{"id":200,"date":"2018-06-05T10:59:36","date_gmt":"2018-06-05T10:59:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/sunycorning1020elec201819\/?post_type=chapter&#038;p=200"},"modified":"2018-06-20T10:49:02","modified_gmt":"2018-06-20T10:49:02","slug":"poetry-explications","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/sunycorning1020elec201819\/chapter\/poetry-explications\/","title":{"raw":"Poetry Explications","rendered":"Poetry Explications"},"content":{"raw":"<div class=\"page-header\">\r\n<h1>Poetry Explications<\/h1>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<h2>What this handout is about<\/h2>\r\nA poetry explication is a relatively short analysis which describes the possible meanings and relationships of the words, images, and other small units that make up a poem. Writing an explication is an effective way for a reader to connect a poem\u2019s plot and conflicts with its structural features. This handout reviews some of the important techniques of approaching and writing a poetry explication, and includes parts of two sample explications.\r\n<h2>Preparing to write the explication<\/h2>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Read the poem silently, then read it aloud (if not in a testing situation). Repeat as necessary.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Consider the poem as a dramatic situation in which a speaker addresses an audience or another character. In this way, begin your analysis by identifying and describing the speaking voice or voices, the conflicts or ideas, and the language used in the poem.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h3>The large issues<\/h3>\r\n<strong>Determine the basic design of the poem by considering the who, what, when, where, and why of the dramatic situation:<\/strong>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li><strong>What is being dramatized?<\/strong>\u00a0What conflicts or themes does the poem present, address, or question?<\/li>\r\n \t<li><strong>Who is the speaker?<\/strong>\u00a0Define and describe the speaker and the speaker\u2019s voice. What does the speaker say? Who is the audience? Are other characters involved?<\/li>\r\n \t<li><strong>What happens in the poem?<\/strong>\u00a0Consider the plot or basic design of the action. How are the dramatized conflicts or themes introduced, sustained, resolved, etc.?<\/li>\r\n \t<li><strong>When does the action occur?<\/strong>\u00a0What is the date and\/or time of day?<\/li>\r\n \t<li><strong>Where is the speaker?<\/strong>\u00a0Describe the physical location of the dramatic moment.<\/li>\r\n \t<li><strong>Why does the speaker feel compelled to speak at this moment?<\/strong>\u00a0What is the speaker\u2019s motivation?<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h3>The details<\/h3>\r\nTo analyze the design of the poem, we must focus on the poem\u2019s parts, namely how the poem dramatizes conflicts or ideas in language. By concentrating on the parts, we develop our understanding of the poem\u2019s structure, and we gather support and evidence for our interpretations.\u00a0<strong>Some of the details we should consider include the following:<\/strong>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li><strong>Form:<\/strong>\u00a0Does the poem represent a particular form (sonnet, sestina, etc.)? Does the poem present any unique variations from the traditional structure of that form?<\/li>\r\n \t<li><strong>Rhetoric:<\/strong>\u00a0How does the speaker make particular statements? Does the rhetoric seem odd in any way? Why? Consider the predicates and what they reveal about the speaker.<\/li>\r\n \t<li><strong>Syntax:<\/strong>\u00a0Consider the subjects, verbs, and objects of each statement and what these elements reveal about the speaker. Do any statements have convoluted or vague syntax?<\/li>\r\n \t<li><strong>Vocabulary:<\/strong>\u00a0Why does the poet choose one word over another in each line? Do any of the words have multiple or archaic meanings that add other meanings to the line? Use the Oxford English Dictionary as a resource.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h3>The patterns<\/h3>\r\nAs you analyze the design line by line, look for certain patterns to develop which provide insight into the dramatic situation, the speaker\u2019s state of mind, or the poet\u2019s use of details.\u00a0<strong>Some of the most common patterns include the following:<\/strong>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li><strong>Rhetorical Patterns:<\/strong>\u00a0Look for statements that follow the same format.<\/li>\r\n \t<li><strong>Rhyme:<\/strong>\u00a0Consider the significance of the end words joined by sound; in a poem with no rhymes, consider the importance of the end words.<\/li>\r\n \t<li><strong>Patterns of Sound:<\/strong>\u00a0Alliteration and assonance create sound effects and often cluster significant words.<\/li>\r\n \t<li><strong>Visual Patterns:<\/strong>\u00a0How does the poem look on the page?<\/li>\r\n \t<li><strong>Rhythm and Meter:<\/strong>\u00a0Consider how rhythm and meter influence our perception of the speaker and language.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h2>Basic terms for talking about meter<\/h2>\r\nMeter (from the Greek metron, meaning measure) refers principally to the recurrence of regular beats in a poetic line. In this way, meter pertains to the structure of the poem as it is written.\r\n\r\nThe most common form of meter in English verse since the 14th century is accentual-syllabic meter, in which the basic unit is the foot. A foot is a combination of two or three stressed and\/or unstressed syllables.\u00a0<strong>The following are the four most common metrical feet in English poetry:<\/strong>\r\n<ol>\r\n \t<li><strong>IAMBIC (the noun is \u201ciamb\u201d):<\/strong>\u00a0an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable, a pattern which comes closest to approximating the natural rhythm of speech. Note line 23 from Shelley\u2019s \u201cStanzas Written in Dejection, Near Naples\u201d:<a href=\"https:\/\/writingcenter.unc.edu\/files\/2011\/12\/shelley.gif\"><img class=\"alignnone\" title=\"shelley\" src=\"https:\/\/writingcenter.unc.edu\/files\/2011\/12\/shelley.gif\" alt=\"And walked with inward glory crowned.