Explicating Poetry

Introduction

Explicating poetry begins with a process of distinguishing the poem’s factual and technical elements from the readers’ emotional ones. Readers respond to poems in a variety of ways that may initially have little to do with the poetry itself but that result from the events in their own lives, their expectations of art, and their philosophical/theological/psychological complexion.

All serious readers hope to find poems that can blend with the elements of their personal backgrounds in such a way that for a moment or a lifetime their relationship to life and the cosmos becomes more meaningful. This is the ultimate goal of poetry, and when it happens—when meaning, rhythm, and sound fuse with the readers’ emotions to create a unified experience—it can only be called the magic of poetry, for something has happened between reader and poet that is inexplicable in rational terms.

When a poem creates such an emotional response in readers, then it is at least a partial success. To be considered excellent, however, a poem must also be able to pass a critical analysis to determine whether it is mechanically superior. Although twenty-first century criticism has tended to judge poetic works solely on their individual content and has treated them as independent of historical influences, such a technique often makes a full explication difficult. The best modern readers realize that good poetry analysis observes all aspects of a poem: its technical success, its historical importance and intellectual force, and its effect on readers’ emotions.

Students of poetry will find it useful to begin an explication by analyzing the elements that poets have at their disposal as they create their art: dramatic situation, point of view, imagery, metaphor, symbol, meter, form, and allusion.The following outline will help guide the reader through the necessary steps to a detailed explication.

I. The Initial Readings

A. Before reading the poem, the reader should:

1. Notice its form and length.

2. Consider the title, determining, if possible, whether it might function as an allusion, symbol, or poetic image.

3. Notice the date of composition or publication, and identify the general era of the poet.

B. The poem should be read intuitively and emotionally and be allowed to “happen” as much as possible.

C. In order to establish the rhythmic flow, the poem should be reread. A note should be made as to where the irregular spots (if any) are located.

II. Explicating the Poem

A. Dramatic situation. Studying the poem line by line helps the reader to discover the dramatic situation. All elements of the dramatic situation are interrelated and should be viewed as reflecting and affecting one another. The dramatic situation serves a particular function in the poem, adding realism, surrealism, or absurdity; drawing attention to certain parts of the poem; and changing to reinforce other aspects of the poem. All points should be considered. The following questions are particularly helpful to ask in determining dramatic situation:

1. What, if any, is the narrative action in the poem?

2. How many personae appear in the poem? What part do they take in the action?

3. What is the relationship between characters?

4. What is the setting (time and location) of the poem?

B. Point of view. An understanding of the poem’s point of view is a major step toward comprehending the poet’s intended meaning. The reader should ask:

1. Who is the speaker? Is he or she addressing someone else or the reader?

2. Is the narrator able to understand or see everything happening to him or her, or does the reader know things that the narrator does not?

3. Is the narrator reliable?

4. Do point of view and dramatic situation seem consistent? If not, the inconsistencies may provide clues to the poem’s meaning.

C. Images and metaphors. Images and metaphors are often the most intricately crafted vehicles of the poem for relaying the poet’s message. Realizing that the images and metaphors work in harmony with the dramatic situation and point of view will help the reader to see the poem as a whole, rather than as disassociated elements.

1. The reader should identify the concrete images (that is, those that are formed from objects that can be touched, smelled, seen, felt, or tasted). Is the image projected by the poet consistent with the physical object?

2. If the image is abstract, or so different from natural imagery that it cannot be associated with a real object, then what are the properties of the image?

3. To what extent is the reader asked to form his or her own images?

4. Is any image repeated in the poem? If so, how has it been changed? Is there a controlling image?

5. Are any images compared to each other? Do they reinforce one another?

6. Is there any difference between the way the reader perceives the image and the way the narrator sees it?

7. What seems to be the narrator’s or persona’s attitude toward the image?

D. Words. Every substantial word in a poem may have more than one intended meaning, as used by the author. Because of this, the reader should look up many of these words in the dictionary and:

1. Note all definitions that have the slightest connection with the poem.

2. Note any changes in syntactical patterns in the poem.

3. In particular, note those words that could possibly function as symbols or allusions, and refer to any appropriate sources for further information.

E. Meter, rhyme, structure, and tone. In scanning the poem, all elements of prosody should be noted by the reader. These elements are often used by a poet to manipulate the reader’s emotions, and therefore they should be examined closely to arrive at the poet’s specific intention.

