An Interpretive Strategy for Poetry As noted in the link which discusses various devices usually found only in poetry, not all poems tell stories.  That means, as also already noted, that devices peculiar to such poetry must be studied.  But such non-narrative poems also call for a different strategy of interpretation, as well.  This link provides that strategy, as well as a strategy for interpreting poems which in fact do tell a story. Interpreting Narrative Poetry Poems that tell a story, in the sense of telling about some sequence of events, are called narrative poems.  This is a matter of formal structure; the formal structure of such poems is a narrative structure.  Frequently, this is also called lyrical poetry.  Ballads are a common example of narrative/lyrical poetry.   But in general, if you can trace a string of four or five sequential events, or perhaps even as few as three, and they are causally related (one event causes the next), then essentially, what you are reading is a form of story.  It just probably is cast in rhyme and poetic rhythm. But so long as it is a story, then a simple way to interpret such a poem for theme is to resort to the same interpretive pattern you have already learned.  To review, here is that pattern: Figure out who is the protagonist; Figure out that person’s major social conflict(s); Realize that often, social conflicts will create inner conflict in the protagonist; Decide if she/he is static or dynamic as a result of those conflicts; Decide whether the author means for that static state or dynamic change to be seen as a good thing or a bad thing, or some of both; Decide what message or moral lesson that implies about that character; and State that lesson so that it applies to us as well.  At that point you have a theme. You will study only one or two such poems in this course, and probably early in the poetry unit.  This is a good starting point for understanding poetry. Interpreting Internal Monologue Poetry Most poems, however, are distinct from any other type of literature, in that they do not tell a story.  As explained in the Poetic Devices link, a loose category into which to place all poems which do not tell a story is to call them internal monologues.  Such poems need a different interpretive strategy.  Here is one which is effective: Focus first on the imagery of the poem.  Remember that visual imagery is most common, followed probably by imagery of sound.  But imagery may also draw on our senses of taste, smell, and touch. Apply the device of tone, which you have already studied, to the poem's images.  What mood do the images seem to set, overall?  How does that mood vary from image to image.  Sometimes, this is all a poem attempts to do:  provide the reader with images, often one key image, which sets a mood.  Within that is implied the poem's theme. Usually, however, along with setting a mood, an image will be used figuratively.  Study once again the devices of symbol and metaphor (simile also).  Symbol and metaphor can actually be hard to tell from one another, and so I don't care so much whether you say an image is metaphorical or symbolic; I do care whether you can see the underlying figurative meaning.  That is, frequently an image in a poem will carry some meaning beyond merely itself.  And if a poem seems to have one predominant image, then the meaning carried by that image will often strongly imply the theme of the poem. To briefly review, to interpret internal monologue poetry, begin with the poems imagery, pay attention to any tone or mood created by it, and then ask yourself if the image(s) seem to be used as a metaphor or symbol.  Therein lies the theme.  As with using the basic interpretive strategy for works that tell stories, you will find that this strategy, like that one, becomes clearer with practice.

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