Unpack a Poem

Introduction

A good poem is like a puzzle–the most fascinating part is studying the individual pieces carefully and then putting them back together to see how beautifully the whole thing fits together. A poem can have a number of different “pieces” that you need to look at closely in order to complete the poetic “puzzle.” This sheet explains one way to attempt an explication of a poem, by examining each “piece” of the poem separately. (An “explication” is simply an explanation of how all the elements in a poem work together to achieve the total meaning and effect.)

The Purpose

The purpose of this assignment is to give you an opportunity to deepen your knowledge of one of the poets and poems that you read for class. Also, you will learn how to read a poem and make meaning from it.

The Assignment

After completing all the steps outlined below, write a 3-5 page essay that explains the poem and provides some information on the poet that wrote it. Be sure to discuss at least four of the poetic elements that are used and how they help create meaning. Give examples of those elements in your paper, and discuss your reaction to the poem. The essay should be formatted in MLA format, and it should include a Works Citedpage. Don’t forget to get some feedback, revise and edit the essay before you submit it.

How to Unpack a Poem

The first step in unpacking a poem is to read it through AT LEAST TWICE. Read it aloud. Listen to it. Poetry is related to music, so the sound is important. You listen to your favorite songs many times; the principle is the same. It takes time to fully appreciate and understand a work of art. Make a note of your first impressions or immediate responses, both positive and negative. You may change your mind about the poem later, but these first ideas are worth recording.
Next, before you can understand the poem as a whole, you have to start with an understanding of the individual words. Find a good dictionary — the American Heritage Dictionary is one. Look up, and write down, the meanings of:
words you don’t know
words you “sort of know”
any important words,
even if you do know them. Maybe they have more than one meaning (ex. “bar”), or maybe they can function as different parts of speech (ex. “bar” can be a noun or a verb). If the poem was written a long time ago, maybe the history of the word matters, or maybe the meaning of the word has changed over the years (“jet” did not mean an airplane in the 16thcentury). An etymological dictionary like the Oxford English Dictionary (available online) can help you find out more about the history of a particular word.

Examine the situation in the poem (and try to answer as many of the questions as possible):
Does the poem tell a story? Is it a narrative poem? If so, what events occur?
Does the poem express an emotion or describe a mood?
Poetic voice: Who is the speaker? Is the poet speaking to the reader directly or is the poem told through a fictional “persona”? To whom is he speaking? Can you trust the speaker? Remember, do not assume that the speaker is the poet. Instead, describe the type of person who is speaking. For instance, the speaker in the poem The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner is not Randall Jarell, it is a soldier who has experienced shooting from a ball turret on a fighter plane.
Tone: What is the speaker’s attitude toward the subject of the poem? What sort of tone of voice seems to be appropriate for reading the poem out loud? What words, images, or ideas give you a clue to the tone?
Examine the structure of the poem:
Form: Look at the number of lines, their length, their arrangement on the page. How does the form relate to the content? Is it a traditional form (e.g. sonnet, limerick) or “free form”? Why do you think the poem chose that form for his poem?
Movement: How does the poem develop? Are the images and ideas developed chronologically, by cause and effect, by free association? Does the poem circle back to where it started, or is the movement from one attitude to a different attitude (e.g. from despair to hope)?
Syntax: How many sentences are in the poem? Are the sentences simple or complicated? Are the verbs in front of the nouns instead of in the usual “noun, verb” order? Why?
Punctuation: What kind of punctuation is in the poem? Does the punctuation always coincide with the end of a poetic line? If so, this is called an end-stopped line. If there is no punctuation at the end of a line and the thought continues into the next line, this is called enjambment. Is there any punctuation in the middle of a line? Why do you think the poet would want you to pause halfway through the line?
Title: What does the title mean? How does it relate to the poem itself?
Examine the language of the poem:
Diction or Word Choice: Is the language colloquial, formal, simple, unusual?
Do you know what all the words mean? If not, look them up.
What moods or attitudes are associated with words that stand out for you?
Allusions: Are there any allusions (references) to something outside the poem, such as events or people from history, mythology, or religion?
Imagery: Look at the figurative language of the poem–metaphors, similes, analogies, personification. How do these images add to the meaning of the poem or intensify the effect of the poem?
Are there any ambiguities in the poem? Language or imagery that could be interpreted in more than one way?
Examine the musical devices in the poem:
Rhyme scheme: Does the rhyme occur in a regular pattern, or irregularly? Is the effect formal, satisfying, musical, funny, disconcerting?
Rhythm or meter: In most languages, there is a pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in a word or words in a sentence. In poetry, the variation of stressed and unstressed syllables and words has a rhythmic effect. What is the tonal effect of the rhythm here?
Other “sound effects”: alliteration, assonance, consonance repetition. What tonal effect do they have here?

Has the poem created a change in mood for you–or a change in attitude? How have the technical elements helped the poet create this effect?

What are some themes or ideas that are developed through this poem? What are the connections between the elements of the poem and those ideas?