Choose one poem below :
“To the Lady” by Mitsuye Yamada
“Moving Camp Too Far” by nila northSun
“I Ask My Mother to Sing” by Li-Young Lee
and write a 5-6 page explication essay about it.
Below is the instructions from the teacher herself.
Explication reveals through thoughtful commentary (generally line-by-line) your understanding of the meaning of the work and its structure. Explication is not a summary of the text, rather it discusses the purpose and effect of the language, theme, tone, structure/form, diction, or figurative language toward the overall meaning/message.
Your thesis when writing an explication may be your claim about:
what the poem means, or
what impact of the various elements has on the reader, or
what message the poet is trying to convey
Your essay will support that claim through an explication—a discussion of how the elements of the poem support that claim.
If you are interested in responding to this prompt, read ahead: “Student Writing Portfolio: Explication Paper” Download “Student Writing Portfolio: Explication Paper” (also on pages 785-806 in LFC)
Example thesis: In his poem “Election Day, November, 1884,” Whitman argues that the greatest of all of our national treasures is our ability to vote.
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