\" width=\"267\" height=\"33\" \/><\/a><\/li>\r\n \t<li><strong>TROCHAIC (the noun is \u201ctrochee\u201d):<\/strong>\u00a0a stressed followed by an unstressed syllable, as in the first line of Blake\u2019s \u201cIntroduction\u201d to Songs of Innocence:<a href=\"https:\/\/writingcenter.unc.edu\/files\/2011\/12\/blake.gif\"><img class=\"alignnone\" title=\"blake\" src=\"https:\/\/writingcenter.unc.edu\/files\/2011\/12\/blake.gif\" alt=\"Piping down the valleys wild\" width=\"196\" height=\"33\" \/><\/a><\/li>\r\n \t<li><strong>ANAPESTIC (the noun is \u201canapest\u201d):<\/strong>\u00a0two unstressed syllables followed by a stressed syllable, as in the opening to Byron\u2019s \u201cThe Destruction of Sennacherib\u201d:<a href=\"https:\/\/writingcenter.unc.edu\/files\/2011\/12\/byron.gif\"><img class=\"alignnone\" title=\"byron\" src=\"https:\/\/writingcenter.unc.edu\/files\/2011\/12\/byron.gif\" alt=\"The Assyrian came down like the wolf on the fold\" width=\"306\" height=\"33\" \/><\/a><\/li>\r\n \t<li><strong>DACTYLIC (the noun is \u201cdactyl\u201d):<\/strong>\u00a0a stressed syllable followed by two unstressed syllables, as in Thomas Hardy\u2019s \u201cThe Voice\u201d:<a href=\"https:\/\/writingcenter.unc.edu\/files\/2011\/12\/hardy.gif\"><img class=\"alignnone\" title=\"hardy\" src=\"https:\/\/writingcenter.unc.edu\/files\/2011\/12\/hardy.gif\" alt=\"Woman much missed, how you call to me, call to me\" width=\"353\" height=\"33\" \/><\/a><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\nMeter also refers to the number of feet in a line:\r\n<table style=\"border-collapse: collapse;width: 66.5233%;height: 146px\" border=\"1\">\r\n<thead>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td style=\"width: 50%\">Name<\/td>\r\n<td style=\"width: 50%\">Value<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/thead>\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td style=\"width: 50%\">Monometer<\/td>\r\n<td style=\"width: 50%\">One<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td style=\"width: 50%\">Dimeter<\/td>\r\n<td style=\"width: 50%\">Two<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td style=\"width: 50%\">Trimeter<\/td>\r\n<td style=\"width: 50%\"><\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td style=\"width: 50%\">Tetrameter<\/td>\r\n<td style=\"width: 50%\">Four<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td style=\"width: 50%\">Pentameter<\/td>\r\n<td style=\"width: 50%\">Five<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td style=\"width: 50%\">Hexameter<\/td>\r\n<td style=\"width: 50%\">Six<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n<span style=\"font-size: 1rem;text-align: initial\">\r\nTo scan a line is to determine its metrical pattern. Perhaps the best way to begin scanning a line is to mark the natural stresses on the polysyllabic words. Take Shelley\u2019s line:<\/span>Any number above six (hexameter) is heard as a combination of smaller parts; for example, what we might call heptameter (seven feet in a line) is indistinguishable (aurally) from successive lines of tetrameter and trimeter (4-3).\r\n<ul>And walked with inward glory crowned.<\/ul>\r\nThen mark the polysyllabic nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs that are normally stressed:\r\n\r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/writingcenter.unc.edu\/files\/2011\/12\/shelley11.gif\"><img class=\"alignnone\" title=\"shelley1\" src=\"https:\/\/writingcenter.unc.edu\/files\/2011\/12\/shelley11.gif\" alt=\"And walked with inward glory crowned\" width=\"267\" height=\"29\" \/><\/a>\r\n\r\nThen fill in the rest:\r\n\r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/writingcenter.unc.edu\/files\/2011\/12\/shelley2.gif\"><img class=\"alignnone\" title=\"shelley2\" src=\"https:\/\/writingcenter.unc.edu\/files\/2011\/12\/shelley2.gif\" alt=\"And walked with inward glory crowned\" width=\"267\" height=\"29\" \/><\/a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/writingcenter.unc.edu\/files\/2011\/12\/shelley3.gif\"><img class=\"alignnone\" title=\"shelley3\" src=\"https:\/\/writingcenter.unc.edu\/files\/2011\/12\/shelley3.gif\" alt=\"And walked with inward glory crowned\" width=\"267\" height=\"29\" \/><\/a>\r\n\r\nThen divide the line into feet:\r\n\r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/writingcenter.unc.edu\/files\/2011\/12\/shelley1.gif\"><img title=\"shelley\" src=\"https:\/\/writingcenter.unc.edu\/files\/2011\/12\/shelley1.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"267\" height=\"33\" \/><\/a>\r\n\r\nThen note the sequence:\r\n\r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/writingcenter.unc.edu\/files\/2011\/12\/copy_of_iamb.gif\"><img class=\"alignnone\" title=\"copy_of_iamb\" src=\"https:\/\/writingcenter.unc.edu\/files\/2011\/12\/copy_of_iamb.gif\" alt=\"iamb iamb iamb iamb\" width=\"147\" height=\"24\" \/><\/a>\r\n\r\nThe line consists of four iambs; therefore, we identify the line as iambic tetrameter.\r\n<h2>I got rhythm<\/h2>\r\nRhythm refers particularly to the way a line is voiced, i.e., how one speaks the line. Often, when a reader reads a line of verse, choices of stress and unstress may need to be made. For example, the first line of Keats\u2019 \u201cOde on Melancholy\u201d presents the reader with a problem:\r\n<ul>No, no, go not to Lethe, neither twist<\/ul>\r\nIf we determine the regular pattern of beats (the meter) of this line, we will most likely identify the line as iambic pentameter. If we read the line this way, the statement takes on a musing, somewhat disinterested tone. However, because the first five words are monosyllabic, we may choose to read the line differently. In fact, we may be tempted, especially when reading aloud, to stress the first two syllables equally, making the opening an emphatic, directive statement. Note that monosyllabic words allow the meaning of the line to vary according to which words we choose to stress when reading (i.e., the choice of rhythm we make).\r\n\r\nThe first line of Milton\u2019s Paradise Lost presents a different type of problem.\r\n<ul>Of Man\u2019s First Disobedience, and the Fruit<\/ul>\r\nAgain, this line is predominantly iambic, but a problem occurs with the word \u201cDisobedience.