Poetry Explication and Analysis Essay: “Describe Yourself in Three Words or Less” by Rita Dove Part I: Scansion and Analysis

Rita Dove’s “Describe Yourself in Three Words or Less” is a poetic slap in the face to politeness and manners. She makes no apologies and no excuses. Her words resound with the lyrics of Nina Simone who sang similarly in her songs about being independent and doing as she pleased. Dove echoes that sentiment in her poetry, admitting that she has “a wild, thatched soul” (Dove 8).

The meter used by Dove in “Describe Yourself in Three Words or Less” is somewhat random, almost like a jazz rendition: it proceeds at whatever pace the poet prefers, jumping about haphazardly or resting and allowing the words to roll out leisurely. The meter is not consistent throughout, but the rhythm does pick up and move at a quick clip, with barely 3-4 beats per line in the middle of the poem.

There is also no rhyme scheme in the poem. Dove essentially tells that reader that she is not going to try to please anyone but herself and she is certainly not going to describe herself in under three words. She talks at length, without rhyming her words, and then she tells the reader straight up at the end of the poem that she has even forgotten all about him. The poem does rely on traditional punctuation, but the beginning of each new line is not capitalized—only...

The poem is divided essentially into three stanzas, the first with 8 lines, the second and third with 7 lines. In the first stanza, Dove describes herself as being “itchy and pug-willed” (Dove 5). In the second stanza, she describes her “boats” which symbolize her spirit and how she lets it roam free at night. In the third stanza, she describes her environment and how she takes ownership of everything around her and how she does not need the reader’s approval to be happy.
The poem is grammatical; syntax and diction are used appropriately and Dove does follow English conventions. The poem is basically free verse and not really metrical, though it does have a poppy kind of rhythm to it. The feet are not consistent throughout, some lines with only 3 feet, others with 6 or more. The poem is organized from the inside out. First, Dove describes herself, then she describes her spirit as she lets it out, and finally she describes her surroundings and how she possesses everything around her: “You are mine” (Dove 16). The poem has no special form or mode unless one were to call it an ode to herself.

Part II: Explication

The poem’s main idea is that Dove, the subject of the poem, is not one who bows down or submits to others. She does not yap or bark or sing praises for money or for any other reason.…