout covers a broader examination of a poem's form, rhetoric, and syntax, while also looking more closely at elements such as patterns of rhythm and meter. It even includes information on the four most common metrical feet in English poetry.

Concepts

poetry analysis, reading poetry, text analysis

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Additional Tags

english language arts

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Instructional Ideas

• Place multiple large copies of a poem around the room and have learners walk around and mark up the poem, focusing on a different element (form, vocabulary, etc.) at each copy
• Model how to scan and annotate a poem, and then conduct a think aloud while writing a short analysis

Classroom Considerations

• Assumes learners know basic poetic devices such as alliteration and assonance

Pros

• Provides a sample poem and explication
• Shares key questions to ask when reading a poem

Cons

• Would benefit from a list of contents to help find information

Common Core

W.9-10.9.a W.11-12.9.a