\u201d If we read strictly by the meter, then we must fuse the last two syllables of the word. However, if we read the word normally, we have a breakage in the line\u2019s metrical structure. In this way, the poet forges a tension between meter and rhythm: does the word remain contained by the structure, or do we choose to stretch the word out of the normal foot, thereby disobeying the structure in which it was made? Such tension adds meaning to the poem by using meter and rhythm to dramatize certain conflicts. In this example, Milton forges such a tension to present immediately the essential conflicts that lead to the fall of Adam and Eve.\r\n<h2>Writing the explication<\/h2>\r\nThe explication should follow the same format as the preparation: begin with the large issues and basic design of the poem and work through each line to the more specific details and patterns.\r\n<h3>The first paragraph<\/h3>\r\nThe first paragraph should present the large issues; it should inform the reader which conflicts are dramatized and should describe the dramatic situation of the speaker. The explication does not require a formal introductory paragraph; the writer should simply start explicating immediately. According to UNC \u2018s Professor William Harmon, the foolproof way to begin any explication is with the following sentence:\r\n<ul>\u201cThis poem dramatizes the conflict between \u2026\u201d<\/ul>\r\nSuch a beginning ensures that you will introduce the major conflict or theme in the poem and organize your explication accordingly.\r\n\r\nHere is an example. A student\u2019s explication of Wordsworth\u2019s \u201cComposed upon Westminster Bridge\u201d might begin in the following way:\r\n<ul>This poem dramatizes the conflict between appearance and reality, particularly as this conflict relates to what the speaker seems to say and what he really says. From Westminster Bridge, the speaker looks at London at sunrise, and he explains that all people should be struck by such a beautiful scene. The speaker notes that the city is silent, and he points to several specific objects, naming them only in general terms: \u201cShips, towers, domes, theatres, and temples\u201d (6). After describing the \u201cglittering\u201d aspect of these objects, he asserts that these city places are just as beautiful in the morning as country places like \u201cvalley, rock, or hill\u201d (8,10). Finally, after describing his deep feeling of calmness, the speaker notes how the \u201chouses seem asleep\u201d and that \u201call that mighty heart is lying still\u201d (13, 14). In this way, the speaker seems to say simply that London looks beautiful in the morning.<\/ul>\r\n<h3>The next paragraphs<\/h3>\r\nThe next paragraphs should expand the discussion of the conflict by focusing on details of form, rhetoric, syntax, and vocabulary. In these paragraphs, the writer should explain the poem line by line in terms of these details, and he or she should incorporate important elements of rhyme, rhythm, and meter during this discussion.\r\n\r\nThe student\u2019s explication continues with a topic sentence that directs the discussion of the first five lines:\r\n<ul>However, the poem begins with several oddities that suggest the speaker is saying more than what he seems to say initially. For example, the poem is an Italian sonnet and follows the abbaabbacdcdcd rhyme scheme. The fact that the poet chooses to write a sonnet about London in an Italian form suggests that what he says may not be actually praising the city. Also, the rhetoric of the first two lines seems awkward compared to a normal speaking voice: \u201cEarth has not anything to show more fair. \/ Dull would he be of soul who could pass by\u201d (1-2). The odd syntax continues when the poet personifies the city: \u201cThis City now doth, like a garment, wear \/ The beauty of the morning\u201d (4-5). Here, the city wears the morning\u2019s beauty, so it is not the city but the morning that is beautiful \u2026<\/ul>\r\n<h3>The conclusion<\/h3>\r\nThe explication has no formal concluding paragraph; do not simply restate the main points of the introduction! The end of the explication should focus on sound effects or visual patterns as the final element of asserting an explanation. Or, as does the undergraduate here, the writer may choose simply to stop writing when he or she reaches the end of the poem:\r\n<ul>The poem ends with a vague statement: \u201cAnd all that mighty heart is lying still!\u201d In this line, the city\u2019s heart could be dead, or it could be simply deceiving the one observing the scene. In this way, the poet reinforces the conflict between the appearance of the city in the morning and what such a scene and his words actually reveal.<\/ul>\r\n<h3>Tips to keep in mind<\/h3>\r\nRefer to the speaking voice in the poem as the speaker\u201d or \u201cthe poet.\u201d For example, do not write, \u201cIn this poem, Wordsworth says that London is beautiful in the morning.\u201d However, you can write,\r\n<ul>\u201cIn this poem, Wordsworth presents a speaker who\u2026\u201d<\/ul>\r\nWe cannot absolutely identify Wordsworth with the speaker of the poem, so it is more accurate to talk about \u201cthe speaker\u201d or \u201cthe poet\u201d in an explication.\r\n\r\nUse the present tense when writing the explication. The poem, as a work of literature, continues to exist!\r\n\r\nTo avoid unnecessary uses of the verb \u201cto be\u201d in your compositions, the following list suggests some verbs you can use when writing the explication:\r\n<table>\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td>dramatizes\r\npresents\r\nillustrates\r\ncharacterizes\r\nunderlines<\/td>\r\n<td>asserts\r\nposits\r\nenacts\r\nconnects\r\nportrays<\/td>\r\n<td>contrasts\r\njuxtaposes\r\nsuggests\r\nimplies\r\nshows<\/td>\r\n<td>addresses\r\nemphasizes\r\nstresses\r\naccentuates\r\nenables<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n<h2>An example of an explication written for a timed exam<\/h2>\r\n<ul>The Fountain<\/ul>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li style=\"list-style-type: none\">\r\n<ul>Fountain, fountain, what do you say<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li style=\"list-style-type: none\">\r\n<ul>Singing at night alone?<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li style=\"list-style-type: none\">\r\n<ul>\u201cIt is enough to rise and fall<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<ul>Here in my basin of stone.\u201d<\/ul>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li style=\"list-style-type: none\">\r\n<ul>But are you content as you seem to be<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li style=\"list-style-type: none\">\r\n<ul>So near the freedom and rush of the sea?