How to Write a Commentary

How to Structure an I.B. Commentary (Oral or Written)

I. Introduction A. Set the context 1. for a poem, some generalizations about the poet's work and this poem's relation to the poet's work as a whole, as well as a summary of what happens in the poem 2. for a passage from a play or novel, a brief summary of the action leading up to the passage, as well as a summary of what occurs in the passage itself B. Identify the speaker/narrator 1. for a poem, basic evidence of who the speaker is from within the poem 2. for a passage from a play, the mood or state of mind of the speaker as the passage begins 3. for a passage from a novel, the tone used by the narrator and evidence within the passage of the narrator's attitude towards the subject C. Explain the essence, gist, central concept or main idea of the poem or passage —the Big Picture! D. Indicate how you will structure the body of your commentary 1. follow the natural order of the poem/passage (by stanza, paragraph or section) OR 2. organize according to a number of themes emerging from the excerpt OR 3. divide by literary devices (from least to most complex/important)
(The remainder of these instructions pre-suppose the choice of D-3 above as an organizational device. If using D-1 or D-2, follow classic formal essay structure.)

II. Explain how Literary Device #1 contributes to the Big Picture (C above). A. Cite as many examples of the device as possible, embedding your quotations into sentences clearly explaining authorial intentions. B. Comment on the effect of the literary device, and explain how it enhances the main idea.
III. Explain how Literary Device #2 contributes to the Big Picture (C above). A. Cite as many examples of the device as possible, embedding your quotations into sentences clearly explaining authorial intentions. B. Comment on the effect of the literary device, and explain how it enhances the main idea.
IV. Explain how Literary Device #3 contributes to the Big Picture (C above). A. Cite as many examples of the device as possible, embedding your quotations into sentences clearly explaining authorial intentions. B. Comment on the effect of the literary device, and explain how it enhances the main idea.
V. Explain how Literary Devices #'s 4, 5, 6, etc. contribute. . . and so forth!

VI. Conclusion A. Restate your thesis (a combination of C and D from your introduction) to Demonstrate that you have accomplished what you set out to do. B. Respond in a sincere, personal, insightful fashion to the central ideas of the poem or passage. Sound conclusive as you wrap up your commentary!
A commentary is a figurative burp.

What is expected when one is asked to write a commentary?

A commentary comments. It tells about; it infers; it makes observations about content, style, tone and purpose in a given poem or prose excerpt. The writer should state the overall idea of theme of the poem in a sentence or so. Then s/he should paraphrase idea by idea, or if the piece is too long, perhaps a stanza or two at a time. Then show how specific words, images, rhymes, or rhythms, repetition of words or letters (all this is "structure" ) affect the piece, etc. All observations or assumptions made by the writer of the commentary must be supported, based o n evidence from the text.

Some of the questions to consider as you study a given piece:

1. What is this piece essentially about? (A summary sentence or two about the whole piece might be a good way to start. Then paraphrase section by section, giving a literal rewording of the piece; if there is a second level of meaning, explain it.)
2. What is the author's purpose and how or why do you think this? (Does s/he want to entertain, to shock, to enlighten, to criticize, to invite to action, to share an inspiration or insight or regret or pain, or tell a story?)
3. How are style and content related? (If it is sad, happy, pensive, etc., how does s/he manage to convey this? What words, images, stylistic devices, figurative language, rhyme, rhythm, repetition of sounds, lines, words, etc., contribute to communicating what the poet longs to tell?
4. Does the writer use particular words with powerful connotations (implied meanings or effects); does s/he use creative spellings or unusual punctuation, or varied sentence length, or the very shape of the piece itself to create meaning?
5. What is the mood/tone? How does the author feel or expect the reader to feel? How do you know? (How do you feel as you read the poem/passage? Why? Are special words or images used that affect you? Which ones? Why?)
6. What do you conclude from your close reading? Write a concluding statement or statements. This might be a good place for your opinion if it is not evident beforehand.

After trusting our creative right brains by highlighting key words that stand out, imagining how you might stage the poem/passage, what lines would be repeated, which ones deleted, what would e spoken softly or loudly and why, after we free-associate, brainstorm and play with the poem/passage, and let the meaning evolve or emerge, we sit down and get into the left-brain. The organizer, the linear thinker must take over. We start at the beginning and work through the piece, for which we now have a sense. When we write a commentary, we remain focused on the piece we are responding to, scrutinizing, studying, and analyzing. We eat the piece. . . we smell it, lick it, savor it, chew it, swallow it, spit it, savor it again, swallow it once more, and in one sign of full and delicious digestion, we burp. . . we tell it as we have experienced it. . . and there it is: "the commentary."