Explication of a Poem
Writing Assignment Number Two

Part of "Jazz and Literature"
by Anne Fleischmann and Andy Jones

 

In a two to three page explication, explore the meaning of one of the following poems by Langston Hughes:

"The Weary Blues"
"The Negro Speaks of Rivers"
"Mother to Son"
"Jazzonia"
"Po' Boy Blues"
"Hard Daddy"
"Ballad of the Landlord"
"Juke Box Love Song"
"Dream Boogie"
"Harlem"

Your essay should include an introduction with a strong thesis statement, body paragraphs with clear topic sentences, ample textual support in the forms of quotations and summary, and logical analysis.

On Explication

To "explicate" means, according to the Latin root, to 'unfold.' Explications interpret a poem (or other brief passage) intensely and persistently, talking carefully about the words, explaining the patterns of imagery, the meaningfulness of rhythms, the suggestiveness and power of the sounds--trying to show, in essence, how the text works. In all your later writings on other sorts of literary texts, you'll find that solid explication skills are truly valuable, forming the basis of concrete, exciting and intelligent work. A skilled explication can be dazzling.

In writing an explication, you will need to consider some or all of the following:

* Theme or plot of the poem
* Identity and situation of the speaker(s)
* Denotations/connotations of significant words
* Hyperbole, understatement, ambiguity
* Imagery and symbolism
* Figures of speech (similes, metaphors, puns, personifications)
* Metrics and rhyme
* Line breaks and stanza form

You should, however, only discuss these formal poetic elements insofar as you find them significant to our understanding of the poem’s meaning (which should be most of he time). Be sure to present your observations in the form of a coherent essay—unified by a clear argument about the meaning of the poem—not as a series of separate comments about the different features of the poem. Provide a brief introduction and a statement of your controlling idea, organize the body of your essay into logical subdivisions, use transitional sentences as needed, and suggest something of the wider significance of your analysis in your concluding sentences.

 

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