1. Does the basic meter follow a traditional pattern such as those found in nursery rhymes or folk songs?

2. Are there any variations in the base meter? Such changes or substitutions are important thematically and should be identified.

3. Are the rhyme schemes traditional or innovative, and what might their form mean to the poem?

4. What devices has the poet used to create sound patterns (such as assonance and alliteration)?

5. Is the stanza form a traditional or innovative one?

6. If the poem is composed of verse paragraphs rather than stanzas, how do they affect the progression of the poem?

7. After examining the above elements, is the resultant tone of the poem casual or formal, pleasant, harsh, emotional, authoritative?

F. Historical context. The reader should attempt to place the poem into historical context, checking on events at the time of composition. Archaic language, expressions, images, or symbols should also be looked up.

G. Themes and motifs. By seeing the poem as a composite of emotion, intellect, craftsmanship, and tradition, the reader should be able to determine the themes and motifs (smaller recurring ideas) presented in the work. He or she should ask the following questions to help pinpoint these main ideas:

1. Is the poet trying to advocate social, moral, or religious change?

2. Does the poet seem sure of his or her position?

3. Does the poem appeal primarily to the emotions, to the intellect, or to both?

4. Is the poem relying on any particular devices for effect (such as imagery, allusion, paradox, hyperbole, or irony)?

Although explication is not a science, and a variety of observations may be equally valid, these step-by-step procedures can be applied systematically to make the reading of most poems a richer experience for the reader. To illustrate, these steps are applied below to a difficult poem by Edwin Arlington Robinson.

“Luke Havergal”

Go to the western gate, Luke Havergal,There where the vines cling crimson on the wall,And in the twilight wait for what will come.The leaves will whisper there of her, and some, 4Like flying words, will strike you as they fall;But go, and if you listen, she will call.Go to the western gate, Luke Havergal—Luke Havergal. 8No, there is not a dawn in eastern skiesTo rift the fiery night that’s in your eyes;But there, where western glooms are gathering,The dark will end the dark, if anything: 12God slays Himself with every leaf that flies,And hell is more than half of paradise.No, there is not a dawn in eastern skies—In eastern skies. 16Out of a grave I come to tell you this,Out of a grave I come to quench the kissThat flames upon your forehead with a glowThat blinds you to the way that you must go. 20Yes, there is yet one way to where she is,Bitter, but one that faith may never miss.Out of a grave I come to tell you this—To tell you this. 24There is the western gate, Luke HavergalThere are the crimson leaves upon the wall.Go, for the winds are tearing them away,—Nor think to riddle the dead words they say, 28Nor any more to feel them as they fall;But go, and if you trust her she will call.There is the western gate, Luke Havergal—Luke Havergal.

E. A. Robinson, 1897

STEP I-A: Before reading

1. “Luke Havergal” is a strophic poem composed of four equally lengthened stanzas. Each stanza is long enough to contain a narrative, an involved description or situation, or a problem and resolution.

2. The title raises several possibilities: Luke Havergal could be a specific person; Luke Havergal could represent a type of person; the name might have symbolic or allusive qualities. Thus, “Luke” may refer to Luke of the Bible or “Luke-warm,” meaning indifferent or showing little or no zeal. “Havergal” could be a play on words.“Haver” is a Scotch and Northern English word meaning to talk foolishly. It is clear from the rhyme words that the “gal” of Havergal is pronounced as if it had two “l’s,” but it is spelled with one “l” for no apparent reason unless it is to play on the word “gal,” meaning girl. Because it is pronounced“gall,” meaning something bitter or severe, a sore or state of irritation, or an impudent self-assurance, this must also be considered as a possibility. Finally, the“haver” of “Havergal” might be a perversion of “have a.”

3. Published in 1897, the poem probably does not contain archaic language unless it is deliberately used. The period of writing is known as the Victorian Age. Historical events that may have influenced the poem may be checked for later.

STEP I-B: The poem should be read

STEP I-C: Rereading the poem

The frequent use of internal caesuras in stanzas 1 and 2 contrast with the lack of caesuras in stanzas 3 and 4. There are end-stopped lines and much repetition. The poem reads smoothly except for line 28 and the feminine ending on lines 11 and 12.

STEP II-A: Dramatic situation

In line 1 of “Luke Havergal,” an unidentified speaker is addressing Luke. Because the speaker calls him by his full name, there is a sense that the speaker has assumed a superior (or at least a formal) attitude toward Luke and that the talk that they are having is not a casual conversation.