<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li style=\"list-style-type: none\">\r\n<ul>\u201cI have listened all night to its laboring sound,<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li style=\"list-style-type: none\">\r\n<ul>It heaves and sags, as the moon runs round;<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li style=\"list-style-type: none\">\r\n<ul>Ocean and fountain, shadow and tree,<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<ul>Nothing escapes, nothing is free.\u201d<\/ul>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li style=\"list-style-type: none\">\r\n<ul>\u2014Sara Teasdale (American, 1884-1933)<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\nAs a direct address to an inanimate object \u201cThe Fountain\u201d presents three main conflicts concerning the appearance to the observer and the reality in the poem. First, since the speaker addresses an object usually considered voiceless, the reader may abandon his\/her normal perception of the fountain and enter the poet\u2019s imaginative address. Secondly, the speaker not only addresses the fountain but asserts that it speaks and sings,\u00a0personifying the object with vocal abilities. These acts imply that, not only can the fountain speak in a musical form, but the fountain also has the ability to present some particular meaning (\u201cwhat do you say\u201d (1)). Finally, the poet gives the fountain a voice to say that its perpetual motion (rising and falling) is \u201cenough\u201d to maintain its sense of existence. This final personification fully dramatizes the conflict between the fountain\u2019s appearance and the poem\u2019s statement of reality by giving the object intelligence and voice.\r\n\r\nThe first strophe, four lines of alternating 4- and 3-foot lines, takes the form of a ballad stanza. In this way, the poem begins by suggesting that it will be story that will perhaps teach a certain lesson. The opening trochees and repetition stress the address to the fountain, and the iamb which ends line 1 and the trochee that begins line 2 stress the actions of the fountain itself. The response of the fountain illustrates its own rise and fall in the iambic line 3, and the rhyme of \u201calone\u201d and \u201cstone\u201d emphasizes that the fountain is really a physical object, even though it can speak in this poem.\r\n\r\nThe second strophe expands the conflicts as the speaker questions the fountain. The first couplet connects the rhyming words \u201cbe\u201d and \u201csea\u201d these connections stress the question, \u201cIs the fountain content when it exists so close to a large, open body of water like the ocean?\u201d The fountain responds to the tempting \u201crush of the sea\u201d with much wisdom (6). The fountain\u2019s reply posits the sea as \u201claboring\u201d versus the speaker\u2019s assertion of its freedom; the sea becomes characterized by heavily accented \u201cheaves and sags\u201d and not open rushing (7, 8). In this way, the fountain suggests that the sea\u2019s waters may be described in images of labor, work, and fatigue; governed by the moon, these waters are not free at all. The \u201cas\u201d of line 8 becomes a key word, illustrating that the sea\u2019s waters are not free but commanded by the moon, which is itself governed by gravity in its orbit around Earth. Since the moon, an object far away in the heavens, controls the ocean, the sea cannot be free as the speaker asserts.\r\n\r\nThe poet reveals the fountain\u2019s intelligence in rhyming couplets which present closed-in, epigrammatic statements. These couplets draw attention to the contained nature of the all objects in the poem, and they draw attention to the final line\u2019s lesson. This last line works on several levels to address the poem\u2019s conflicts. First, the line refers to the fountain itself; in this final rhymed couplet is the illustration of the water\u2019s perpetual motion in the fountain, its continually recycled movement rising and falling. Second, the line refers to the ocean; in this respect the water cannot escape its boundary or control its own motions. The ocean itself is trapped between landmasses and is controlled by a distant object\u2019s gravitational pull. Finally, the line addresses the speaker, leaving him\/her with an overriding sense of fate and fallacy. The fallacy here is that the fountain presents this wisdom of reality to defy the speaker\u2019s original idea that the fountain and the ocean appear to be trapped and free. Also, the direct statement of the last line certainly addresses the human speaker as well as the human reader. This statement implies that we are all trapped or controlled by some remote object or entity. At the same time, the assertion that \u201cNothing escapes\u201d reflects the limitations of life in the world and the death that no person can escape. Our own thoughts are restricted by our mortality as well as by our limits of relying on appearances. By personifying a voiceless object, the poem presents a different perception of reality, placing the reader in the same position of the speaker and inviting the reader to question the conflict between appearance and reality, between what we see and what we can know.\r\n<h3>Suggestions for improvement<\/h3>\r\nThe writer observes and presents many of the most salient points of the short poem, but she could indeed organize the explication more coherently. To improve this explication, the writer could focus more on the speaker\u2019s state of mind. In this way, the writer could explore the implications of the dramatic situation even further: why does the speaker ask a question of a mute object? With this line of thought, the writer could also examine more closely the speaker\u2019s movement from perplexity (I am trapped but the waters are free) to a kind of resolution (the fountain and the sea are as trapped as I am). Finally, the writer could include a more detailed consideration of rhythm, meter, and rhyme.","rendered":"<div class=\"page-header\">\n<h1>Poetry Explications<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<h2>What this handout is about<\/h2>\n<p>A poetry explication is a relatively short analysis which describes the possible meanings and relationships of the words, images, and other small units that make up a poem. Writing an explication is an effective way for a reader to connect a poem\u2019s plot and conflicts with its structural features. This handout reviews some of the important techniques of approaching and writing a poetry explication, and includes parts of two sample explications.