Cover art for Adopt an early 19th-c. Poem: Annotation and Explication Assignment by Elisa Beshero-Bondar

Adopt an early 19th-c. Poem: Annotation and Explication Assignment

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Adopt an early 19th-c. Poem: Annotation and Explication Assignment Lyrics

The central assignment of Major Project 1, this is more involved than the preliminary exercises you've just completed. With this assignment, you'll "adopt a poem" from a new list I've assembled on Poetry Genius. You'll take full responsibility for annotating this poem, guiding readers through its difficult passages, identifying people, places, concepts, illuminating its images, sound effects, sense impressions, discussing its use of symbols, metaphors, and analogies, and pointing out shifts in topic, place, and tone. There are two stages to this, each worth 50% of the assignment:

I. Annotation on Poetry Genius (due Fri. Oct. 18)
II. Explication Paper to upload on Courseweb (due Mon. Oct. 21)


I. Adoption and Annotation
First, browse the poems in the collection linked here: (Note this is a NEW list with more options, optimized for this assignment--not my original collection.)
http://poetry.rapgenius.com/Elisa-beshero-bondar-collection-for-individual-editing-assignments-lyrics

Choose a poem on the list to adopt by annotating the word "Select" next to it, and writing your name and a link to your poetry genius profile. Do not choose a poem already selected by another student, unless the poem is marked as open for two or three students to work on together. (These selections are at the end of the list, and include lengthy texts that will benefit from a division of annotation labors among a small group.) I will keep a record of your choices in my files outside of poetry genius.
To begin unfolding the poem's complexities, first work on addressing some basic points. Consider:
What imagery and sensory impressions do you detect in the language?

* Is there physical action or movement?
* What about words and syllables, and the sounds they make as you read aloud? What impressions strike you about the sounds of the words? Does the phrasing and punctuation affect the pace of the poem?
* What can you tell about the speaker of the poem? Is there an "I" in the poem? Is this necessarily the poet, or a persona (like an acting role) made up to fit the context of the piece?
* Do you notice a shift or turn, where the ideas, imagery, or tone of voice seems to change?

As you read, pause only for punctuation—not necessarily at the ends of lines. Notice grammatical structures, and the shapes of sentences. Locate and mark main subjects and main verbs. Take your time with long sentences to work out the syntax and relations of ideas. Notice the form and structure of the poem:

* In a long poem, how do stanza divisions or verse paragraph divisions contribute to the organization of images and ideas? Or, where do you notice transitions from one idea or set of images to the next? (**Note: stanzas are even, orderly groups of lines, usually the same number of lines in each. Verse paragraphs are long sets of lines without a regular pattern of division).

* In a short poem, such as a sonnet, how do ideas develop and shift over groups of lines? Do the first lines set up an idea or raise a question, to be addressed in the rest of the poem? Do the closing lines shift the poem in a new direction?

* Notice the sentence structure: Do sentences overflow from one stanza into the next (called enjambment)? Do you see periods or closing punctuation in the middle of lines? What effects are created in the play of sentences against lines?
* Is there a rhyme scheme? Try writing an annotation near the beginning or end of the poem that comments on the use of rhyme, if rhyme is important to the poem's effect: Are rhymes sounding in the middle of lines, as well as at the ends? Is there a regular rhyme scheme, or is rhyming irregular but present? Is there no rhyming?

* Rhythm, meter—where do these especially contribute to the poem’s effects? Is there unevenness, deviance from pattern--and if so, where and to what effect?

* Are particular words or syllables repeated frequently? How does this affect the way we read or experience the poem?

* Mark figurative and comparative language, anything presented by way of analogy or metaphor.

* What extended metaphors dominate the poem, over multiple lines or even multiple stanzas? How do the metaphors and similes (or analogies using “like” or “as”) function in the poem?