In addition to knowing something about the relationship in line 1, the reader is led to think, because of the words “go to the western gate,” that the personae must be near some sort of enclosed house or city. Perhaps Luke and the speaker are at some “other” gate, since the western gate is specifically pointed out.

Line 2 suggests that the situation at the western gate is different from that elsewhere—there “vines cling crimson on the wall,” hinting at some possibilities about the dramatic situation. (Because flowers and colors are always promising symbols, they must be carefully considered later.)

The vines in line 2 could provide valuable information about the dramatic situation, except that in line 2 the clues are ambiguous. Are the vines perennial? If so, their crimson color suggests that the season is late summer or autumn. Crimson might also be their natural color when in full bloom. Further, are they grape vines (grapes carry numerous connotations and symbolic values), and are the vines desirable? All of this in line 2 is ambiguous. The only certainty is that there is a wall—a barrier that closes something in and something out.

In lines 1-3, the speaker again commands Luke to go and wait. Since Luke is to wait in the twilight, it is probably now daylight. All Luke must do is be passive because whatever is to come will happen without any action on his part.

In line 4, the speaker begins to tell Luke what will happen at the western gate, and the reader now knows that Luke is waiting for something with feminine characteristics, possibly a woman. This line also mentions that the vines have leaves, implying that crimson denotes their waning stage.

In line 5, the speaker continues to describe what will happen at the western gate: The leaves will whisper about “her,” and as they fall, some of them will strike Luke “like flying words.” The reader, however, must question whether Luke will actually be “struck” by the leaves, or whether the leaves are being personified or being used as an image or symbol. In line 6, the speaker stops his prophecy and tells Luke to leave. If Luke listens, “she” will call, but if he does not, it is unclear what will happen. The reader might ask the questions, to whom is “she” calling, and from where?

In summarizing the dramatic situation in stanza 1, one can say that the speaker is addressing Luke, but it is not yet possible to determine whether he or she is present or whether Luke is thinking to himself (interior monologue). The time is before twilight; the place is near a wall with a gate. Luke is directed to go to the gate and listen for a female voice to call.

From reading the first line in the second stanza, it is apparent that Luke has posed some kind of question, probably concerned with what will be found at the western gate. The answer given is clearly not a direct answer to whatever question was asked, especially as the directions “east” and “west” are probably symbolic. The reader can expect, however, that the silent persona’s response will affect the poem’s progress.

Stanza 3 discloses who the speaker is and what his relationship is to Luke. After the mysterious discourse in stanza 2, Luke has probably asked “Who are you?” The equally mysterious reply in stanza 3 raises the issue of whether the voice speaking is a person or a spirit or whether it is Luke’s imagination or conscience.

Because the voice says that it comes out of the grave, the reader cannot know who or what it is. It may be a person, a ghost, or only Luke’s imagination or conscience. Obviously the answer will affect the dramatic situation.

In line 18, the reader learns that the speaker is on a particular mission: “to quench the kiss,” and the reader can assume that when the mission is complete he or she will return to the grave. This information is sudden and shocking, and because of this sharp jolt, the reader tends to believe the speaker and credit him or her with supernatural knowledge.

In stanza 4, it becomes apparent that Luke and the speaker have not been stationary during the course of the poem because the western gate is now visible; the speaker can see the leaves upon the wall (line 26).

The wind is blowing (line 27), creating a sense of urgency, because if all the leaves are blown away they cannot whisper about “her.” The speaker gives Luke final instructions, and the poem ends with the speaker again pointing toward the place where Luke will find the female persona.

In summary, one can say that the dramatic situation establishes a set of mysterious circumstances that are not explained or resolved on the dramatic level. Luke has been told to go to the western gate by someone who identifies himself or herself as having come from the grave in order to quench Luke’s desire, which seems to be connected with the estranged woman, who is, perhaps, dead. The dramatic situation does not tell whether the commanding voice is an emissary from the woman or from the devil, or is merely Luke’s conscience; nor does it suggest that something evil will happen to Luke at the western gate, although other elements in the poem make the reader afraid for him.

The poet, then, is using the dramatic situation to draw the reader into questions which will be answered by other means; at this point, the poem is mysterious, obscure, ambiguous, and deliberately misleading.

STEP II-B: Point of view

There are a number of questions that immediately come to mind about the point of view. Is the speaker an evil seducer, or is he or she a friend telling Luke about death? Why is the poem told from his or her point of view?