<\/p>\n<h2>Preparing to write the explication<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Read the poem silently, then read it aloud (if not in a testing situation). Repeat as necessary.<\/li>\n<li>Consider the poem as a dramatic situation in which a speaker addresses an audience or another character. In this way, begin your analysis by identifying and describing the speaking voice or voices, the conflicts or ideas, and the language used in the poem.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>The large issues<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Determine the basic design of the poem by considering the who, what, when, where, and why of the dramatic situation:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>What is being dramatized?<\/strong>\u00a0What conflicts or themes does the poem present, address, or question?<\/li>\n<li><strong>Who is the speaker?<\/strong>\u00a0Define and describe the speaker and the speaker\u2019s voice. What does the speaker say? Who is the audience? Are other characters involved?<\/li>\n<li><strong>What happens in the poem?<\/strong>\u00a0Consider the plot or basic design of the action. How are the dramatized conflicts or themes introduced, sustained, resolved, etc.?<\/li>\n<li><strong>When does the action occur?<\/strong>\u00a0What is the date and\/or time of day?<\/li>\n<li><strong>Where is the speaker?<\/strong>\u00a0Describe the physical location of the dramatic moment.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Why does the speaker feel compelled to speak at this moment?<\/strong>\u00a0What is the speaker\u2019s motivation?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>The details<\/h3>\n<p>To analyze the design of the poem, we must focus on the poem\u2019s parts, namely how the poem dramatizes conflicts or ideas in language. By concentrating on the parts, we develop our understanding of the poem\u2019s structure, and we gather support and evidence for our interpretations.\u00a0<strong>Some of the details we should consider include the following:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Form:<\/strong>\u00a0Does the poem represent a particular form (sonnet, sestina, etc.)? Does the poem present any unique variations from the traditional structure of that form?<\/li>\n<li><strong>Rhetoric:<\/strong>\u00a0How does the speaker make particular statements? Does the rhetoric seem odd in any way? Why? Consider the predicates and what they reveal about the speaker.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Syntax:<\/strong>\u00a0Consider the subjects, verbs, and objects of each statement and what these elements reveal about the speaker. Do any statements have convoluted or vague syntax?<\/li>\n<li><strong>Vocabulary:<\/strong>\u00a0Why does the poet choose one word over another in each line? Do any of the words have multiple or archaic meanings that add other meanings to the line? Use the Oxford English Dictionary as a resource.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>The patterns<\/h3>\n<p>As you analyze the design line by line, look for certain patterns to develop which provide insight into the dramatic situation, the speaker\u2019s state of mind, or the poet\u2019s use of details.\u00a0<strong>Some of the most common patterns include the following:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Rhetorical Patterns:<\/strong>\u00a0Look for statements that follow the same format.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Rhyme:<\/strong>\u00a0Consider the significance of the end words joined by sound; in a poem with no rhymes, consider the importance of the end words.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Patterns of Sound:<\/strong>\u00a0Alliteration and assonance create sound effects and often cluster significant words.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Visual Patterns:<\/strong>\u00a0How does the poem look on the page?<\/li>\n<li><strong>Rhythm and Meter:<\/strong>\u00a0Consider how rhythm and meter influence our perception of the speaker and language.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Basic terms for talking about meter<\/h2>\n<p>Meter (from the Greek metron, meaning measure) refers principally to the recurrence of regular beats in a poetic line. In this way, meter pertains to the structure of the poem as it is written.<\/p>\n<p>The most common form of meter in English verse since the 14th century is accentual-syllabic meter, in which the basic unit is the foot. A foot is a combination of two or three stressed and\/or unstressed syllables.\u00a0<strong>The following are the four most common metrical feet in English poetry:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>IAMBIC (the noun is \u201ciamb\u201d):<\/strong>\u00a0an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable, a pattern which comes closest to approximating the natural rhythm of speech. Note line 23 from Shelley\u2019s \u201cStanzas Written in Dejection, Near Naples\u201d:<a href=\"https:\/\/writingcenter.unc.edu\/files\/2011\/12\/shelley.gif\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" title=\"shelley\" src=\"https:\/\/writingcenter.unc.edu\/files\/2011\/12\/shelley.gif\" alt=\"And walked with inward glory crowned.