Poetry Explication - 1059 Words

Samantha Ward Professor Amy Clukey English 300-03 Due Date: September 22, 2011 Most Painful Memories: An Explication of Edward Mayes’ â€Å"University of Iowa, 1976† Take a minute to imagine â€Å"Men looking like they had been/attacked repeatedly by a succession /of wild animals,† â€Å"never/ ending blasted field of corpses,† and â€Å"throats half gone, /eyes bleeding, raw meat heaped/ in piles.† These are the vividly, grotesque images Edward Mayes describes to readers in his poem, â€Å"University of Iowa Hospital, 1976.† Before even reading the poem, the title gave me a preconceived idea of what the poem might be about. â€Å"University of Iowa Hospital, 1976† describes what an extreme version of what I expected the poem to be about. The images I†¦show more content†¦By using abstract words to describe these long-suffering patients, Mayes’ forces dramatic images into the reader’s mind. While reading the book â€Å"The Discovery of Poetry† by Frances Mayes, I learned a lot about figurative image ry. Figurative imagery is used throughout Edward Mayes’ poem to make connections between two ideas we typically would not associate with one another. A concrete example of figurative imagery in Mayes’ poem is found in the line that reads, â€Å"Men looking like they had been/attacked repeatedly by a succession /of wild animals.† I know that these patients most likely had not been attacked by wild animals over and over again, but when the speaker plants these images in a reader’s mind, the suffering that these patients have endured become more realistic to the reader. Sometimes using figurative imagery is much more effective than using a literal image. Mayes wants readers to know how ill some of the patients are. He goes on by describing the â€Å"200 miles of scars† of a patient and how â€Å"a boy who [had] shot his face off.† Mayes’ figurative images make a stronger point because they are so blunt. He doesn’t seem to b eat around the bush; he tells every detail exactly how the speaker saw it. This poem would not give readers the same powerful emotions without the intense imagery and literary tropes Mayes utilizes. Toward the end of the poem, the speakerShow MoreRelatedAn Explication Of A Poetry Explication Essay1895 Words   |  8 PagesWriting Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 1 ? Essay #1: Poetry Explication A poetry explication is a relatively short analysis that describes the possible meanings and relationships of the words, images, and other small units that make up a poem. It is a line-by-line unfolding or revealing of the meaning(s) of a poem as the poem develops that meaning from beginning to end. Writing an explication is an effective way for a reader to connect a poem s plot and conflicts withRead MoreA Poetry Explication Of Poetry972 Words   |  4 PagesA Poetry Explication of â€Å"Introduction to Poetry† A poetry explication is a fairly short analysis, which describes the possible meanings and relationships of the words, images, and other literary elements that make up a poem. These elements help the reader have an understanding of the poem and what the author is trying to convey in a very effective way. Most young readers don’t usually understand the poems. For this literary explanation the reader had an interest in the poem â€Å"Introduction to poetry†Read More Poetry Explication Essay1424 Words   |  6 PagesPoetry Explication Language is a remarkable thing. It can convey every thought, feeling, and emotion with perfect accuracy. Almost exclusively, language has taken awkward, unfit animals out of nature and made them rulers over the earth and many of its elements. 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