This essay assignment is a poetry explication(an “explication” means “to make clear”) of any poem in Chapters 19-29. The idea is to pick a poem and basically explain its meaning, stanza by stanza or even line-by-line. Because much poetry involves subjective feeling, there is some amount of subjectivity and personal opinion involved in an explication, but primarily you are decoding meaning in the poem in a sequential, incremental way.
Include quotes and references to the text as necessary. There will be a works cited entry for the poem itself, and remember, when quoting poetry, you put line numbers in parentheses, not page numbers.
The paper must be at least 1000 words long and include a Works Cited page.
Explain the poem’s meaning, stanza by stanza or even line-by-line
1) Refer to the speaker of the poem, not the author/writer
2) Use LINE numbers rather than page numbers in in-text
3) ONLY USE THE POEM–no outside sources
4) Don’t forget a Works Cited page with the poem listed on it
5) Use the author’s last name in ALL in-text citations
6) In-text citations are required when you paraphrase from the poem
7) USE POETIC TERMS from your textbook
8) This is an academic paper, so watch your tone