Writing and Thinking about Lit

Journal:  What does this poem mean, and why does it mean what it means?

Hope” is the thing with feathers - (314)

By Emily Dickinson

 

“Hope” is the thing with feathers -

That perches in the soul -

And sings the tune without the words -

And never stops - at all -

And sweetest - in the Gale - is heard -

And sore must be the storm -

That could abash the little Bird

That kept so many warm -

I’ve heard it in the chillest land -

And on the strangest Sea -

Yet - never - in Extremity,

It asked a crumb - of me.

 

 

 

 

The Why!

Some (very) brief notes about effective explication:

Good explication shows why you know what you say you know.

It refers back to the quote or fact you provided and helps readers understand how you reached the conclusion you stated.

It explains the logic you employed to create the meaning you create from the quote.

Your job is to persuade us to agree with you and understand the quote in the same way that you understand it:  we need to know how you figured out what it means.

Here is a pat way to organize explication:

1. Topic Sentence.

2. Quote to support topic.

3. What the quote means in terms of the topic.

4. How/Why you know what the quote means and how you connect it to the

     topic.

Example, Non-literary:

1.      There are many ways that someone can say you are dumb.

2.      For Example, Vanessa called me a “bonehead.”

3.      When she called me that name, she meant that I was dumb.

4.      A bonehead implies that one’s head is made only of bone.  If one’s head is composed solely of bone, then that person must have no brains.  If that person has no brains, they must be dumb, so, through metaphor, a bonehead means a person is stupid because he/she has no brain.

Practice….Your turn, non-literary:

1.      There are many proverbs that warn people not to accuse or blame others.

2.      For example, many of us have heard the quote, “Those who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.”

3.      This means that you shouldn’t point your finger at others unless you are perfect.

4.      This means this because:

Now that you have it, let’s try it with some literature- First with a group and the last two on your own.

1.       Hamlet:

Though he describes the sky as a “majestical roof” covered with “gold fire,” Hamlet explains that, really, it is no more than a “foul and pestilent congregation of vapors.”  This means that Hamlet is displeased with the world.  This can be concluded because…

3.      In this scene of R&J, Juliet proclaims that should would rather “leap” off a tower, “walk in thievish ways,” “lurk where serpents are,” be chained with “roaring bears,” or be stowed with “dead men’s rattling bones” then marry Paris.  This means Juliet abhors the idea of marrying Paris.  This can be concluded because….

5.      In this scene from Hamlet, Claudius morns the “green” memory of his brother’s death which causes the kingdom to “bear…hearts in grief.”  He also says that though his brother’s death causes the “wisest sorrow,” they should think about him with “remembrance of ourselves.”  This means that the kingdom should move on from King Hamlet’s death.  This is known because…..