From a generalized study, readers know that the first-person singular point of view takes the reader deep into the mind of the narrator in order to show what he or she knows or to show a personal reaction to an event.

In “Luke Havergal,” the narrator gives the following details about himself and the situation: a sense of direction (lines 1 and 9); the general type and color of the vegetation, but not enough to make a detailed analysis of it (line 2); a pantheistic view of nature (line 4); a feeling of communication with the leaves and “her” (lines 5 and 6); a philosophic view of the universe (stanza 2); the power to “quench the kiss,” a sense of mission, and a home—the grave (line 18); special vision (line 20); a sense of destiny (lines 21 and 22); and a sense of time and eternity (lines 27 through 29).

Apparently, the narrator can speak with confidence about the western gate, and can look objectively at Luke to see the kiss on his forehead. Such a vantage point suggests that the speaker might represent some aspect of death. He also knows the “one way to where she is,” leaving it reasonable to infer that “she” is dead.

There is another possibility in regard to the role of the speaker. He might be part of Luke himself—the voice of his thoughts, of his unconscious mind—or of part of his past. This role might possibly be combined with that of some sort of spirit of death.

The poem, then, is an internal dialogue in which Luke is attempting to cope with “she,” who is probably dead and who might well have been his lover, though neither is certain. He speaks to another persona, which is probably Luke’s own spirit which has been deadened by the loss of his lover.

Once it is suggested that Luke is a man who is at the depth of despair, the dramatic situation becomes very important because of the possibility that Luke may be driving himself toward self-destruction.

The dramatic situation, therefore, may not be as it originally seemed; perhaps there is only one person, not two. Luke’s psychological condition permits him to look at himself as another person, and this other self is pushing Luke toward the western gate, a place that the reader senses is evil.

If the voice is Luke’s, then much of the mystery is clarified. Luke would have known what the western gate looked like, whereas a stranger would have needed supernatural powers to know it; furthermore, Luke had probably heard the leaves whispering before, and in his derangement he could believe that someone would call to him if he would only listen.

Establishing point of view has cleared up most of the inconsistencies in this poem’s dramatic situation, but there is still confusion about the grave and the kiss. It is easy to make the grave symbolically consistent with point of view, but the reader should look for other possibilities before settling on this explanation.

In stanzas 1 and 2, there is no problem; the dramatic situation is simple and point of view can be reconciled since there is no evidence to prove that another person is present. If, however, the voice is that of Luke’s other self, then why has it come from the grave, and where did the kiss come from? At this point, it is not possible to account for these inconsistencies, but by noting them now, the reader can be on the alert for the answers later. Quite possibly accounting for the inconsistencies will provide the key for the explication.

STEP II-C: Images and metaphors

Finding images in poems is usually not a difficult task, although seeing their relation to the theme often is. “Luke Havergal” is imagistically difficult because the images are introduced, then reused as the theme develops.

In stanza 1, the reader is allowed to form his or her own image of the setting and mood at the western gate; most readers will probably imagine some sort of mysterious or supernatural situation related to death or the dead. The colors, the sound of the words, and the particular images (vines, wall, whispering leaves) establish the relationship between the living and the dead as the controlling image of the entire poem.

Within the controlling death-in-life image, the metaphors and conceits are more difficult to handle. Vines clinging crimson on the wall (line 2) and waiting in the twilight for something to come (line 3) are images requiring no particular treatment at this point, but in lines 4 and 5 the reader is forced to contend directly with whispering leaves that are like flying words, and there are several metaphorical possibilities for this image.

First, there is the common image of leaves rustling in a breeze, and in a mysterious or enchanted atmosphere it would be very easy to imagine that they are whispering. Such a whisper, however, would ordinarily require a moderate breeze, as a fierce wind would overpower the rustling sound of leaves; but there is more ambiguity in the image: “The leaves will whisper there for her, and some,/ Like flying words, will strike you as they fall.”

Because of the syntactical ambiguity of “some,/ Like flying words, will strike,” the reader cannot be sure how close or literal is the similarity or identity of “leaves” and “words.” The reader cannot be completely sure whether it is leaves or words or both that will strike Luke, or whether the sight of falling leaves might be forcing him to recall words he has heard in the past. There is a distinct metaphoric connection between leaves and words, however, and these in some way strike Luke, perhaps suggesting that the words are those of an argument (an argument in the past between Luke and “her” before her death) or perhaps meant to suggest random words which somehow recall “her” but do not actually say anything specific.

