Explicate! Challenge Results

My “Explicate!” rogue challenge received more entries than I expected. I expected zero, but four poetry lovers stepped to the plate, although one asked not to be considered, participating for the joy of it.”

These are the entries, in reverse order of submission.

Meredith decided to create her own poem, reminding me of myself in a “rules-schmulze” kind of way.

Sasha also reminded me of myself, diving deep into the subtext and discovering political statement as well as mythological grandeur. Splendid scholarly integrity in her citing of sources in both her bibliography and the text of her essay, including a fellow creator’s explication of the poem.

Tim is the creator who set the bar high, as well as the one who declined being considered for recognition, engaging with this text for the sheer joy of close reading as well as giving a concrete example of what an explication is.

Mikey was the first out of the gate, and his enthusiasm is one of the joys of this platform. That said, Mike wrote an astute analysis of the Yeats poem, but he stopped there, presumably to wander off to Scotland or Stonehenge or one of the other fabulous places he shares with us here. It’s also possible that he was inspired to create a playlist that shows his deep knowledge of music. Regardless, A for effort, especially when I have no business assigning homework off campus to begin with.

I anticipate a delay in paying the tips, as I am struggling to keep a roof over my head due to loss of income (low enrollment in the summer, husband unemployed for over a year).

Sasha is the clear winner: her explication did everything an explication should and more; she took her essay further than explication of the text, examining the historical and political context in which it was written. Extremely well done, meticulously documented.

Meredith is the runner up—although she didn’t write an explication, she channeled the spirit of the poem and composed her own comedic take on it, delighting my rebellious, creative soul all the way down to my toes.

Mikey gets honorable mention for effort and always being a team player, supporting every crazy rogue challenge I come up with.

Winners, please drop links to the poem you want me to explicate in the comments.

Thanks to everyone for their support in this academic endeavor and for giving this masterpiece by Yeats the close read it deserves.

*author note: On my first date with my husband, he read my poem “Raveling” (just published in Illuminations, received my copy that day and had it in my bag) and recognized an allusion to “Leda and the Swan” (he took poetry with Russell Fraser at Michigan), looked up at me, and said, “Yeats.” I was a goner. At the end of this month, that will be twenty years ago.