write an explication of one of the assigned poems.

Choose to write about only one of the following:

E "The Fish"

"A Blessing"

"Elise My Papa's Waltz"

"Lady Lazarus"

"The Blue Bowl"

"Most Like an Arch This Marriage"
Unit 1 will cover, in detail, how to write an explication essay. In brief, "in an explication essay, you examine a work in much detail. Line by line, stanza by stanza...you explain each part as fully as you can and show how the author's techniques produce your response. An explication is essentially a demonstration of your thorough understanding of a work" (Literature: The Human Experience 47).

For this particular essay, you will want to focus on the poetic techniques of diction, tone, image, and/or figurative language, which we will also cover in this unit.

Your essay should be between 500 and 750 words and adhere to MLA formatting. It needs to quote directly from your chosen text for support, but it should not use any secondary research.

Remember that the explication essay should not just summarize the poem.

It needs to look at the different elements of poetry used and offer a detailed explanation of the poem that also addresses the poem's overall effect and meaning.