In stanza 2, the poet forces the reader to acknowledge the light and dark images, but they are as obscure as the falling leaves in stanza 1. The dawn that the reader is asked to visualize (line 9) is clear, but it is immediately contrasted with “the fiery night that’s in your eyes”; Luke’s smoldering, almost diabolic eyes are imagistically opposed to the dawn.

Line 11 returns to the western gate, or at least to the“west,” where twilight is falling. The “western glooms” become imagistic as the twilight falls and depicts Luke’s despair. Twilight is not “falling,” but dark is “gathering” around him, and glooms not only denotes darkness but also connotes Luke’s emotional state.

The paradox in line 12, “The dark will end the dark,” beckons the reader to explore it imagistically, but it is not easy to understand how darkness relieves darkness, unless one of the two “darknesses” is symbolic of death or of Luke’s gloom. With this beckoning image, the poet has created emphasis on the line and teases with images which may really be symbols or paradoxes. The same thing is true for lines 13 and 14, which tempt the reader to imagine how “God slays Himself” with leaves, and how “hell is more than half of paradise.”

The beginning of stanza 3 does not demand an image so much as it serves to tell where the narrator comes from, and to present the narrator’s method for quenching the kiss. Line 19, however, presents an image that is as forceful as it is ambiguous. The kiss, which may be the kiss of the estranged woman, or “the kiss of death,” or both, flames with a glow, which is also paradoxical. The paradox, however, forms an image which conveys the intensity of Luke’s passion.

Stanza 4 returns to the imagery of stanza 1, but now the whispering leaves take on a metaphorical extension. If the leaves are whispering words from the dead, and if the leaves are “her” words, then once the wind tears all the leaves away, there will no longer be any medium for communication between the living and the dead. This adds a sense of urgency for Luke to go to the western gate and do there what must be done.

In summary, the images in “Luke Havergal” do more than set the mood; they also serve an important thematic function because of their ambiguities and paradoxical qualities.

STEP II-D: Words

Because the poem is not too old, the reader will find that most of the words have not changed much. It is still important, however, for the reader to look up words as they may have several diverse meanings. Even more important to consider in individual words or phrases, however, is the possibility that they might be symbolic or allusive.

“Luke Havergal” is probably not as symbolic as it at first appears, although poems that use paradox and allusion are often very symbolic. Clearly the western gate is symbolic, but to what degree is questionable. No doubt it represents the last light in Luke’s life, and once he passes beyond it he moves into another type of existence. The west and the twilight are points of embarkation; the sun is setting in the west, but even though the sun sets, there will not be a dawn in the east to dispel Luke’s dark gloom. Traditionally the dark, which is gathering in the west, is symbolic of death (the west is also traditionally associated with death), and only the dark will end Luke’s gloom in life, if anything at all can do it.

There is one important allusion in the poem, which comes in stanza 3; the kiss which the speaker is going to quench may be the “kiss of death,” the force that can destroy Luke.

In both concept and language, stanza 3 is reminiscent of the dagger scene and killing of Duncan (act 2, scene 1) in William Shakespeare’s Macbeth (pr. 1606). Just before the murder, Macbeth has visions of the dagger:

Art thou not, fatal vision, sensibleTo feeling as to sight? or art thou butA dagger of the mind, a false creation,Proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain?I see thee yet, in form as palpableAs this which now I draw.Thou marshall’st me the way that I was going

And a few lines later (act 2, scene 2) Lady Macbeth says:

That which hath made them drunk hath made me bold;What hath quench’d them hath given me fire.

The reversal in point of view in “Luke Havergal” gives the poem added depth, which is especially enhanced by the comparison with Macbeth. The line, “That blinds you to the way that you must go” is almost a word-for-word equivalent of “Thou marshall’st me the way that I was going,” except that in “Luke Havergal” whoever is with Luke is talking, while Macbeth himself is talking to the dagger.

The result of the allusion is that it is almost possible to imagine that it is the dagger that is talking to Luke, and the whole story of Macbeth becomes relevant to the poem because the reader suspects that Luke’s end will be similar to Macbeth’s.

The words of Lady Macbeth strengthen the allusion’s power and suggest a male-female relationship that is leading Luke to his death, especially since, in the resolution of Macbeth, Lady Macbeth goes crazy and whispers to the spirits.