\" width=\"267\" height=\"33\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li><strong>TROCHAIC (the noun is \u201ctrochee\u201d):<\/strong>\u00a0a stressed followed by an unstressed syllable, as in the first line of Blake\u2019s \u201cIntroduction\u201d to Songs of Innocence:<a href=\"https:\/\/writingcenter.unc.edu\/files\/2011\/12\/blake.gif\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" title=\"blake\" src=\"https:\/\/writingcenter.unc.edu\/files\/2011\/12\/blake.gif\" alt=\"Piping down the valleys wild\" width=\"196\" height=\"33\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li><strong>ANAPESTIC (the noun is \u201canapest\u201d):<\/strong>\u00a0two unstressed syllables followed by a stressed syllable, as in the opening to Byron\u2019s \u201cThe Destruction of Sennacherib\u201d:<a href=\"https:\/\/writingcenter.unc.edu\/files\/2011\/12\/byron.gif\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" title=\"byron\" src=\"https:\/\/writingcenter.unc.edu\/files\/2011\/12\/byron.gif\" alt=\"The Assyrian came down like the wolf on the fold\" width=\"306\" height=\"33\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li><strong>DACTYLIC (the noun is \u201cdactyl\u201d):<\/strong>\u00a0a stressed syllable followed by two unstressed syllables, as in Thomas Hardy\u2019s \u201cThe Voice\u201d:<a href=\"https:\/\/writingcenter.unc.edu\/files\/2011\/12\/hardy.gif\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" title=\"hardy\" src=\"https:\/\/writingcenter.unc.edu\/files\/2011\/12\/hardy.gif\" alt=\"Woman much missed, how you call to me, call to me\" width=\"353\" height=\"33\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Meter also refers to the number of feet in a line:<\/p>\n<table style=\"border-collapse: collapse;width: 66.5233%;height: 146px\">\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 50%\">Name<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 50%\">Value<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 50%\">Monometer<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 50%\">One<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 50%\">Dimeter<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 50%\">Two<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 50%\">Trimeter<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 50%\"><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 50%\">Tetrameter<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 50%\">Four<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 50%\">Pentameter<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 50%\">Five<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 50%\">Hexameter<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 50%\">Six<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;text-align: initial\"><br \/>\nTo scan a line is to determine its metrical pattern. Perhaps the best way to begin scanning a line is to mark the natural stresses on the polysyllabic words. Take Shelley\u2019s line:<\/span>Any number above six (hexameter) is heard as a combination of smaller parts; for example, what we might call heptameter (seven feet in a line) is indistinguishable (aurally) from successive lines of tetrameter and trimeter (4-3).<\/p>\n<ul>     <\/ul>\n<p>Then mark the polysyllabic nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs that are normally stressed:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/writingcenter.unc.edu\/files\/2011\/12\/shelley11.gif\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" title=\"shelley1\" src=\"https:\/\/writingcenter.unc.edu\/files\/2011\/12\/shelley11.gif\" alt=\"And walked with inward glory crowned\" width=\"267\" height=\"29\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Then fill in the rest:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/writingcenter.unc.edu\/files\/2011\/12\/shelley2.gif\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" title=\"shelley2\" src=\"https:\/\/writingcenter.unc.edu\/files\/2011\/12\/shelley2.gif\" alt=\"And walked with inward glory crowned\" width=\"267\" height=\"29\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/writingcenter.unc.edu\/files\/2011\/12\/shelley3.gif\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" title=\"shelley3\" src=\"https:\/\/writingcenter.unc.edu\/files\/2011\/12\/shelley3.gif\" alt=\"And walked with inward glory crowned\" width=\"267\" height=\"29\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Then divide the line into feet:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/writingcenter.unc.edu\/files\/2011\/12\/shelley1.gif\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" title=\"shelley\" src=\"https:\/\/writingcenter.unc.edu\/files\/2011\/12\/shelley1.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"267\" height=\"33\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Then note the sequence:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/writingcenter.unc.edu\/files\/2011\/12\/copy_of_iamb.gif\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" title=\"copy_of_iamb\" src=\"https:\/\/writingcenter.unc.edu\/files\/2011\/12\/copy_of_iamb.gif\" alt=\"iamb iamb iamb iamb\" width=\"147\" height=\"24\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The line consists of four iambs; therefore, we identify the line as iambic tetrameter.<\/p>\n<h2>I got rhythm<\/h2>\n<p>Rhythm refers particularly to the way a line is voiced, i.e., how one speaks the line. Often, when a reader reads a line of verse, choices of stress and unstress may need to be made. For example, the first line of Keats\u2019 \u201cOde on Melancholy\u201d presents the reader with a problem:<\/p>\n<ul>       <\/ul>\n<p>If we determine the regular pattern of beats (the meter) of this line, we will most likely identify the line as iambic pentameter. If we read the line this way, the statement takes on a musing, somewhat disinterested tone. However, because the first five words are monosyllabic, we may choose to read the line differently. In fact, we may be tempted, especially when reading aloud, to stress the first two syllables equally, making the opening an emphatic, directive statement. Note that monosyllabic words allow the meaning of the line to vary according to which words we choose to stress when reading (i.e., the choice of rhythm we make).<\/p>\n<p>The first line of Milton\u2019s Paradise Lost presents a different type of problem.<\/p>\n<ul>      <\/ul>\n<p>Again, this line is predominantly iambic, but a problem occurs with the word \u201cDisobedience.\u201d If we read strictly by the meter, then we must fuse the last two syllables of the word. However, if we read the word normally, we have a breakage in the line\u2019s metrical structure. In this way, the poet forges a tension between meter and rhythm: does the word remain contained by the structure, or do we choose to stretch the word out of the normal foot, thereby disobeying the structure in which it was made? Such tension adds meaning to the poem by using meter and rhythm to dramatize certain conflicts. In this example, Milton forges such a tension to present immediately the essential conflicts that lead to the fall of Adam and Eve.<\/p>\n<h2>Writing the explication<\/h2>\n<p>The explication should follow the same format as the preparation: begin with the large issues and basic design of the poem and work through each line to the more specific details and patterns.