Sheenagh Pugh

Poet and novelist

FAQs for exams

This page has come about because so many people have written wanting me to tell them how to interpret this or that poem; what is it "about"? They think, evidently, that there is One True Answer to this, as there might be to a maths problem, and that I, as the writer, know what it is.

 Well, I have news. First, there is no One True Answer, because meaning in language happens in two stages; when the words leave my mouth or pen and when they enter other ears or eyes. In my mind, words and phrases have associations they cannot have for anyone else; similarly when they enter your mind, your memory and experience colour them in an individual way I cannot know about.  Second, the poet's interpretation is not necessarily privileged over the reader's.

Anyway what the examiners want is not my interpretation of the poems. They want to know that you, the student, can read poems intelligently and come to plausible conclusions about them, which can be backed up by evidence from the text - i.e. quotes and examples. If these conclusions don't happen to be those of the examiner, or indeed of the poet, that doesn't especially matter. For example, I think I could argue that Wordsworth's "Daffodils" was about the influence of nature on man. Or I could argue, equally well, that it was about loneliness and the need for society.  What I couldn't do is argue that it is about industrialisation or the slave trade, because I couldn't produce evidence from the text to support those assertions. But if I argue from the text, and produce evidence, it won't signify if my interpretation is not that of the examiner, or for that matter the poet.

Just don't be dogmatic in your conclusions. Remember there is no One True Interpretation, including yours, just many possible ones. Don't write "this poem is about loneliness" or "the poet is saying such and such". The subjunctive is your friend - write "by using this metaphor, the poet may be saying..." or "it seems reasonable to suppose that...." It's harder to argue with suggestions than with dogmatic statements.

And don't make too many assumptions, especially biographical ones.  Poets are always being told by reviewers that they have clearly been influenced by the work of Fred Farnsbarn, when they have never read a line of Fred's work. Don't assume it unless there's evidence in the form of a quote from Fred or obvious reference to him. Above all, don't suppose that "I" is necessarily the poet. Poets have a saying, "I is a lie", and it's often true. Writing in the first person doesn't mean you are writing of your own personal experience. Poets make things up; it's our job.  When writing about a first-person poem, call the "I" voice "the narrator", not "the poet".

If you're desperate to know what the theme of a poem is (and theme isn't the same as subject matter), look at the title; it should give a clue as to what the poet particularly wants you to notice and which way he/she is trying to send your mind. Look too at the use of language and imagery. Images are objects brought out of one context into another for the purpose of illuminating something, and they bring associations from their old context with them. Calling someone's eyes baby blue or eggshell blue has different associations and implications than calling them ice-blue. Many poets (rather icky ones) have compared girls' lips to roses. They won't compare them to radishes, though radishes are just as red, unless they want to introduce humour. 

And about "compare and contrast" - which I know they ask you to do. Pesonally I think it a pointless process, unless the two poets clearly have some experience or subject matter in common - eg, there would be a point in  comparing the poems Auden and MacNeice wrote after their joint visit to Iceland. I don't think Carol Ann Duffy and I have anything much to compare and contrast, but if I had to try (and poets don't really think in those terms)  I would maybe look at the use of persona, the use of form and the use of humour. I don't think I have been influenced in any way by Duffy, and I'm quite sure she hasn't been by me.

Above all, remember that it really is your view the examiner is interested in.

So, though I don't mind answering email queries, don't email asking "what is such and such a poem about", because (a) my interpretation isn't necessarily any more valid than yours and (b) in any case, it isn't what the examiner is interested in. And the answer to "what inspired you to write this or that" is, almost always, "because I was interested in it at the time". Why else?