How to Interpret Poems

Apply Some Tools of Analysis

• You're probably wondering why anyone would want to analyze a poem in the first place. You're not alone: As far back as the late 18th century, William Wordsworth could lament that, in the drive to understand all of nature and art, people "murder to dissect."

  Nevertheless, there is such a thing as a poet's craft, and that a knowledge of the basics is the key to being able to understand that craft, and even to fully appreciate a sophisticated poem.

  A focus now shifts to what is sometimes called practical criticism. Its main function is to do a "close reading" of a poem, examining carefully the features of the text itself (such as those discussed) to ferret out levels of meaning.

  Look at "My Last Duchess" by Robert Browning (see Resources). If you're not familiar with the poem, check it out now, and maybe even print it out, so you'll know what the heck the rest of this article is talking about.

  Scanning the lines

  Scanning (or scansion) is when you map out a line of poetry to figure out the meter (as in the example earlier). With "My Last Duchess," the meter is easy. It's almost all in iambic pentameter. (The first line of a poem can often trick you, since the poet may vary the meter a bit just to get out of the gate, as Browning does here.) What can you say about this that's interesting (or, rephrased: What will interest your English professor)? Well, take the little that's been said about iambic pentameter and run with it. It's conversational, and the words of this poem are all supposed to come from a single speaker, the Duke, so that's one reason why the poet may have chosen this meter. Another reason may be because Shakespeare and other dramatists had used this meter in their dramatic works (as blank verse)--Browning's goal is to illustrate a scene, and he has written many poems like this, in which a single character speaks. These have come to be called his dramatic monologues.

  Identifying the form

  When examining a poem to identify its form, you'll want to be aware of some of the common forms of poetry and the types of content with which they have become associated. The Poetry Handbook is an excellent resource for this type of stuff.

  You may recognize the form here as a series of couplets, each stanza a set of two rhyming lines. With a little research, you would learn that couplets written in iambic pentameter are called heroic couplets. The heroic couplet was used by many great poets for their epic works--up until the 19th century, when it fell from favor. So Browning's use of the form in the mid-19th century goes against the trend of his time. As you read the poem, you may notice that the "dramatic irony" of a narrator believing he is showing off his attractive qualities, when he is really revealing to his listener that he is vain and evil, is paralleled by the irony of using an epic form of poetry for a sordid monologue. This "interpreting poetry" stuff isn't so tough, so long as you know how to look for the cool things.

  Examining the diction

  The diction of the poem is perhaps most interesting in the way it demonstrates the narrator's imperiousness--the way he gives orders, with phrases such as, "I gave commands," from line 45 (you know the commands weren't nice, whatever they were). Elsewhere, the poet makes interesting use of lineation for the same effect. When line 2 ends in the words "I call," they become a command. In line 15, the line again ends in an enjambment, with the phrase "called that spot," instead of the full phrase "called that spot/of joy into the Duchess' cheek." The Duke makes an involuntary act--the Duchess blushing--into a voluntary act of "calling" on his part. Ironically, this is the one aspect of her character that he cannot control.

  General observations

  The central irony of the "My Last Duchess" is of course that the Duke wanted so much to bring the Duchess' beauty within his own control that he was willing to destroy her (along with her beauty) to do it. A little bit like trying too hard to analyze a poem, no?

  There's been a lot of debate among scholars as to how much history, social context, psychology and gender concerns should be overlaid onto an analysis. In any case, some knowledge of the poem's subject matter can help in your reading--you'll want to at least understand what the poet is literally talking about. Scholarly editions, such as those published by Norton and Oxford, offer useful footnotes that provide context and define obscure or obsolete phrases.

  Far more could be said about this poem, though not here. The discussion at least gives you a sense of the importance of understanding these basic elements of poetry and their effects.