<\/p>\n<h3>The first paragraph<\/h3>\n<p>The first paragraph should present the large issues; it should inform the reader which conflicts are dramatized and should describe the dramatic situation of the speaker. The explication does not require a formal introductory paragraph; the writer should simply start explicating immediately. According to UNC \u2018s Professor William Harmon, the foolproof way to begin any explication is with the following sentence:<\/p>\n<ul>      <\/ul>\n<p>Such a beginning ensures that you will introduce the major conflict or theme in the poem and organize your explication accordingly.<\/p>\n<p>Here is an example. A student\u2019s explication of Wordsworth\u2019s \u201cComposed upon Westminster Bridge\u201d might begin in the following way:<\/p>\n<ul>                                                                                                                                                      <\/ul>\n<h3>The next paragraphs<\/h3>\n<p>The next paragraphs should expand the discussion of the conflict by focusing on details of form, rhetoric, syntax, and vocabulary. In these paragraphs, the writer should explain the poem line by line in terms of these details, and he or she should incorporate important elements of rhyme, rhythm, and meter during this discussion.<\/p>\n<p>The student\u2019s explication continues with a topic sentence that directs the discussion of the first five lines:<\/p>\n<ul>                                                                                                                                               <\/ul>\n<h3>The conclusion<\/h3>\n<p>The explication has no formal concluding paragraph; do not simply restate the main points of the introduction! The end of the explication should focus on sound effects or visual patterns as the final element of asserting an explanation. Or, as does the undergraduate here, the writer may choose simply to stop writing when he or she reaches the end of the poem:<\/p>\n<ul>                                                             <\/ul>\n<h3>Tips to keep in mind<\/h3>\n<p>Refer to the speaking voice in the poem as the speaker\u201d or \u201cthe poet.\u201d For example, do not write, \u201cIn this poem, Wordsworth says that London is beautiful in the morning.\u201d However, you can write,<\/p>\n<ul>       <\/ul>\n<p>We cannot absolutely identify Wordsworth with the speaker of the poem, so it is more accurate to talk about \u201cthe speaker\u201d or \u201cthe poet\u201d in an explication.<\/p>\n<p>Use the present tense when writing the explication. The poem, as a work of literature, continues to exist!<\/p>\n<p>To avoid unnecessary uses of the verb \u201cto be\u201d in your compositions, the following list suggests some verbs you can use when writing the explication:<\/p>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>dramatizes<br \/>\npresents<br \/>\nillustrates<br \/>\ncharacterizes<br \/>\nunderlines<\/td>\n<td>asserts<br \/>\nposits<br \/>\nenacts<br \/>\nconnects<br \/>\nportrays<\/td>\n<td>contrasts<br \/>\njuxtaposes<br \/>\nsuggests<br \/>\nimplies<br \/>\nshows<\/td>\n<td>addresses<br \/>\nemphasizes<br \/>\nstresses<br \/>\naccentuates<br \/>\nenables<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<h2>An example of an explication written for a timed exam<\/h2>\n<ul> <\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none\">\n<ul>     <\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none\">\n<ul>   <\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none\">\n<ul>      <\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>     <\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none\">\n<ul>        <\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none\">\n<ul>        <\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none\">\n<ul>        <\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none\">\n<ul>        <\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none\">\n<ul>     <\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>    <\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none\">\n<ul>   <\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>As a direct address to an inanimate object \u201cThe Fountain\u201d presents three main conflicts concerning the appearance to the observer and the reality in the poem. First, since the speaker addresses an object usually considered voiceless, the reader may abandon his\/her normal perception of the fountain and enter the poet\u2019s imaginative address. Secondly, the speaker not only addresses the fountain but asserts that it speaks and sings,\u00a0personifying the object with vocal abilities. These acts imply that, not only can the fountain speak in a musical form, but the fountain also has the ability to present some particular meaning (\u201cwhat do you say\u201d (1)). Finally, the poet gives the fountain a voice to say that its perpetual motion (rising and falling) is \u201cenough\u201d to maintain its sense of existence. This final personification fully dramatizes the conflict between the fountain\u2019s appearance and the poem\u2019s statement of reality by giving the object intelligence and voice.<\/p>\n<p>The first strophe, four lines of alternating 4- and 3-foot lines, takes the form of a ballad stanza. In this way, the poem begins by suggesting that it will be story that will perhaps teach a certain lesson. The opening trochees and repetition stress the address to the fountain, and the iamb which ends line 1 and the trochee that begins line 2 stress the actions of the fountain itself. The response of the fountain illustrates its own rise and fall in the iambic line 3, and the rhyme of \u201calone\u201d and \u201cstone\u201d emphasizes that the fountain is really a physical object, even though it can speak in this poem.<\/p>\n<p>The second strophe expands the conflicts as the speaker questions the fountain. The first couplet connects the rhyming words \u201cbe\u201d and \u201csea\u201d these connections stress the question, \u201cIs the fountain content when it exists so close to a large, open body of water like the ocean?