Focus closely on the words on the page. Look up and annotate anything and everything that's unfamiliar or seems to be used in an unusual way. Use the posted Libguide for our class (located here: http://pitt.libguides.com/upg19britlit ) for the best reference resources for this assignment.

Take careful notice of our anthology's headnotes and footnotes to the poem, and any introductory matter explaining the poem or group of poems that it is part of.

Write clear, authoritative annotations in your own words to identify people, places, events, or histories of word usage. Look up information in the Oxford English Dictionary, good reference resources on our Libguide, authoritative sites on historical events, mythologies, cultural practices, good maps, etc.

Add pictures and multimedia where appropriate. Was this poem illustrated or the subject of artwork in the 19thc. or in our time?

II. Explication
The next phase of this assignment involves drafting an explication paper which will build on your annotation work. When you've completed your annotations, review your work carefully (proofreading for accuracy and clarity, effective word choice, working links and images). Then try to put everything you've learned in the annotation process into a larger perspective, about the whole poem. Try to come to a moment of profound understanding before you begin writing. What strikes you most strongly about this poem? How does it express a point, or convey an unusual perspective on something?

Writing Your Explication:
1. Introductory paragraph: Introduce the poem or poems you will be working with. What subject matter is treated, what large statements or questions are raised by the poetry? Comment on the organization or structure of the poem (or poems).

2. Body paragraphs: Take your reader through the poem line-by-line, sentence-by-sentence, or stanza-by-stanza, or passage by passage, depending on how long your poem is, and how its major ideas are organized. Show me what you have noticed: Highlight portions of the poem by quoting relevant portions, and by providing your explanation and discussion after the quotes. Be sure to address the following points (in whatever order makes the most sense for you):
* Who is speaking in the poem? What can you tell about the speaker and the speaker’s context? (Be careful of confusing the narrative voice or speaker with the poet!)

* What’s the tone of voice? Does it shift? (mournful, angry, yearning, satirical, etc.)

* How does the poem’s title contribute to your impression of it?

* Comment on how the poem’s form and structure contributes to its presentation of ideas and impressions: Look at how it's organized: Is the poem arranged into patterns of rhythm and rhyme, and do these patterns help to shape a developing thought? Do the stanzas or verse paragraphs respond to each other, present contrasting points of view, help to develop a point? Is there paratext material that is part of the poem? Walk us through this: help your reader to navigate this poem.

* Review what you've learned about this poem through annotating its details: What contexts, key terms and ideas, events, art objects, etc. are referenced in the poem and how does a knowledge of them contribute to how we understand this poem and experience its effects?

3. Concluding paragraphs: Speculate on the overall significance of this poem. Why is it important or interesting? Do you see one overall meaning here, or did you notice more than one possible way to read this? Comment on the range of possible interpretations or perspectives that the poem presents. Finally, consider how this poem or pair of poems relates to something else we've read this semester—some major ideas or image motifs that we have seen in other poems in the era we’re studying. How does this poetry relate to the historical context we have been discussing, or to the work of other writers we have read thus far?

4. Works Cited page: If necessary, provide a very basic Works Cited list for any references you’ve made to resources outside of our course textbooks. Cite print and online resources using MLA style. Here's a website which contains a helpful introduction to MLA documentation, complete with examples of how to cite a book, article, or electronic source on your Works Cited page: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_mla.html

As a general rule, basic information that could be found in more than three reference works can be considered common knowledge. But if you’re referring directly to information you’ve discovered in a specific dictionary, encyclopedia, or reference database, I ask that you cite that source within your explication.

How to Format Lyrics:

  • Type out all lyrics, even repeating song parts like the chorus
  • Lyrics should be broken down into individual lines
  • Use section headers above different song parts like [Verse], [Chorus], etc.
  • Use italics (<i>lyric</i>) and bold (<b>lyric</b>) to distinguish between different vocalists in the same song part
  • If you don’t understand a lyric, use [?]

To learn more, check out our transcription guide or visit our transcribers forum

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