To “complete” what the poet has begun means to interpret what the poem is trying to say. One example from this week’s poems would be “My Last Dutchess.” It is a monologue written from the perspective of one character, however through interpreting the poem, it is possible to see so much more than what the character voluntarily shows. “This grew; I gave commands. The smiles stopped altogether.” Reading this at first without attempting to interpret the meaning, a person might think that the duke is saying that he had commanded his dutchess to stop smiling. In reality, what he is saying is that he killed the dutchess. To complete what the poet set in motion is like creating an image in your mind of the story that the poet is trying to tell. For example, when the duke describes the dutchess and her personality, the reader immediately gets the image in their head of a joyful young woman. Also, although the person giving the monologue does their best to seem “humble” it is possible to see through what they are pretending to be. A narcissistic man who wants attention.
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One thought on “LuClandereine Leger Discussion 4”
I agree with you in the way he tries to perceive himself to others. While he tries to act in a humble way that seems to be forced he sees himself as someone who is smarter than others “without knowing how much of himself he is giving away”(forgot who said this). In this way he also tries to make the duchess seem too stupid and naive while also revealing how controlling things could be along with how he reacts when things do not go his way. What makes you think he is “a narcissistic man who wants attention”?