\u201d The fountain responds to the tempting \u201crush of the sea\u201d with much wisdom (6). The fountain\u2019s reply posits the sea as \u201claboring\u201d versus the speaker\u2019s assertion of its freedom; the sea becomes characterized by heavily accented \u201cheaves and sags\u201d and not open rushing (7, 8). In this way, the fountain suggests that the sea\u2019s waters may be described in images of labor, work, and fatigue; governed by the moon, these waters are not free at all. The \u201cas\u201d of line 8 becomes a key word, illustrating that the sea\u2019s waters are not free but commanded by the moon, which is itself governed by gravity in its orbit around Earth. Since the moon, an object far away in the heavens, controls the ocean, the sea cannot be free as the speaker asserts.<\/p>\n<p>The poet reveals the fountain\u2019s intelligence in rhyming couplets which present closed-in, epigrammatic statements. These couplets draw attention to the contained nature of the all objects in the poem, and they draw attention to the final line\u2019s lesson. This last line works on several levels to address the poem\u2019s conflicts. First, the line refers to the fountain itself; in this final rhymed couplet is the illustration of the water\u2019s perpetual motion in the fountain, its continually recycled movement rising and falling. Second, the line refers to the ocean; in this respect the water cannot escape its boundary or control its own motions. The ocean itself is trapped between landmasses and is controlled by a distant object\u2019s gravitational pull. Finally, the line addresses the speaker, leaving him\/her with an overriding sense of fate and fallacy. The fallacy here is that the fountain presents this wisdom of reality to defy the speaker\u2019s original idea that the fountain and the ocean appear to be trapped and free. Also, the direct statement of the last line certainly addresses the human speaker as well as the human reader. This statement implies that we are all trapped or controlled by some remote object or entity. At the same time, the assertion that \u201cNothing escapes\u201d reflects the limitations of life in the world and the death that no person can escape. Our own thoughts are restricted by our mortality as well as by our limits of relying on appearances. By personifying a voiceless object, the poem presents a different perception of reality, placing the reader in the same position of the speaker and inviting the reader to question the conflict between appearance and reality, between what we see and what we can know.<\/p>\n<h3>Suggestions for improvement<\/h3>\n<p>The writer observes and presents many of the most salient points of the short poem, but she could indeed organize the explication more coherently. To improve this explication, the writer could focus more on the speaker\u2019s state of mind. In this way, the writer could explore the implications of the dramatic situation even further: why does the speaker ask a question of a mute object? With this line of thought, the writer could also examine more closely the speaker\u2019s movement from perplexity (I am trapped but the waters are free) to a kind of resolution (the fountain and the sea are as trapped as I am). Finally, the writer could include a more detailed consideration of rhythm, meter, and rhyme.<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t <section class=\"citations-section\" role=\"contentinfo\">\n\t\t\t <h3>Candela Citations<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t <div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <div id=\"citation-list-200\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <div class=\"licensing\"><div class=\"license-attribution-dropdown-subheading\">CC licensed content, Shared previously<\/div><ul class=\"citation-list\"><li><strong>Provided by<\/strong>: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. <strong>Located at<\/strong>: <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/writingcenter.unc.edu\/tips-and-tools\/poetry-explications\/\">https:\/\/writingcenter.unc.edu\/tips-and-tools\/poetry-explications\/<\/a>. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-nd\/4.0\/\">CC BY-NC-ND: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives <\/a><\/em><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t <\/section>","protected":false},"author":150,"menu_order":10,"template":"","meta":{"_candela_citation":"[{\"type\":\"cc\",\"description\":\"\",\"author\":\"\",\"organization\":\"The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/writingcenter.unc.edu\/tips-and-tools\/poetry-explications\/\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"cc-by-nc-nd\",\"license_terms\":\"\"}]","CANDELA_OUTCOMES_GUID":"","pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[],"contributor":[],"license":[],"class_list":["post-200","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry"],"part":28,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/sunycorning1020elec201819\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/200","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/sunycorning1020elec201819\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/sunycorning1020elec201819\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/sunycorning1020elec201819\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/150"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/sunycorning1020elec201819\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/200\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":277,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/sunycorning1020elec201819\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/200\/revisions\/277"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/sunycorning1020elec201819\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/28"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/sunycorning1020elec201819\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/200\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/sunycorning1020elec201819\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=200"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/sunycorning1020elec201819\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=200"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/sunycorning1020elec201819\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=200"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/sunycorning1020elec201819\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=200"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}