If the reader accepts the allusion as a part of the poem, the imagery is enhanced by the vivid descriptions in Macbeth. Most critics and writers agree that if a careful reader finds something that fits consistently into a poem, then it is “there” for all readers who see the same thing, whether the poet consciously put it there or not. Robinson undoubtedly read and knew Shakespeare, but it does not matter whether he deliberately alluded to Macbeth if the reader can show that it is important to the poem.

There is a basic problem with allusion and symbol that every explicator must resolve for himself: Did the poet intend a symbol or an allusion to be taken in the way that a particular reader has interpreted it? The New Critics answered this question by coining the term “intentional fallacy,” meaning that the poet’s intention is ultimately unimportant when considering the finished poem. It is possible that stanza 3 was not intended to allude to Macbeth, and it was simply by accident that Robinson used language similar to Shakespeare’s. Perhaps Robinson never read Macbeth, or perhaps he read it once and those lines remained in his subconscious. In either case, the reader must decide whether the allusion is important to the meaning of the poem.

STEP II-E: Meter, rhyme, structure, and tone

Because “Luke Havergal” is a poem that depends so heavily on all the elements of prosody, it should be scanned carefully. Here is an example of scansion using the second stanza of the poem:

Nó, thére/ is nót/ a dáwn/ in eás/tern skiésTo ríft/ the fié/ry níght/ that’s ín/ your éyes;But théré,/ whére wés/tern glóoms/ are gáth/ering,The dárk/ will énd/ the dárk,/ if án/ythińg:Gód sláys/ Himsélf/ with éve/ry léaf/ that flíes,And héll/ is móre/ than hálf/ of pár/adisé.Nó, thére/ is nót/ a dáwn/ in eást/ern skiés—In eás/tern skiés.

The basic meter of the poem is iambic pentameter, with frequent substitutions, but every line except the last in each stanza contains ten syllables.

The stanza form in “Luke Havergal” is very intricate and delicate. It is only because of the structure that the heavy a rhyme (aabbaaaa) does not become monotonous; yet it is because of the a rhyme that the structure works so well.

The pattern for the first stanza works as follows:

Line 1 (Rhyme a) Sets up ideas and images for the stanza.

Line 2 (Rhyme a) Describes or complements line one.

Line 3 (Rhyme b) Lines three-four-five constitute the central part of the mood and the fears. The return to the a rhyme unifies lines one-five.

Line 4 (Rhyme b)

Line 5 (Rhyme a)

Line 6 (Rhyme a) Reflects on what has been said in one-five; it serves to make the reader stop, and it adds a mysterious suggestion.

Line 7 (Rhyme a) Continues the deceleration and reflection.

Line 8 (Rhyme a) The repetition and dimeter line stop the stanza completely, and the effect is to prepare for a shift in thought, just as Luke’s mind jumps from thought to thought.

Stanza 2 works in a similar manner, except for lines 13 and 14, which tie the stanza together as a couplet. Thus, lines 13 and 14 both unify and reflect, while lines 15 and 16 in the final couplet continue to reflect while slowing down.

Lines 9 and 10 (Rhyme a) Opening couplet.

Lines 11 and 12 (Rhyme b) Couplet in 11-12 contains the central idea and image.

Lines 13 and 14 (Rhyme a) Couplet in 13-14 reflects on that in 11-12, but the autonomy of this third couplet is especially strong. Whereas in stanza one only line five reflects on the beginning of the stanza to create unity, this entire couplet is now strongly associated with the first, with the effect of nearly equating Luke with God.

Lines 15 and 16 (Rhyme a) Final couplet reflects on the first and completes the stanza.

Stanza 3 works in the same manner as stanza 2, while stanza 4 follows the pattern of stanza 1.

Each stanza is autonomous and does not need the others for continuation or progression in plot; each stanza appears to represent a different thought as Luke’s mind jumps about.

The overall structure focuses on stanza 3, which is crucial to the theme. Stanzas 1 and 2 clearly present the problem: Luke knows that if he goes he will find “her,” and the worst that can happen is that the darkness will remain. With stanza 3, however, there is a break in point of view as the narrator calls attention to himself.

With stanza 4 there is a return to the beginning, reinforced by the repetition of rhyme words; the difference between stanzas 4 and 1 is that the reader has felt the impact of stanza 3; structurally, whatever resolution there is will evolve out of the third stanza, or because of it.

