17 pages • 34 minutes read
The Partial Explanation
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Further Reading & Resources
Related Poems
“January” by Charles Simic (2015)
This poem is comprised of six lines in two stanzas that move from an image of childhood to the atrocities of power. “January” encompasses and expresses many of the themes that repeatedly appear in Simic’s work: childhood memory, absence, and the oppressive nature of political systems.
“The White Room” by Charles Simic (1990)
“The White Room” considers the secrets of trees and gods that may disguise themselves as household objects. The surrealism of the poem is underscored by sleeplessness, darkness, mysterious figures, and things that are “[d]ifficult in their obviousness.”
“The Laughing Child” by W.S. Merwin (2016)
The speaker uses a vocabulary of memory and dreams to reflect on ideas of motherhood, happiness, and time. “The Laughing Child” provides a somewhat sunnier, but still surrealist, companion reading to Simic’s work.
“Four Hinterland Abstractions” by Ray Young Bear (2015)
Echoes of winter and war reverberate throughout this poem, which imbues ordinary scenes with fantastical elements.
“After great pain, a formal feeling comes — (372)” by Emily Dickinson (1862)
In classic Dickinson style, this poem is made up of fragments and references to earthly elements such as air, stone, and snow in a consideration of life and death. The chosen syntax of the poem allows the speaker to address “great pain” with some emotional distance.
Further Literary Resources
“Poetic Memory, Poetic Design” By Ira Sadoff (2010)
In this article, Ira Sadoff writes about the importance of structure in “The Partial Explanation,” and discusses how the lines of the poem increase in tension and emotional complexity to expand the poem’s possibilities.
“The Necessity of Poetry” by Charles Simic (2013)
In this essay, Simic relates a series of anecdotes—fragments from his life that collectively, by the end, address why he believes in the necessity of poetry.
“Charles Simic: From Belgrade to Poet Laureate” by Poetry Foundation
This is an interview with Simic on PBS NewsHour conducted in 2007 after he was appointed the 15th Poet Laureate of the United States.
Listen to Poem
Pulitzer Prize winner, Charles Simic, reads the poem and talks about his work more generally. Clicking on the poem title listed takes the listener to that item.
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