Interpretations
Interpreting and analysing a poem is not necessarily a matter of finding the right answer.
Poems are complex creations and are open to many different interpretations. Your How a person understands the material or situation presented before them. is as valid as anyone else's - as long as you can back it up with suitable evidence from the text.
Remember to avoid simply identifying what techniques or approaches poets use. Aim to show an understanding of how form, language and structure create meanings and effects.
Below are some differing interpretations of the poem. How would you interpret the poem?
Example
Interpretation of the whole poem
| Interpretation | Reason for interpretation |
| The poem has a low-key, everyday tone that aims to include readers, suggesting its themes are the shared experience of us all. | Kay’s poem uses simple, everyday language. Its lack of rhyme, strong rhythmic structure, everyday speech patterns and phrasing (‘I know this is not a good idea’, ‘Come on, damn you, ring me. Or else’) add to the sense of this being something many readers could identify with if they are worried about a relationship and are waiting anxiously for someone to call. |
| The poem is self-mocking in tone. The narrator’s awareness of her ridiculous actions and her inability to stop herself from doing them is apparent. | Kay’s everyday language conceals a biting irony. Her speaker is well aware of the absurdity of her actions and shows this in a commentary full of comic exaggeration and hyperbole (sirens, ‘assaulting’ the postman). |
| Jackie Kay crafts the poem carefully to draw the reader into its world. | Kay’s use of direct address (‘you’) puts the reader in the role of the silent lover who has not called. Kay’s rhetorical questions (questions asked for effect with no expected answer) questions and self-mocking confessions mimic the kind of conversation her speaker might have with her absent lover. Kay cleverly draws the reader into this conversation, supplying the answers the reader/lover might give. |
| Interpretation | The poem has a low-key, everyday tone that aims to include readers, suggesting its themes are the shared experience of us all. |
|---|---|
| Reason for interpretation | Kay’s poem uses simple, everyday language. Its lack of rhyme, strong rhythmic structure, everyday speech patterns and phrasing (‘I know this is not a good idea’, ‘Come on, damn you, ring me. Or else’) add to the sense of this being something many readers could identify with if they are worried about a relationship and are waiting anxiously for someone to call. |
| Interpretation | The poem is self-mocking in tone. The narrator’s awareness of her ridiculous actions and her inability to stop herself from doing them is apparent. |
|---|---|
| Reason for interpretation | Kay’s everyday language conceals a biting irony. Her speaker is well aware of the absurdity of her actions and shows this in a commentary full of comic exaggeration and hyperbole (sirens, ‘assaulting’ the postman). |
| Interpretation | Jackie Kay crafts the poem carefully to draw the reader into its world. |
|---|---|
| Reason for interpretation | Kay’s use of direct address (‘you’) puts the reader in the role of the silent lover who has not called. Kay’s rhetorical questions (questions asked for effect with no expected answer) questions and self-mocking confessions mimic the kind of conversation her speaker might have with her absent lover. Kay cleverly draws the reader into this conversation, supplying the answers the reader/lover might give. |