The stanza form of “Luke Havergal” achieves tremendous unity and emphasis; the central image or idea presented in the b lines is reinforced in the remainder of the stanza by a tight-knit rhyme structure. There are several types of rhymes being used in the poem, all of which follow the traditional functions of their type. Stanza 1 contains full masculine end rhyme, with a full masculine internal rhyme in line 2 (There where). Lines 2 and 3 contain alliteration (c in line 2, t in line 3) also binding the lines more tightly.

With “go” occurring near the end of stanza 1 and “No” appearing as the first word in stanza 2, this rhyme becomes important in forming associations between lines. Lines 9, 10, 15, 16, and 18 form full masculine end rhyme, with line 14 “paradise” assonating with a full rhyme. Lines 11 and 12 are half falling rhymes; these lines also contain a full internal rhyme (“there,” “where”) and alliteration (g and w in line 11). “Dark” in line 12 is an exact internal rhyme. The l and s in “slays” and “flies” (line 14) create an effect similar to assonance; there is also an h alliteration in line 15.

In stanza 3, the plosive consonants c and q make an alliterative sound in line 18, binding “come” and “quench” together; there is also an f alliteration in line 19. All the end rhymes are full masculine in stanza 3 except line 21, which assonates. Stanza 4 contains full masculine end rhyme, with one internal rhyme (“they say”) in line 28, one alliteration in line 29, and consonance (“will call”) in line 30.

In addition to its function in developing the stanza, rhyme in “Luke Havergal” has important influence on sound, and in associating particular words and lines.

In lines 1 and 2 of “Luke Havergal,” there are a number of plosive consonants and long vowels, in addition to the internal rhyme and c alliteration. The cadence of these lines is slow, and they reverberate with “cling” and “crimson.” The tone of these lines is haunting (which is consistent with the situation), and the rhythm and sound of the poem as a whole suggest an incantation; the speaker’s voice is seductive and evil, which is important to the theme, because if Luke goes to the gate he may be persuaded to die, which is what the voice demands.

Through its seductive sound, the poem seems to be having the same effect on the reader that it does on Luke; that is, the reader feels, as Luke does, that there is an urgency in going to the gate before all the leaves are blown away, and that by hearing “her” call, his discomfort will be relieved. The reader, unable to see the evil forces at work in the last stanza, sympathizes with Luke, and thinks that the voice is benevolent.

Whereas sound can be heard and analyzed, tone is a composite of a number of things that the reader can feel only after coming to know the poem. The poet’s attitude or tone may be noncommittal or it may be dogmatic (as in allegory); sometimes the tone will affect the theme, while at other times it comes as an aside to the theme.

Poems that attempt to initiate reform frequently have a more readily discernible tone than poems that make observations without judging too harshly, although this is not always true. “Luke Havergal” is, among other things, about how the presence of evil leads toward death, but the poet has not directly included his feelings about that theme. If there is an attitude, it is the poet’s acceptance of the inevitability of death and the pain that accompanies it for the living.

Perhaps the poet is angry at how effectively death can seduce life; it is obvious that Robinson wants the poem to haunt and torment the reader, and in doing so make him or her conscious of the hold death has on humanity.

Luke must meet death part way; he must first go to the gate before he can hear the dead words, which makes him partly responsible for death’s hold over him. The tone of “Luke Havergal” is haunting and provocative.

STEP II-F: Historical context

Finished in December, 1895, “Luke Havergal” was in Robinson’s estimation a Symbolist poem. It is essential, then, that the explicator learn something about the Symbolist movement. If his or her explication is not in accord with the philosophy of the period, the reader must account for the discrepancy.

In a study of other Robinson poems, there are themes parallel to that of “Luke Havergal.” One, for example, is that of the alienated self. If Robinson believes in the alienated self, then it is possible that the voice speaking in “Luke Havergal” is Luke’s own, but in an alienated state. This view may add credence to an argument that the speaker is Luke’s past or subconscious, though it by no means proves it. Although parallelisms may be good support for the explication, the reader must be careful not to misconstrue them.

STEP II-G: Themes and motifs, or correlating the parts

Once the poem has been placed in context, the prosodic devices analyzed, and the function of the poetical techniques understood, they should be correlated, and any discrepancies should be studied for possible errors in explication. By this time, every line should be understood, so that stating what the poem is about is merely a matter of explaining the common points of all the area, supporting it with specific items from the poem, secondary sources, other poems, other critics, and history. The reader may use the specific questions given in the outline to help detail the major themes.

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