explication de texte*: Meaning and Definition of

ex•pli•ca•tion de texte

Pronunciation: (ek-splē-kä-syôn du tekst'), [key]
— pl. ex•pli•ca•tions de texte
  1. an approach to literary criticism involving close examination, analysis, and exposition of the text of a work, and concentrating on language, style, content, and the interrelationships of the parts to the whole in regard to meaning and symbolism.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.